Our production team in Ukraine during the war: collaboration, responsibility and resilience

When we started building a 3D visualisation network in Ukraine back in 2008, I had no way of knowing how closely tied I would eventually become to the people behind our production.

It began as a professional collaboration: teams in Kharkiv and Odessa who delivered precise, reliable, high-quality work - every single time. Over the years it grew into something more: relationships, trust and a working culture that bound us together across borders.

Then came the morning of 24 February 2022.

1. Kharkiv: Evacuated in minutes

Kharkiv was attacked early in the morning on 24 February 2022. Our team was in the middle of the city when the strikes began. They had to leave their homes quickly - so quickly that bringing file servers, machines or work hardware was out of the question. Everything was about getting to safety.

We have not heard from one member of the team since. Another eventually managed to settle in the Czech Republic. The rest moved on with whatever they had left after fleeing.

Our work carried on, but always with a clear understanding that work is one small part of life when everything around you is unpredictable.

2. Odessa: Safe at first – then daily attacks

We have also had two production teams in Odessa since 2009. When the war broke out, they felt safer there, further from the front lines. As the war went on, the air strikes became more frequent in Odessa too. The teams moved north along the border with Moldova and all the way up to Lviv before eventually returning to the city after a while.

They live with daily attacks and constant readiness. One of the things they describe as most unsettling is the thought of landing craft one day appearing on the horizon. The go-bag stays ready by the door.

3. Production teams in Ukraine - backup plans, battery banks and daily contact

To ensure stable production, we have invested in battery banks that provide around eight hours of extra power during outages. It is not a complete solution - but it gives predictability, both for the teams and for the production.

We are in daily contact with our production teams in Ukraine. Not just about projects, but about how they are doing. One example that left a strong impression was when Andrey lost his dog after it had ingested something on the beach. The dog was the only thing he had left at home; his family had fled to Spain long ago. Conversations like that leave their mark.

4. Teams in Ukraine – and experience from other parts of the world

Our Ukraine teams are among the strongest we have. They combine technical precision, an eye for aesthetics and a cultural work ethic at a level that is hard to replace.

We also have solid partnerships in:

• Mexico: Skilled professionals we have worked with for roughly ten years. They deliver strong results, but the time difference calls for structure to avoid long working days.
• China: A specialised team in Wuhan that is very strong in animation and technical modelling. They have contributed to demanding projects for over a decade, such as the Raft Suppression project.

Together, this makes up a global production network built on long-standing relationships - not short-term contracts.

5. For us, this is about more than production

I feel a responsibility to look after the teams in Ukraine as people, not just as resources. The fact that they are able to deliver high-quality work under conditions that are indescribably demanding commands enormous respect.

This is an important part of Maestromedia's story. Visualisation is not just about technology, 3D models or tools. It is about people, expertise and mutual trust built up over many years.

The experience from Ukraine, and from our global collaboration in general, has shaped us as a company:

• It has taught us to build robust production pipelines.
• It has given us redundancy and multiple centres of expertise, so that projects can always be delivered.
• It has made us more conscious of quality, security and continuity.
• And most importantly: it has taught us that sustainability in production is first and foremost human, not technical.

This is why Maestromedia can deliver with stability, flexibility and precision, even when the world is unpredictable.

That is how we work, and that is how we build trust.

(This post was written by Stian Andreassen. SEO formatting adapted by AI.)

• Home
• Industry
• Gallery
• Contact
• Blog