The panel was hosted by Ben Barnard of AVIXA and included: 

• Sarah Cox, Chief Commercial Officer at Stage Precision, where she is leading the charge in bringing SP Grid, a powerful low-code control platform, to a broader audience across live events, broadcast, and experiential AV 

• Adam Young, co-founder of Fray Studio, creating visuals for a wide variety of artists such as Glass Animals, Lewis Capaldi, Coldplay, Sam Fender, Foals, Mark Ronson, Years & Years, Liam Gallagher, and J Balvin (Fortnite) 

• Florian Gallier, strategic partnerships manager at Mo-Sys, one of the leading innovators in VP technology. He is a previous speaker at TEDx, BSC, RTS, Cannes and Production Forum in Paris, and a recipient of a Royal Television Society award nomination  

• Marcus Saunders, Associate Director, Technical Resource & Learning Environments, London College of Fashion 

From film sets to festivals: VP’s expanding role 

While VP is often associated with LED volumes and in-camera VFX for film and TV, the panellists emphasised its growing relevance in live events. Sarah Cox highlighted how augmented reality (AR) graphics are now integral to audience engagement at major festivals and sports events. “We’ve got this whole new graphics layer we can explore in live, for-the-eyes experiences,” she said. “But we don’t talk about it enough because we still focus on the lens.” 

Adam Young shared a unique application: training classical musicians using virtual audiences. “Tutors can dial up or down the audience’s reactions, from standing ovations to boos, to help performers adapt to real-world scenarios,” he explained. “It’s a different way of using the same techniques for a different purpose.” 

Marcus Saunders stressed the importance of putting VP tools into the hands of students and creatives. “Handing the toolset into university spaces unlocks lots of experimentation,” he said. “You’ll start to see an explosion of new workflows and experiences.” 

Generalist vs specialist: the T-shaped technician  

Sarah added: “Immersive technology is the new layer on top of AVL. It includes sensor tech, real-time engines – it doesn’t fit neatly into audio, video, or lighting. That’s why generalists are so valuable.” 

The panel agreed that the ideal VP practitioner is “T-shaped”, someone with deep expertise in one area and broad knowledge across others. “You can make something beautiful that runs terribly,” Adam noted. “So everyone working with us has to understand both the creative and technical sides.” 

Marcus echoed this: “We think roughly 20% of your time should be spent tinkering and absorbing new subject matter. VP moves at an extraordinary pace.” 

Costs, creativity and collaboration 

Despite perceptions of VP being expensive, the panellists argued it can be cost-effective when used strategically. Florian Gallier shared a case study: “We co-produced a 55-minute TV pilot with seven virtual locations, 500 shots, and a nine-person crew – all filmed in a small London studio. It was impossible with traditional methods.” 

Sarah cautioned that poor planning can inflate costs: “VP can be incredibly efficient, but if it’s not scheduled well, it becomes a costly line item.” 

As VP tools become more accessible, the panellists emphasised the need for collaboration between creatives, technicians, educators, and producers. “It’s not just about knowing what’s possible,” said Florian. “It’s about inventing what’s possible.” 

The AVIXA panel made one thing clear: virtual production is no longer just a tool –it’s a mindset. And as it continues to transform spaces, it’s also transforming the way we create, teach, and experience the world around us. 

Stay informed! 

ISE is the world-renowned annual tech show for the AV and systems integration industry, taking place in Barcelona, 3-6 February 2026. For more updates on virtual production and other aspects of broadcast AV, and to discover more about ISE 2026 as details are released, sign up for updates. 

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