London, September 15th, 2026 – Starting Pixel Live, the annual gathering for the virtual production industry, has announced an expanded programme for its 2026 event, taking place on October 14th at Rich Mix in East London.
Starting Pixel Live has announced it is returning to London with an expanded programme to explore the impact of AI on virtual production under the theme, The Human in the Loop.
The community conference, now in its fourth year, brings together producers, directors, technologists, creatives, and writers working in film, advertising, immersive content and more.
Featuring a full day’s programme across two stages at Rich Mix in East London, Starting Pixel Live will include talks from producers, directors and virtual production supervisors, as well as a student showcase and demo jam session. The conference will explore the impact of AI on the pipeline, productivity, and creativity of virtual production.
Starting Pixel’s founder, Rob Chandler, said, “For the past three years, I’ve been the one cooling down the AI conversation in the Starting Pixel community, but now I feel it’s the right time to explore. AI is accelerating the technical side of virtual production. Previs that took a week takes an afternoon. Ideas can now get to testing within days. However, AI cannot understand how best to light a volume, or block a scene, or know when a shot’s not working. Creativity and humans are still very much the central part, which forms our theme of The Human in the Loop for this year’s conference.”
Attendees from the 1,200 strong global membership will join others who are curious about emerging production methods, regardless of background or experience. This year, organisers are partnering with Reframe VP, an Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded project at the University of York which co-produces interventions that transform how equality, diversity and inclusion are practiced in the UK’s film and television industry. The team will be joined by Alice Hargraves and Abigail O’Driscoll of SIC, a CIC focusing on increasing accessibility in the workplace.
“We are thrilled to be playing a part in delivering SPL26 and have been welcomed straight into the fold by such a collaborative and positive team,” said Hargraves. “The work Reframe VP has done into such a new and evolving sector is incredibly vital, and we’re excited to put the guidance into practice at SPL26. It’s an opportunity to turn the research into practical changes, while also learning from the community about what greater accessibility can look like in the real world.”
Starting Pixel Live 2026 takes place on October 14th.
