INsight'26: Our Key Takeaways

Missed INsight'26? We've rounded up the key takeaways from UK Screen Alliance's Post-Production and VFX Business Conference, from AI and security to sustainability and the value of post expertise.
Oct 25 / Post Super
Earlier this month, UK Screen Alliance brought the industry together for INsight'26, its Post-Production and VFX Business Conference, and our very own Gemma and Jess were in the room to soak it all up. 

It was a real treat to see so many friends of Post Super on stage. A huge congratulations to Neil Hatton and the whole UK Screen Alliance team on a brilliant event. It was lovely to see Chuck Parker, CEO of our sponsors Sohonet, open the day with the first keynote, and Rowan Bray of Clear Cut Pictures bring everything together at the close.

Here are our key takeaways from the day 👇

1. Your expertise is the value, not the price tag

This message ran through the whole day, from the first keynote to the final session.

Opening INsight'26, Chuck Parker of Sohonet talked about the big forces changing our industry: new business models, new workflows, AI and international competition. His advice was clear. Routine tasks that are easy to automate will come under price pressure, while work that needs judgement and specialist expertise is much harder to replace.

Rowan Bray, MD of Clear Cut Pictures and Chair of the UK Screen Alliance Facilities Council, closed the day alongside Neil Hatton and Gareth Kirkman of the British Film Commission. They agreed the UK should be seen as a premium offer, not a cheap one. US executives on a recent UK facility tour were most impressed by creativity, talent and efficiency, rather than cost.

The panel shared a few ideas to help the industry shift the conversation from price to expertise:

• Update production budgeting software, so new costs like AI, security and sustainability are included from day one
• Create a shared UK Screen quote template, so facilities aren't picked off one by one
• Work together with production teams and broadcasters, and help them understand what the post process really involves

For anyone setting or defending a post budget, being able to explain where the value really sits (the people, the experience, the problem-solving) has never been more important.

2. More work, but leaner teams

Dustin Chodorowicz of Nordicity shared new research for UK Screen Alliance and the BFI. The picture is mixed:

• Around 85% of companies surveyed saw VFX revenue rise in the first half of 2026, mostly from feature films.
• But around three-quarters reduced their overall headcount
• Nearly 42% cut full-time staff

Dustin was clear that the data doesn't prove AI is behind these cuts. Other business pressures could be playing a part.

In the panel that followed, the speakers were broadly positive about the UK. They pointed to our talent pool, production heritage and stable tax relief as reasons clients keep coming back. They put the recent slowdown down mainly to streamers pulling back after the 2022 content boom. Chuck also encouraged the industry to talk directly with the studios and streamers making the spending decisions.

In practice, that means crews may be smaller and stretched further. A good grasp of UK tax relief, like the AudioVisual Expenditure Credit (AVEC), can also make budget conversations with productions much smarter. 

3. AI is already showing up in post admin

Kathryn Webb of AIMICI chaired a refreshingly practical panel with Steve MacPherson (Milk VFX), Andy McNamara (Outpost VFX), Saint John Walker (University of Hertfordshire) and William Bartlett (Framestore).

The headline? AI is powerful, but the hype is ahead of reality. Right now it's mostly speeding up existing tasks, not replacing whole workflows. Interestingly, some of the most useful changes are happening on the admin side:

• Day-to-day admin: AI is already helping with dailies notes, script breakdowns, bidding and scheduling complex dependencies.
• Budgeting is tricky: there's very little data to cost AI as a line item yet, and token pricing can change quickly.
• Clients are asking: "What's the AI option?" is now a common question, and the panel urged honesty about where the real savings are.
• Transparency comes first: Framestore shared a tiered approach, where anything outside trusted, secure tools needs the client's explicit sign-off.
• Entry-level roles: the panel flagged concern for junior roles, traditionally where newcomers learn and prove themselves. 

As clients ask more questions, whoever manages post will increasingly be the one explaining AI options, building them into schedules and budgets, and making sure the right approvals are in place.

4. Content security is everyone's job

Terri Davies, President of the Trusted Partner Network (TPN), introduced the free Fix It or Risk It campaign. Shobha Conway of Union VFX then chatted with Toby Clowes, Head of Cyber at Tysers.
The numbers were a real wake-up call. Across more than 1,000 TPN vendor assessments, there were gaps in 46% of key security areas, and 70% of those gaps were never fixed. Toby also reported a 30% rise in cyber incidents compared with last year.

The good news is that lots of the fixes are quick and low-cost:
• Turn on multi-factor authentication
• Stop sharing accounts and passwords
• Keep software up to date
• Review who has access to what, regularly
• Know your vendors and subcontractors, and who to call if something goes wrong

Neil Hatton also reminded the room that a leak on a sensitive production can put people's safety at risk, not just the content.

With so many vendors, file transfers and logins involved in a single project, good security habits protect clients, crews and reputations alike. The Fix It or Risk It resources are free and open to anyone working with content.

5. Greener post starts with your decisions

Charly Conquest of Sky chaired a panel with Alethea Lindsay (Cut the Carbon), Will Foxall (Films at 59) and Jonathan Harris (Dupe VFX).

Post doesn't yet have a reliable way to measure its carbon footprint, and the panel is working to change that. But plenty of the quick wins they shared come down to everyday planning choices:

• Storage: move rushes off media servers to LTO once a project wraps, or charge to keep them there
• Shooting format: talk to productions early about whether they really need 4K when delivery is HD
• Remote sessions: a 2025 study found a remote session into a hybrid edit suite made up 23% of a full editing day's emissions, largely from duplicated kit
• Switch things off: Dupe discovered most of its render farm energy came from machines simply being left on

This is becoming a commercial must-have too. UK commissioners have committed to decarbonising their supply chains, and already ask suppliers with over £5 million of work to report their emissions.
Storage, delivery specs and remote workflows are often decided early in a project, so a few early conversations can save both energy and money.

The big picture…

Across every session, a few clear themes came through:

• The value of post lies in expertise, not just cost
• AI, security and sustainability now need a place in budgets and schedules from the start
• Tax relief and wider industry shifts are shaping where the work flows

Perhaps the most heartening moment came at the close. Gareth Kirkman described the UK post community as genuinely collegiate, where competitors still support each other, and clients notice. That's a sentiment we couldn't agree with more. 💙

A huge thank you to UK Screen Alliance for bringing the industry together and sharing such valuable insight. For anyone who couldn't make it, we hope these takeaways give you a taste of the day. We can't wait to see what next year brings!