Salary Adjustment

I just learned today that I received a salary adjustment...in a positive direction. Basically our company is making an effort to bring everyone's salaries in line with others in comparable industries. Apparently, we were below the average so many of us were bumped up a bit. Nice! I also now have a new title: Technical Production Artist II. That begs the question, "What the heck is a Technical Production Artist?"

In order to best describe the role that I play, it's best to use analogies. I usually use the analogy that I am a translator between the artists and the engineers. I have to be able to 'speak' both languages. I work closely with both groups, and I work with many of the tools that both groups use. That describes my role. In order to understand what I actually DO, it's best to use a cooking analogy. Basically, I'm a sous chef. I take the raw ingredients from the artists (Photoshop files, After Effects compositions, 3D content, etc...) and I do all of the prep work (cutting up the files, organizing them into their components, making sure everything is in the right place) so that the 'chefs' (engineers) can put it all together quickly and efficiently into the finished product. I also have to help to make sure the engineers are following the 'recipe' properly so that the finished product turns out the way it should.

Make sense? Basically I have to have a good mix of technical, artistic and interpersonal communication skills. Strong organizational skills help too.