Maia Kayser
Animator, Avengers: End Game Industrial Light & Magic
ILM’s brilliant animator Maia Kayser says she owes her career path to the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park. Seeing the CG characters interact seamlessly with the live actors piqued her interest in the possibilities of vfx and realistic CG on the big screen. “At the time, that film was also a breakthrough in technology and had some of the most realistic CG I had ever seen,” she recalls. “Suddenly, telling a fictional story in a realistic way seemed limitless.”
The Buenos Aires native, who grew up loving movies such as Ghostbusters, Back to the Future and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, landed an internship at ILM in 2001 after studying visual communication design in Germany and electronic at
SCAD. Some of her recent projects have included Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: Episode VII, Rogue One, Rango and Jurassic World: Ancient Futures VR. She also worked on rides and VR projects such as Tomorrowland, Race through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon and Star Tours: The Last Jedi. She is currently working as an animator on Marvel’s tentpole movie Avengers: End Game.
“The aspects I like about my current project is working with a large pool of talented people,” says Kayser. “What makes morale high, is the collaborative crew and strong team spirit on this show. Of course, as an animator, I’m also enjoying the wide variety of characters and challenging performances on this project, which for me, makes it particularly interesting.”
She says one of the biggest challenges of the job is that there’s a general assumption that computers do all the work. “Even though we use computers and software to aid in the production of these movies, they are only tools, and it takes an army of talent to craft a film with high-quality visual effects,” she explains. “Motion graphics and visual effects have become so common in film today that the effort it takes to create these images is often overlooked, resulting in tight deadlines and demanding hours at times.”
Kayser says it’s really important for vfx jobseekers to educate themselves on what is happening in the industry. “With the explosion of augmented and virtual reality, we’re in an exciting moment in the world of computer animation, allowing for many promising opportunities beyond just film,” she notes. “I encourage newbies to do their research, look into these opportunities and stay open to all available options. I also recommend attending industry eventarts s and conventions, because they are also very motivating and inspire imagination and creativity.” In short, she says it’s all about setting high standards and being bold enough to pursue those goals without giving up. “Always seek knowledge and growth, because there is no end to your education,” she concludes.