We sit down with Magnopus’ Operations Intelligence Director to find out how one Pixar short kickstarted her career, the software she couldn’t work without, and hear a heartwarming story about how one small act of kindness changed one boy’s future prospects.

Before joining Magnopus, Kate worked at Picasso Pictures to craft high-profile CGI TV spots and Animated Storyboards (ASB), where she was instrumental to the early growth and sustained development of the London studio as well as building a robust production department in Asia. During her time at ASB, Kate also produced numerous broadcasts for Fairy and Johnson & Johnson, and well over 200 test commercials for brands like Budweiser, Becks, Pepsi, L’Oreal, and Cadbury across 2D, 3D and live action. Kate has also spent time at Framestore, where her credits include Avatar, Where the Wild Things Are, and Sherlock Holmes.

What do you do at Magnopus?

I am the Operations Intelligence Director, meaning I sit between the production, finance, and business development departments and get to see a little bit of everything. My goal is to use the data we collect from timesheets to empower and enable the Producers with their decision-making on projects so they can be run more efficiently and effectively. This extends to non-billable activities, which also helps drive overall studio efficiencies.

It means I can tap into my production skills, but also those I've learned whilst working closely with both the BizDev and Finance teams. Having spent numerous years helping grow two small studios, I've seen firsthand how symbiotically linked the Production, BD, and Finance departments need to be in order to be successful.

What is one app or software you couldn't do your job without?

Mavenlink. It's a powerful tool that collects an array of information about what our teams are working on and how our projects and studio are performing holistically. While it is primarily used to collect people's timesheets, it enables us to make smart decisions both studio-wide and project-focused. I have a love-hate relationship with it as in true software fashion it has its quirks, but it really does give us the ability to consistently look at, and tweak the smallest of things in our project plans to allow our teams to be successful.

What made you decide to pursue this career?

It all started when I was 13, after being taken by my Dad to see Pixar's Monsters Inc. and seeing the Pixar short For The Birds. I turned to my Dad and said “Dad, that’s what I want to do, those characters, I want to make that”. From that moment, I knew I wanted to work in animation.

Many years later I was invited on a tour of Pixar by a friend. I told him the story of ‘For The Birds’ and he said, “Come with me…” and led me to another small building, where in front of me, on the wall were the two original concept art pieces for “For The Birds”. Whenever I have a moment of uncertainty, I have to remind myself of that moment, standing next to the two giant birds, and that if I want something enough I can do it.

At the start of my career, I had a number of jobs as an artist where it became apparent that there was a communication gap between the team and the client. As an artist, we faced daily technical hurdles, which weren't always communicated correctly, putting pressure on unachievable deadlines. I decided I wanted to bridge that gap and use the knowledge I'd learned while being an artist and move into production, where I was able to articulate at a client level, the issues at hand, yet empathize and solve daily problems with the team on the ground. It was a great position to be in, and I loved that I had the ability to move between two groups of people.

What's the biggest lesson you learned in your career? (Apart from following your own conviction!)

Follow your gut, but also be kind and empathetic. The world is a small place and you have no idea where your paths are going to cross with people you’ve worked with in the past. It doesn't matter who you're working with, what age you are, or where you are in the world, if you're kind and empathetic, you will go a long way.

What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re not working?

I'm an adrenaline junkie and I cannot get enough of skiing or throwing myself over jumps cross-country on a horse. Both of those things have me grinning from ear to ear, and I'm happiest when I'm going fast and just out in the open.

What’s your proudest moment whilst working at Magnopus?

The first thing has been being part of the transition from REWIND (Now Magnopus UK) from being a 2/3-person operation to being a part of this global Magnopus team. It’s been amazing to see the journey we have all been on.

The second thing that sticks out in my mind is when a local school got in touch with us about a 13-year-old boy who had various learning difficulties and autism, and he was having a really rough time. His family situation was difficult and was about to fall off the bandwagon and quit school. The school asked if they could bring him in to see the studio to see if it would inspire him. Of course, we said yes. When I first met him he wouldn't shake my hand and told his carer he didn’t want to be in an office because they were boring and everyone wore suits! Now, anyone that knows the gaming or creative industries, knows that we are far from boring. We certainly don't wear suits!

After walking around and meeting the team, seeing their animated models, game engines, etc., the boy didn’t engage with what he was seeing, but we said nevermind, let’s power on.

I then introduced him to our effects artist and explained to the boy that this person made explosions for a living - his eyes lit up. He beamed from ear to ear, I looked at his carer and when she looked at me she had tears in her eyes. It was so pivotal. I then showed him our server room, with racks upon racks of flashing lights and noises. Again, his face lit up.

Finally, we put him through our space VR project, BBC Home where he got to walk through space and engage in a VR world. When he took the headset off he said “That's what I want to do.” It was his ‘For The Birds’ moment.

We said you need to have your GCSE’s in Maths, English, and Science and a degree in something. Once you've done those things, come back to us and we’ll put you through some work experience. We later heard from teachers that he had passed his exams in all of those subjects, and was off to pursue computer science A-levels.

It was one of those moments where I looked around at the team, and not only were they passionate about what they do, but they were invested in inspiring the younger generation. It was a very proud moment.

Meet the Magnopians: Kate Ellis