Wow! We knew Avatar was going to be a huge success, but I would have never guessed it could possibly out-earn Titanic. It’s an incredible feeling to have worked on such a special film. I vivdly remember my first day starting at Weta. I was told to browse through the latest shots in progress and get my bearings on the look and feel of the film. I remember thinking, “Woah, is that CG?!” It was a shot of Neytiri watching Jake from the trees when she first sees him. I couldnt believe how vivid and real it felt. And the shots only continued to get better and better over the course of the next year and a half.

I had the opportunity to work on 55 animation shots. The most enjoyable aspect of the project was animating the banshees. That’s where I really got to have fun. I had also had my fair share of intense stress. There were a few shots where the motion capture data was completely unusable or didnt exist, and I had to animate the na’vi from scratch. A shot of Tsutey and his buddies climbing up a hillside to jump on their banshees comes to mind. That was a tough one!

I’ve made some incredible friends since I arrived at Weta and finished up Avatar. It was a very close bonding type of project, and the beauty of Weta is how close the animation team is. I’ve never quite worked at a studio that felt so friendly and tight-knit.

It’s so exciting to watch Avatar rise to such a level fo greatness and recognition. I am extremely proud to be able to say I was a part of it all. Now I have moved onto Tintin, and then after that hopefully The Hobbit.

Aaron Gilman