Maya:Secrets of the Pros
Preparation techniques for modeling and animation
Improving motion capture and lip synching
Creating crowd scenes from a small number of base models
Controlling dynamics in plot-driven sequences
Developing massively complex particle systems for film effects, such as those in The Perfect Storm
Modeling subdivision surfaces
Creating a GUI animation set-up for animators
Using effective natural lighting
Writing software for a multi-platform renderfarm
link:
http://www.zoorender.com/html/news_mayapros.htm