As generative AI and industry consolidation reshape visual effects, top studio leaders gathered in VIEW Conference to address the sector’s evolving pipeline and the critical future of artistic talent.
The annual VIEW Conference took place in Turin, Italy, on October 12-16. Serving as a permier international stage where digital artists, students, and studio heads converge, the event offers an unique opportunity to evaluate the vanguard of animation, VFX, and interactive media through high-profile case studies presentations, roundtables, and exclusive workshops.
This year again, The Yard VFX was invited to participate in an executive panel moderated by befores & afters editor Ian Failes, alongside leaders from Sony Pictures Imageworks, ILM, Skydance Animation, Proof Inc, Image Engine, and Opsis Studio. The panel exchanged their points of view on multiple topics including production technologies and AI, new content format, adaptation to new market trends, and the place of the artists. You can find below some key take-aways, also published by Cartoonbrew in a recent article dedicated to the panel.
Key Takeaways From the Executive Panel
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AI as an Accelerator, not a panacea: Studio heads framed generative AI as a gradual tool rather than an outright replacement for traditional pipelines. Leaders warned against viewing AI as a « magic bullet, » noting that creative intent, consistency, and directorial control remain paramount.
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Pipeline innovation and expanding mediums: From Sony Pictures Imageworks expanding its Unreal Engine workflow on Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse to ILM spreading 60% of its workload across immersive experiences, concert installations, and location-based entertainment, studios are exploring new models beyond traditional screen media.
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The artist employment dilemma: Panelists acknowledged the tension between emerging efficiencies and ongoing industry layoffs. Studio executives emphasized the necessity of retraining talent, resisting overspecialization, and building a broad foundation in visual fundamentals.
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The role of Tax Incentives: The discussion highlighted contrasting strategies regarding production hubs—balancing remote global talent models against client obligations tied to territorial tax credits.
The Yard’s perspective: AI cannot compress taste
Laurens Ehrmann, founder and creative director of The Yard VFX, delivered a clear, people-first counterweight to pure technological optimism by positioning talent, not automation, as its foundational asset.
We talk about how AI can compress execution time, but it cannot compress taste. So, we really need our new generation of artists to understand how to judge an image, how to improve it.
Laurens Ehrmann underscored the human differentiator. While AI accelerates execution and tools bridge the gap towards production-ready controllability, an artist’s critical eye and judgment remain irreplaceable. The investment in AI can then be on targeted enhancements and combined with open-source software, it can contribute to the cost-competitiveness.
Dive into the complete executive discussion in the full article on Cartoonbrew here.