UK Screen Alliance’s inaugural Post-Production and VFX Business Conference, INsight’26, brought together <a href="https://cinemamix360.com/2026/10/26/management-system-in-the-film-industry-to-be-reformed/” title=”Management system in the film industry to be reformed”>industry leaders, economists, technologists and educators at Soho’s Courthouse Hotel in October to examine the realities behind the headlines facing the UK’s post-production and VFX sector. Designed to give businesses the data and intelligence to make better- informed decisions, INsight’26 was supported by AIMICI, Cirkus, farmerswife, Sohonet, and Tysers whose expertise and services work to resolve many of the operational, technological and business challenges facing today’s post-production and VFX companies.
Keynotes: an industry in transition
Chuck Parker, CEO of Sohonet, opened the conference by outlining four interconnected forces reshaping the sector: changing film and television business models as content moves towards streaming and advertising-supported platforms; evolving production workflows driven by remote working and advances in computing; the rapid development of AI; and international competition for production investment, including potential US Federal incentives.
He argued that routine, easily automated tasks will face growing price pressure, while work requiring creative judgement and specialist expertise is harder to commoditise. Drawing on Jevons’ paradox, he suggested that cheaper technology could increase demand and creative ambition rather than simply reducing spending.
Dustin Chodorowicz, Partner and Chief Economist at Nordicity, then presented research commissioned by UK Screen Alliance and drawing on data from the British Film Institute. Adjusted for inflation, UK VFX revenue in 2024 was estimated to be 43% below pre-COVID levels, and early estimates suggested a further fall of around 2% in 2025, with headcount down by nearly 6% year-on-year. Findings for the first half of 2026 were more encouraging, with around 85% of surveyed companies reporting higher VFX revenue, led by feature films, potentially reflecting the introduction of the VFX uplift to the AudioVisual Expenditure Credit introduced on 1 April 2025. However, only around one in five companies grew their workforce, while about three-quarters reduced employment. Chodorowicz stressed that the data could not show AI was responsible, and other factors may also be in play such as very tight budgets. A full report will follow before year end.
Read the full summary of the session here.
Finding the Growth – What is the Data Telling Us?
The first panel of the conference, moderated by Gareth Kirkman of the British Film Commission, explored UK competitiveness and global workforce trends. Joseph Bell’s analysis of the VFX Atlas, which tracks around 150,000 professionals at roughly 2,900 studios, showed global VFX headcount increasing by only about 1.5% over the year. UK headcount was down 1.7% for VFX studios, but up 1.4% once animation studios were included. Panellists agreed the UK’s long-term, uncapped incentive and deep talent pool keep it highly competitive.
Read the full summary of the session here.
Recognising the Value of Post
A session held under the Chatham House Rule examined how the major line items of a post bid have remained largely unchanged for a generation, even as technology, workflows and creative freedoms have transformed. As AI and automation replace commoditised services, it considered how post companies can refocus their bids on the value they create through creative and production talent.
A proposal to form an experts group drawn from post companies, their clients and other key stakeholders was announced. This group would create a voluntary framework for RFPs, quotes and invoice that better reflects the realities of modern post-production. This initiative is not about setting rates or coordinating commercial pricing. It is intended to create a constructive, industry-led conversation about how post services can be more accurately scoped, described, budgeted and understood, supporting fair competition, efficiency improvements, and innovation. All discussions would operate within strict competition-law compliance guardrails.
Integrating AI – Practicality over Hype
Moderated by Kathryn Webb from AIMICI, panellists from Milk VFX, Outpost VFX, Framestore and the University of Hertfordshire looked beyond the demos to how AI is used day to day. Speakers described gradual integration into established pipelines, with a strong emphasis on transparency with clients, locally hosted tools and protecting entry-level routes into the industry.
The discussion also explored what industry should be telling graduates about the skills and AI literacy they will need to progress in the VFX industry.
Read the full summary of the session here.
Fix it or Risk It! Content Security in the Age of AI
Terri Davies, President of the Trusted Partner Network (TPN), presented the free Fix It or Risk It campaign. TPN’s assessments of more than 1,000 vendors found non- compliance in 46% of key security areas, with 70% of gaps unremediated. Toby Clowes of Tysers reported a 30% year-on-year rise in cyber incidents across his portfolio. Both stressed that simple steps, such as multi-factor authentication, ending shared accounts and keeping software updated, make a real difference, and that duplicated supplier audits need to be reduced.
Read the full summary of the session here.
How Green is Your Facility?
Panellists argued that post-production needs its own method for measuring emissions, as shared servers, storage and networks make allocation difficult and existing industry calculators do not reflect the number of processes involved. A proposed project, Green Leads, being developed by UK Screen Alliance, Sky, Cut the Carbon, and the University of Nottingham in a funding bid to the AHRC, would test a methodology at a pilot group of post houses and produce a free prototype calculator. Ten post houses have already signed expressions of interest to participate.
Read the full summary of the session here.
Postscript: A whistlestop round-up of the Post-Production and VFX Business Conference
INsight’26 closed with a short wrap-up session chaired by Rowan Bray, MD of Clear Cut Pictures and chair of the UK Screen Alliance Facilities Council, with UK Screen Alliance CEO Neil Hatton and Gareth Kirkman, UK Business and Industry Development Manager at the British Film Commission.
The speakers highlighted the strengths of the UK offer: creativity, talent, innovation, a tax credit with no sunset date or budget cap, and a close-knit community. They agreed that reframing the sector’s value around expertise and trust, and modernising how post is budgeted and quoted, will need collective action within competition law.
Read the full summary of the session here.
UK Screen Alliance is now looking ahead to INsight’27
INsight’26 showed how much appetite there is for honest, data-led conversation about the business of post and VFX, and for the discussion to be outcome focused and not just a talking shop. This year we were able to announce several new initiatives, next year we will see how these issues have progressed and what new burning topics have arisen.
-Neil Hatton, CEO of UK Screen Alliance
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AIMICIBritish Film CommissionCirkusClear Cut PicturesfarmerswifeFramestoreGareth KirkmanINsightKathryn WebbMilk VFXNeil HattonOutpost VFXRowan BraySohonetTysersUK Screen Alliance
