What is a 2D Pipeline TD?
Tags: career, harmony, animation, pipeline
Published: 2021-08-08 20:03:26

---
title: What is a 2D Pipeline TD?
published: true
description: Introduction and definition of a 2D Animation Pipeline Technical Director ( or Harmony Technical Director ) 
tags: career, harmony, animation, pipeline
series: 2D Animation Pipeline (Harmony) Technical Director
cover_image: https://images.pexels.com/photos/2310904/pexels-photo-2310904.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&dpr=1&w=500
---

## So Chris, why do you care what a 2D Pipeline Technical Director is? 
My team is currently hiring for a **Junior 2D Pipeline Technical Director** position. It's a fairly specific position within an animation studio so I've been clarifying queries about what the role of a Technical Director ( or "**TD**" ) is within 2D series animation and what steps people could take if the role is an aspiration. 

## And why is your opinion relevant?
I have worked in animation for 10+ years, 6 of them with Harmony and the last 4 in a TD or TD-adjacent role. My studio experience is limited to UK & Ireland, but I have dealt with teams in Canada, USA, China, Philippines. I also hire, manage and train TDs. I'm sure there are differing opinions and I will happily update this information from relevant discussions.

<p><em><b>Note</b>: This post discusses what, from my experience,  a 2D Pipeline TD <b>is</b>, not what it <b>should be</b> .</em></p>

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# Definition of 2D Pipeline TD <a name="definition" ></a> 

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## Is it Harmony TD or 2D Pipeline TD?<a name="3"></a>
Toon Boom [Harmony](https://www.toonboom.com/products/harmony) is the principle (and currently most popular) animation software used in the 2D animation productions I work on. There is an element of interchangeability between the terms as there is no real standardisation in the industry, but generally:

* A **2D Pipeline** TD ( or 2D *Animation* Pipeline TD ) would refer to a role supporting entire series pipeline. Commonly including additional storyboarding, editing, design, production and rendering software (i.e. *Storyboard Pro*, *Premiere Pro*, *Photoshop*, *Shotgrid*/*Ftrack*/*Google Sheets* , *Deadline* respectively) in addition to Harmony support and custom tools.

* A **Harmony** TD would refer to supporting the departments using Harmony specifically i.e. *Scene Build*, *Rigging*, *Animation*, *FX*, *Compositing*. Supporting the Harmony import/export processes as well as workflows within Harmony.

I'll be referring to the role as **2D Pipeline TD** from now on as that is the broader role of the 2 and a lot of the responsibilities have parallels.

## What about 2D TD, is that the same?
Often not, typically the title **2D TD** refers to a role supporting the 2D side of a 3D VFX pipeline i.e. *Compositors* and *Colourists* and not referring to *2D Animation*. This will be clear when you read the job description.

## Lets go back a step, What is a Technical Director?
I'd highly recommend reading *Lydia Martinez*'s blog on *All About Technical Directors* [Part 1](http://blog.lidia-martinez.com/all-about-technical-directors-part-1) [Part 2](http://blog.lidia-martinez.com/all-about-technical-directors-part-2). It is a great explanation for what a TD is in most 3D, Games and VFX contexts. But I think the **2D Pipeline TD** is a very specific subset with very little existing documentation. 

## So...what is a 2D Pipeline TD
Unlike 3D and VFX TD roles, 2D Pipeline TDs often do have some leadership responsibility. This is probably due to Harmony animation workflows being relatively young in UK & Ireland so the 2D Pipeline TD is needed to set up the workflows and help teach it to production teams and art leads. Essentially, they :

* Have a good understanding of both the **art and technical** world of 2D animation, so can act as a bridge between the two.
* Are **empathic** to artists needs, and work to improve their colleagues efficiency, output or reduce likelihood of errors.