Brad Bird, Roger Deakins and the teams behind “Toy Story 5,” “Spider-Man: A Brand New Day” and “Project Hail Mary” are heading to Turin next week for the 27th Video Conference, where artificial intelligence, animation and visual effects economics will dominate the agenda.
Four of the films premiering at the event, held Oct. 12-16 — “Spider-Man: All New Day,” “Odyssey,” “Toy Story 5” and “Project Hail Mary” — have collectively grossed more than $6 billion worldwide this year. These sessions feature a lineup that includes senior executives from Pixar, DreamWorks, Sony Pictures Animation, Disney Animation and Aardman, as well as Industrial Light & Magic, Sony Pictures Imageworks and Skydance Animation.
The meeting comes as animation and visual effects companies weather pressure on production economics, global competition and investment in artificial intelligence. Over five days, the View’s filmmaking presentations and management discussions offer different perspectives on how these pressures are reshaping production.
Five developments to watch:
Animation’s Franchises and Original Ambitions
Brad Bird returns to Turin with the long-running animated sci-fi noir “Ray Gunn,” in a program that brings original projects into dialogue with some of Hollywood’s most established productions.
Pixar presents “Toy Story 5” and “Hoppers” while DreamWorks directors Joel Crawford and Januel P. Mercado discuss “The Forgotten Island.” Sony Pictures Animation brings “GOAT” and Disney Animation producer Yvett Merino presents “Hexed.” Aardman’s Merlin Crossingham discusses stop-motion filmmaking.
Bird’s project offers a different timescale from the industry’s emphasis on faster production. Developed after decades of shifts in financing, studio ownership and technology, “Ray Gunn” offers an opportunity to examine how an original animated feature maintains its creative identity over a long development process.
Studio Leaders Confront the Business
The executive program can offer the clearest view of the decisions that shape where and how movies are made.
Michelle Grady, president of Sony Pictures Imageworks; Holly Edwards, president of Skydance Animation; and Janet Lewin, senior vice president, general manager and president of ILM, join Cinesite Group VFX COO Shawn Walsh and other senior figures in Industry Executives Shaping the Future of Cinema.
At last year’s View, Tippett Studio CEO Gary Mundell described AI as a tool to speed up production and said the challenge is to ensure AI serves the studio’s goals. The question for this year’s executive panel may be how such goals translate into investment, staffing and sustainable business decisions.
Their companies operate in different parts of the production business but face overlapping questions: How to manage capacity, how to retain experienced artists, how to stay internationally competitive, and how to capitalize on investments in new tools while maintaining margins.
These decisions have consequences beyond individual productions. They influence where work gets assigned, what skills companies hire, and how much scope filmmakers have to develop increasingly complex visual effects and animation within a fixed budget.
Among the Important Productions of the Year
Presentations on “Spider-Man: All-New Day,” “Odyssey,” “Project Hail Mary,” “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” Steven Spielberg’s “Day of Disclosure” and “The Mandalorian & Grogu” move the discussion from corporate strategy to peak production practice.
Each of the sessions deepens with an hour on stage; with the participation of his friends. The quality is high; It often takes into account how shots were developed, what elements were achieved in practice, what was pushed into post-production, and how teams coordinated work.
These sessions also provide a useful counterpoint to claims that filmmaking is moving towards a single production model. Large-scale features continue to utilize combinations of physical structure, photography, animation and simulation, with the balance determined by the needs of each sequence.
Artificial Intelligence Enters the Manufacturing Discussion
VIEW CEO and general manager Dr. “AI VIEW Conference will be the most discussed topic in 2026,” said Maria Elena Gutierrez. Diversity.
Runway co-founder and CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela and Nvidia VP of global media and entertainment Richard Kerris headline panel Every Pixel Will Be Created. Other sessions explore AI-specific production and varying entry points into animation and VFX.
The business question for studios and suppliers extends beyond what productive systems can produce. What matters is whether these outputs can be controlled and integrated into a production line reliably enough to generate savings, and how companies deal with the ethical questions these savings raise.
This brings the technology discussion back to familiar concerns about creative authority, staffing, scheduling, and accountability.
Cinematography Shuts Down the Conversation
Friday’s program brings together various themes of the week. “Toy Story 5” shares the day with presentations on Every Pixel Will Be Rendered, “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and “The Hail Mary Project” and Aardman’s stop-motion filmmaking.
Two-time Oscar winners Roger Deakins and James Ellis Deakins then close the conference with a session on cinematography.
After all the discussion about what machines can do and what companies can afford, the conference will end with two people thinking about what an image means. This is an appropriate conclusion. Because the industry’s problems are not just about invention or economics; They are about the relationship between the tools at our disposal and the stories we humans want to tell.