Insight '26: The Post and VFX Business Conference

On Thursday the 8^th October we attended Insight '26: The Post and VFX Business Conference. The event was hosted and curated by UK Screen Alliance, the industry advocacy and lobbying organisation which represents the interests of British film and television production and post-production businesses. The event presented a series of discussion sessions intended to address the predominant challenges facing VFX and animation studios today - and hopefully, to find some solutions. Before we go any further, it should be said that Escape is a big fan of UK Screen Alliance. Their advocacy work for the UK film and TV industry is commendable, and they've been across everything from Covid-19 safe on-set practices to internationally competitive tax incentives for VFX and Post (more of which later.)  The VFX and Post sector is currently a tough place to be – this piece is no lament, but suffice it to say, this writer cannot recall tougher business conditions than 2024-2026 in a near 20-year career as a technology supplier to this beloved industry. An event tackling these issues head-on is, if nothing else, timely.

Comprising a sequence of presentations and panel discussions, the content surveyed industry data research and changing business models, stress-tested against the opinions of seasoned professionals. Key contributions were felt from Trusted Partner Network, creative sector research strategists Nordicity, and Joseph Bell, author of the VFX Atlas, yet of the eight sessions, three – in particular – deserve unpacking here in more detail.

Keynote: Chuck Parker, CEO, Sohonet

The breadth of Sohonet's business across production and post in both the US and the UK gives Chuck a unique perspective. The question his keynote essentially posed was, if production levels have recovered, post strikes to near 2022 peak levels (which the data tells us they have), why can't you see that on your bottom line? His answer? That there are three disruptive industry transitions operating at cross-purposes and on different timelines. Top of the pyramid is the industry business model; Netflix, the other streamers. This moves on a multi-year cycle and businesses operating lower down in the supply chain can't affect it – it's notable that all streamers finally entered profit on their platforms this year for the first time. With that, their profit was a consequence of advertising models, not content return. There is huge (ad) money being made from video, it just isn't in the places the legacy production model expects it to be – it's on socials. Alongside this, the production cycle is moving in roughly 18-month cycle, changing faster than suppliers can amortise their investment capital in facilities. Finally, the underlying tools are developing on a shorter timeline and blurring the boundary between supplier and customer all of which points to the fact that whilst production volume returned, legacy business models changed underneath it (the following session, Recognising the Value of Post set out a solution to this.) Chuck also spoke with authority about the forthcoming California audio-visual expenditure credit (AVEC - likely to be heard in congress during the lame duck sessions in mid-November) and its possible impact on the global distribution of post and VFX work (a fairly large topic in its own right, and one we'll publish a specific piece on in due course.)

This was a genuinely insightful keynote and set the stall for the day. It relied in no small part on the Boston Consulting Group's (BCG) October report titled 'Media's New Fight for Eyeballs, Profit and Control' - essential reading for anybody with a serious interest in this topic.  

Also recommended is Chuck's own substack, Storytellers and Silicon, which provides a more in-depth narrative of the topics above than I'm able to provide here.

Recognising the Value of Post

This session is a bit tricky to write about, not because it's complex – it is – but because at the outset of the session, UK Screen Alliance chair Neil Hatton requested this session be subject to Chatham House Rules. For those unacquainted with the 1927 protocol enshrined by the Royal Institute of International affairs, it is intended to encourage free and unencumbered debate, potentially on sensitive topics. It's not a total embargo – you can repeat what was said, but not who said it, nor their affiliations. On which basis, let us simply say that this session was a dialogue between a major streaming studio's head of post-production, and two senior post-producers from leading facilities. The central theme of this talk was to redefine the value of post-production's craft amid the increasing control exerted over the cost model by the streamers. If distilled, post brings craft talent and a purpose-built facility, running the conform, workflow and assets to a finish, on schedule. Within that, there were many processes and services delivered by a post house that didn't appear as a line item on an invoice. With the unabated adoption of the cloud, major streamers are mandating that suppliers operate within their content production 'hubs' and in doing so, are reaching further into their suppliers' pockets. So, how do you unbundle post's craft from the facility, or the technology? If Post is to be uncoupled from the facility and the technology, then the value of the craft itself must be reasserted and bid and billed as such. In the same week that this session took place, Thomas Urbye, senior colourist and founder of post-production facility The Look posted this video on LinkedIn, positing many of these ideas.

Integrating AI: Practicality over Hype

Steve MacPherson – Milk VFX

William Bartlett – Framestore

Andy McNamara – Outpost VFX

Saint John Walker – University of Hertfordshire

Any proper assessment of the challenges VFX and post are facing had to include AI, and the subject was approached by a shrewd panel of industry experts with evolving experiences with the technology. It's worth noting here that Framestore is a substantially larger company than Milk or Outpost, and that it produces content for film, TV, advertising, immersive and experiential platforms. As such, it has large resources, can develop its own AI tools and LLMs and is using them much more widely than others. Both Steve MacPherson and Andy McNamara spoke about the current lack of pixel control and lack of reliability for final output, with Saint Walker detailing the very real challenges of trying to teach relevant industry skills to students. In response to a question about risk Steve spoke eloquently about the financial risk, commenting sagely that AI technology has been propped up by venture capital like no commodity in history, and therefore the true cost of the technology is, as-yet, unknown, with studios likely to become increasingly dependent on it.

In summary, Insight '26 provided exactly that. It was truly valuable to understand our customer's concerns, and to hear so much expert commentary on interesting and relevant industry topics. Thank you to UK Screen Alliance for having us (though we did pay to attend!) and for putting together such a topical agenda. We are lucky to have them, and to have such a close community of VFX and post-production professionals in the UK.

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