[Matt Hallock]

It's possible to make a very good animation in 3DS MAX, but it's impossible to create your own diffuse maps in the program (I'm talking unique textures, not just bump maps or masks) It's expected you use other programs for sound editing, compiling things together and such. 3DS MAX is a bit rigid in the departments outside of just the base animation. With video post you can add multiple camera sections, sound, etc., but it is still much easier to do it in other programs with roughly the same outcome.

Some people have chosen to use different rendering methods this year, and even different programs. I know a couple of teams or atleast one who used Vray, Brazil, Mental Ray (although now integrated), some teams decided to use Maya, Lightwave, and Blender for modeling.