Main Stage & Presentations

Day One

  • Jules Urbach shares his vision for the future of art, media, and technology, with a deep dive on the latest advances powering the next era of content creation. The keynote dives into what’s changed for artists and software developers in the last 12 months, and the 12-month roadmap for Render Network and its growing partner ecosystem of novel tools and workflows. 

    Jules is joined by Ari Emanuel to discuss how IP, media and entertainment and society at large are being impacted by AI’s exponential advances — and the opportunities and pitfalls emerging for creators, studios and tech companies across the industry.

    Speakers:

    • Jules Urbach - CEO of OTOY & Founder of Render Network

    • Ariel Emanuel - Executive Chairman, WME Group

  • Richard Kerris (NIVIDA) and director Fede Alvarez (Alien: Romulus) discuss how rapid advancements in neural rendering are empowering filmmakers and creators — from Hollywood tentpoles to solo artist productions — with new tools for concept art, pre-viz, post production and VFX. 

    Speakers:

    • Richard Kerris, VPGM of Media and Entertainment, NVIDIA

    • Fede Alvarez, Director/Writer/Producer (Alien: Romulus)

    • Moderated by Jules Urbach

  • Francesco Siddi will walk us through his own experience coming up through the Blender community and will share how anyone with ambition and vision can build a public, community-centric project.

    Speakers:

    • Francesco Siddi - CEO and Chairman, Blender Foundation

  • For decades, Alex Ross has redefined comic art through masterful gouache and wash paintings, bringing iconic characters from Marvel and DC into a grounded, deeply human realism.

    As tech and advanced digital pipelines reshape visual culture and storytelling, this conversation will center around authorship, creative intent, and what it means to preserve the soul of human art in the modern media landscape.

    Speakers:

    • Alex Ross - World-Renowned Comic Book Artist (DC & Marvel Comics)

    • Moderated by Jules Urbach

  • Peter Diamandis, Rod Roddenberry and Jules Urbach will join forces to discuss their collective vision for a better tomorrow, inspired by the vision of Gene Roddenberry. Peter and Rod will share their plans for democratizing Sci-Fi storytelling through initiatives like  the recently announced Vision X-Prize.

    Panelists:

    • Rod Roddenberry - Executive Producer, Star Trek TV & Films (Paramount+)

    • Peter Diamandis - Founder and Executive Chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation

    • Moderated by Jules Urbach

  • The very latest frontier video models are now empowering artists to create production ready VFX shots in ways never before possible — and these tools are improving exponentially month to month at dizzying speed. The panel will look at examples of recent work done this year by solo artists and map the short and mid term roadmap this emerging tech will have on  production, post-VFX, and small studio content creation.

    Speakers:

    • Zheru Liu - Senior Manager of Global Partnerships and Communications, Kling AI

    • Deren Ney - Writer and Director, Beggar's Canyon

    • Moderated by Jules Urbach

  • As video generation moves closer to real time, a bigger shift is coming into view: AI systems that don’t just generate clips, but begin to understand, simulate, and persist coherent worlds.

    This session explores what world models could mean for artists, filmmakers, and creative technologists as the latest frontier models converge with traditional 3D rendering through improvements to scene memory, consistency, and interactive creation.

    Speakers:

    • Daniel Berkovitz - Chief Product Officer, LTX

    • Moderated by Jules Urbach

  • Refik Anadol, Internationally Renowned Media Artist & Director, explores how data, machine intelligence, and human imagination are converging to expand the boundaries of contemporary art. From immersive environments to large-scale public works, his practice offers a vision for how emerging technologies are reshaping creative expression and our relationship to the world around us.

    Speakers:

    • Refik Anadol - Internationally Renowned Media Artist & Director

  • Over the next period, we will show the physics required to build the Holodeck, and how to build world models that understand physics.

    Speaker:

    • Emad Mostaque, Founder & CEO of Intelligent Internet

  • SUBMERGE: Beyond the Render converges digital art and physical space at architectural scale, with cinematic fidelity.

    This panel brings together artists featured in the SUBMERGE exhibition to discuss how large-scale, immersive works are conceived, produced, and experienced.

    Panelists:

    • David Ariew, Digital Fine Artist

    • Blake Kathryn, Visual Artist

    • Josh Pierce, Visual Artist & Art Director

    • Woosung Kang, Motion Designer & Art Director

    • Moderated by Riki Kim, Executive Creative Director

  • A forward-looking discussion from the Render Network Foundation on what’s coming next. This session connects production feedback, AI demand, and infrastructure priorities to outline where the ecosystem is headed.

    Focus:

    • What’s shipping

    • What priorities changed due to AI demand

    Speakers:

    • Trevor Harries-Jones, Board Member at Render Network Foundation

    • Tristan Relly, Head of Operations at Render Network Foundation

Workshops & Case Studies

Day Two

  • A fast-paced update on what’s shipped across the Render Network ecosystem, what’s actively in development, and what developers can build against today. This session focuses on concrete capabilities, API updates, tooling improvements, and lessons learned from real usage, cutting through roadmaps to show what’s actually usable right now.

    Presenters:

    • Dino Muhic, Director of Product - 3D Rendering, Render Network

    • Danny Newman, Business Development, Dispersed

  • As filmmaking evolves, the most compelling work isn’t defined by whether it’s made with physical craft, digital tools, or generative systems, but by how effectively those tools are used in service of story.

    This conversation brings together leaders working across multiple disciplines within the film industry. From hands-on practical FX & miniatures, to cutting-edge AI and VFX production. We explore how modern creators combine technology, taste, and practical problem-solving to build believable worlds and memorable images.

    Speakers:

    • Mariana Acuna Acosta, VP of Product, Promise AI 

    • Camille Balsamo Gillis, Co-Founder, Pro Machina

  • Real-world case studies from teams building on Dispersed, covering what shipped and what changed once projects met real users and real workloads. Panelists share architectural decisions, unexpected constraints, and how decentralized infrastructure behaves under production pressure.

    Panelists:

    • MHX,  Motion Designer, Director, and Generative Artist

    • Paul Litvak, Founder and Executive Director, Robyn Dawes Institute

    • Hannah Barris, CEO of Omniscient Inc

    • Avia Kraft, CEO of Corpus Park

    • Jon Gutwillig, Manifest Network

    • Moderated by Eric Bravick, CEO and Founder, the Lifted Initiative

  • Gaussian splats are emerging as a powerful new representation for capturing and rendering 3D scenes.

    This session demystifies what they are, how they differ from meshes and NeRFs, and where they fit into modern capture pipelines. Presenters walk through acquisition workflows, performance considerations, and practical use cases in production.

    Panelists:

    • Spenser Dickerson - 3D Artist & Motion Designer at OTOY

    • Andrey Lebrov - Head of CG & VFX Production + Founder of LMI

  • A hands-on walkthrough of modern VFX pipelines using distributed and hybrid compute. This workshop focuses on how assets move from creation through rendering, what to expect when scaling workloads, and how artists and studios can integrate decentralized resources without rearchitecting their entire pipeline

    Presenter:

    • Andrey Lebrov - Head of CG & VFX Production + Founder of LMI

  • Modern 3D animation is rarely a solo endeavor. This workshop deconstructs a professional, multi-artist pipeline from initial motion capture to final frame. Jonathan Winbush demonstrates accessible MoCap data acquisition; EJ Hassenfratz showcases character design and retargeting of Mocap data; and David Brodeur (Brilly) brings it home. Brilly will demonstrate how he utilizes the Render Network to scale his output, followed by using OTOY Canvas to intelligently map his own physical illustrations and hand-drawn textures onto the rendered 3D surfaces. Witness how a fragmented creative process becomes a streamlined, artist-driven production ready for the cloud.

    Presenter:

    • Jonathan Winbush, Winbush Immersive

    • EJ Hassenfratz, School of Motion

    • David Brodeur, Brilly

  • AI and real-time tools are reshaping virtual production, but on LED stages, rendered plates still often deliver the most reliable in-camera results.

    This workshop explores why plate workflows remain essential for photoreal driving and motion-heavy scenes, using real production examples including The Hunting Party. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for evaluating AI, real-time, and plate-based approaches on set.

    Presenters:

    • Alex Pearce - Chief Executive Officer at Sim-Plates

  • AI isn’t here to replace artists it’s changing how we work. This talk looks at how AI is starting to fit into the Blender workflow and what that actually means day to day.

    We’ll cover simple ways it can speed things up, help with the boring stuff, and open up new creative options. The aim is to understand what’s changing, stay in control, and use AI as a tool not something to worry about.

    Presenter:

    • Steven Scott - Digital Artist and Animator

  • Explore the pros and cons of using 2D plates vs. 3D scenes for in-camera VFX with LED walls. OTOY Director of Virtual Production Kellen Malloy shares insights gained from his experience on 147 different LED stage projects. The future looks bright with emerging tools like gaussian splats, AI and improved plate capture workflows.

    Speaker:

    • Kellen Malloy, OTOY Director of Virtual Production

  • As 3D and motion design move from niche craft to core visual language, artists are redefining how brands, culture, and storytelling take shape. This panel brings together leading studios and independent artists working across motion, design, and spatial media to discuss how ideas move from concept to finished work, and how workflows are evolving to meet growing expectations for quality, speed, and originality.
    The conversation focuses on creative decision-making, aesthetic control, and the realities of producing high-end 3D work in commercial and cultural contexts.

    Panelists:

    • Wes Cockx, Creative Director at CREAM3D

    • Barton Damer, Founder & Creative Director at Already Been Chewed

    • Moderated by Matt Milstead, Motion Designer, Creative Director

  • Showcasing immersive work done by Render Network users and how to get the most out of your workflows and how it has accelerated the work these studios can do for large-scale cultural events like the Super Bowl, world-class global concert tours, and more.

    Speakers:

    • Kyle Gordon - Artist & Creative Technologist

    • Moderated by Edgar Irizarry


  • A deep dive panel discussion on the production process for the 765874 series of shorts

    The production team will discuss their tools, technology stack, set and costume designs, and more. 

    Panelists: 

    • Carlos Baena, Director/Writer

    • Mildred Von, Costume Designer

    • Leonidas Jaramillo, Cinematographer

    • Dave Blass, Production Designer

    • Rod Roddenberry, Executive Producer, Star Trek TV & Films (Paramount+)

    • Moderated by Jules Urbach