Kara Porter ’20 is creating magic in the film industry – literally. Porter, a technical director at Mikros Animation, was recently part of the animation team for “Thelma the Unicorn,” a new musical adventure comedy film on Netflix.
“As a technical director, I help develop software and tools the artists then use to animate and create the movie,” Porter explains. “When a scene or a tool is not working correctly, we are tasked with finding the issue and fixing it.”
Porter, who is originally from Holly Springs, North Carolina, received a bachelor’s degree from Wofford College in computer science and studio art. She discovered her interest in animation during her senior year.
“I took a class called New Media and began seriously considering a master’s program for digital production arts,” Porter adds. “It combined my two fields of study and really seemed like a career I could see myself in.”
During the creation of the film, Porter lived and worked in Montreal, Canada, with part of the animation team, while the other part of the team worked in Bangalore, India.
“As a studio, we work closely with teams in Paris and Bangalore, and we have people from all over the world,” Porter shares. “It has been great working in a cross-cultural environment. Everyone brings a new perspective.”
Now 18 months into her role at Mikros Animation, Porter looks forward to her next film project, where she will continue to use the programming skills she gained at Wofford.
“I couldn’t be more grateful to my professors in both departments for taking the time to get to know me,” she says. “Their encouragement and teaching prepared me perfectly to be part of this industry.”