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📌 10:00 | König-Karl-Halle 💬 Paul Cameron

In a conversation with Jordan Thistlewood (Cooke optics), cinematographer Paul Cameron will take a journey through the evolving relationship between cinematography and visual effects, as he reflects on his career and creative process. From on-set collaboration to post-production, the talk explores how storytelling is shaped in an increasingly VFX-driven landscape.

📌 10:00 | Meidinger-Saal 💬 Larry Cutler

🎬THE ROAD AHEAD:
Why Every Tech Panic Looks the Same (And What Actually Happens Next)
Larry Cutler has watched the animation industry freak out over "killing jobs" technology several times with real-time rendering, procedural tools, motion capture. Every single time, the predictions were wrong. Now everyone's losing their minds over AI, and Larry will break down why these panics follow such a predictable script, what we're consistently wrong about, and what the pattern reveals about where things are actually headed.

📌 11:15 | König-Karl-Halle 💬 Laurens Ehrmann & Dominik Zimmerle

🎬VFX FOR FEATURES:
The Predator from Yautja—Made in Europe

In this joint FMX presentation, VFX supervisors from The Yard VFX and TRIXTER reveal the European VFX expertise behind "Predator: Badlands". Built on shared assets and constant creative exchange, the film's VFX production thrived on cross-studio collaboration, which strengthened both craft and storytelling.

📌 12:30 | König-Karl-Halle 💬 Dave Alex Riddett

🎬 CINEMATOGRAPHY:
WORK AARD PLAY AARD

Award-winning Cinematographer Dave Alex Riddett BSC will take the audience behind the scenes of 40 years cinematography at Aardman Animation, revealing the practical skills and intricate understanding that a Cinematographer requires to bring magic to the world of Stop Frame Storytelling.

📌 12:30 | Turm Aalen 💬 Panel Discussion

🎬 EDUCATION TODAY & TOMORROW:
What the Studios Say: Using AI on your Reel

As Generative AI marches on, what do recruiters want, are there specific roles and opportunities opening up, or are companies preferring pure craft skills, wanting AI restricted to early ideas and pre-vis? How do companies want schools and universities to prepare for the future? Is there an emerging consensus about how new students should deal with AI tools? Let's ask a group of educators and recruiters!

📌 12:30 | Raum Reutlingen 💬 Amir Ashkezari & Jan Hofmann

🎬 FEATURE ANIMATION:
A Procedural Real-Time Pipeline for "The Last Whale Singer"
How do you build a labyrinth from a million pieces of floating garbage while keeping two studios on opposite ends of Europe in sync? Telescope Animation and PFX break down the procedural pipeline behind Trash Island: Houdini-generated assets flowing via USD into both real-time Unreal and traditional 3ds Max/V-Ray workflows, connected by custom tools that made daily cross-pipeline collaboration possible.

📌 14:30 | Raum Reutlingen 💬 Victor Perez

🎬 CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Capturing Cinema Lens for VFX
Photorealism in visual effects does not emerge from perfect imagery, but from the subtle imperfections of real lenses. In this presentation, VFX Supervisor Victor Perez explores how the characteristics of lenses can be analysed, measured, and reconstructed inside VFX pipelines to seamlessly integrate CGI with live-action photography.

📌 15:45 | König-Karl-Halle 💬 Stuart Penn

🎬VFX FOR FEATURES:

"Project Hail Mary"

The VFX for "Project Hail Mary" were grounded in practical production. Virtual production was a valuable tool for planning the shoot. We will explore how Rocky was brought to life, seamlessly integrating with the practical puppet and the challenge of maintaining the presence of glass between Rocky and Grace. Zero G sequences required reconstructing sets and costumes to remove rigs, while maximising the retention of actor performance.

📌 18:15 | Meidinger-Saal 💬 Panel Discussion

🎬 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The End of the Beginning: AI and the Next Act for VFX

This panel will bring together three experts to explore not just what AI can do, but how we keep the human artist in the loop. Ben Grossmann (CEO, Magnopus), Mohsen Mousavi (Head of Visual Pioneering, Eyeline), and Juan Salazar (Creative Director, Foundry) will go into the debate with Mike Seymour (Co-Founder, FXGuide), focussing on how artists, supervisors and technologists can combine emerging AI systems with traditional VFX craft, rather than viewing them as opposing forces.

 
📌 18:15 | König-Karl-Halle 💬 Roland Emmerich & Ian Failes

🎬 THEN & NOW:
30 years of "Independence Day"

Roland Emmerich returns to his home town Stuttgart to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his blockbuster hit "Independence Day". The movie received the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, set a new benchmark for disaster spectacle and influenced countless effects-driven films that followed. In this keynote session at FMX with befores & afters journalist Ian Failes, Emmerich will reflect on his own career in filmmaking and share untold stories from the making of "Independence Day".