Starting Pixel Live 26 Partners
Starting Pixel Live 26 Sessions
Welcome
Rob Chandler and Zoltan Batho G open Starting Pixel LIVE! 26 and set the question for the day: where does the human sit in the loop?
Rob Chandler & Zoltan Batho G
Building the tools to make the film: an AI-powered VP pipeline for Cabbi
Joshua Kerr on building his own AI-powered virtual production pipeline for Cabbi, a film shot entirely inside a moving car.
Joshua Kerr
Recreating Madrid at night in Unreal for Netflix's Berlin
Madrid at night, captured as a Gaussian Splat and rebuilt in Unreal as a camera-accurate digital twin for Netflix's Berlin.
Fernando Rivas-Manzaneque
Capturing single-lens 360° for VFX plates, with a daring live demo in Assimilate
Eric Hasso demos single-lens 360° plate capture live in Assimilate: what one lens changes versus stitched rigs, plus new remapping software.
Eric Hasso
Hybrid filmmaking for indie filmmakers: splats, Unreal and physical sets
Estela Oliva on hybrid indie filmmaking: combining Gaussian splatting, Unreal worldbuilding and physical set design to build cinematic worlds on a budget.
Estela Oliva
Student Showcase
Sam Pittman, Mark Nunns
Demo Jam
Iglekott Studios, Zeiss/NCAM, Disguise
Virtual Production & AI: New Tools, New Workflows, New Skills
Dr Jodi Nelson-Tabor explores how AI is influencing virtual production, from ideation and previs through to production and post-production. Drawing for the first time on case study material and insights from MARS Academy’s newly delivered Future Skills: Virtual Production & AI programme, Jodi examines where AI is already delivering efficiencies, where adoption remains exploratory and how these technologies are beginning to influence creative and technical decision-making.
Jodi Nelson-Tabor
New real-time workflows for directors
Chris Bouchard on the real-time toolkit directors can use now: visualisation, LED volumes and AI-assisted workflows, from a working VP supervisor.
Chris Bouchard
The robots might eat us
Ross Floyd cuts through the noise on AI for creatives, with case studies that go well beyond one-click demos.
Ross Floyd
From Svalbard to soundstage: the virtual production workflow on Vigil III
Ben Saffer on turning six days of Svalbard plates into the LED volume that carried half a season of Vigil III.
Ben Saffer
Real-time MetaHumans for live shows and GenAI pipelines
Tim Doubleday drives real-time MetaHumans live in Unreal, then pushes the same performance through GenAI for photoreal characters and worlds.
Tim Doubleday
Virtual production after 300 shoot days: lessons from ICVFX, AI and what comes next
Albert Vidal on 300-plus shoot days of ICVFX, from HERE to Those About to Die, and how AI is reshaping virtual production next.
Albert Vidal
Don't teach the same robot twice
Andy Harris on making AI-built film production tools last: context, token spend and reusability, with a live demo. Don't teach the same robot twice.
Andy Harris
Directing AI: 3D control for virtual production
Tahir Palalı demos Fragments: directing AI imagery with a 3D camera, lighting and layout, from previs to virtual production backplates.
Tahir Palali
Inside the IBC Accelerator: virtual production innovation, live from the hub
Muki Kulhan on the IBC Accelerator virtual production projects: what the industry consortia built this year and what it means for you.
Muki Kulhan
A conversation with light
Light artist Frankie Boyle takes her interactive installation apart, from idea to a live Unity and Unreal build, and runs it in the room.
Frankie Boyle
Optimising Unreal Engine rendering: highest performance at the lowest cost
Jamie Buttenshaw on profiling and configuring Unreal Engine so a VP stage renders more for less, from CoSTAR National Lab testing.
Jamie Buttenshaw
Why the future of creative AI is collaborative
Ed Tracy argues creative AI only becomes a real tool when whole teams, not lone operators, can build on it together.
Ed Tracy
A global community exploring AI and virtual production, location scanning, digital humans real-time technologies to create great storytelling and live content.
Starting Pixel brings together producers, creatives, technologists, studios and educators to share knowledge, experience and ideas — without the noise of marketing.
What Starting Pixel is
A community, not a platform.
Starting Pixel exists to help people working with filmed content understand how real-time, virtual production and emerging technologies are reshaping the industry.
We do this through:
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Open discussion and peer learning
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Carefully curated media and commentary
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Events that prioritise conversation over sales
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Connections across creative, technical and academic disciplines
Who's it for
If you work in, study, teach or build tools for filmed content, Starting Pixel is designed for you.
Our members include:
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Students and early-career creatives
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Producers, directors and department heads
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Virtual production, VFX and real-time specialists
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Independent studios and small teams
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Technology and service providers
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Educators and researchers
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No matter where you sit in the ecosystem, the goal is shared understanding
Social proof
Starting Pixel is a genuinely global community, with members spanning film, TV, advertising, games, live events and education.
Conversations range from practical workflows to long-term industry shifts — always grounded in real experience.
Corporate & Partners
Starting Pixel also works with studios and technology organisations that want meaningful engagement with the community — not traditional sponsorship.
Corporate membership provides structured access for teams, networking opportunities and involvement in selected events and activities.
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