When Peter Jackson originally asked to do the Gollum animations (which would be crucial to LOTR) at his local Weta Workshop special effects company New Line, the studio underwriting the project, said "No way, contract it out." In the past such complex animations were the province of huge proprietary companies like Industrial Light & Magic (think Star Wars). In fact, for years, ILM was the only CGI firm with major motion picture quality and had a virtual monopoly on the business. The idea that a tiny company whose main experience was in model making could do a major animation seemed ridiculous.

Software like Maya has changed that way of thinking. After Jackson showed the studio some test animations they changed their mind and said, "Go for it." After hiring a motion capture crew and combining that technology with key frame animation coordinated by off-the-shelf Maya the rest is history: unparalleled Oscar-winning animations resulted.