When Fox Nation’s Revolutionary War docuseries called for A-list performances in historic American locations, GO delivered the future. Instead of flying talent across the country, GO recreated the Boston Tea Party and Mount Vernon as immersive SCAPEs using LiDAR, NeRF, and photogrammetry. In this panel, we’ll break down how GO brought Rob Lowe to a virtual Boston Harbor and Kelsey Grammer to a digital Mount Vernon—without ever leaving LA. From sustainability and cost-savings to creative flexibility, this is a case study in digital twin production, Autodesk integration, and the new blueprint for high-end, low-impact filmmaking.

This class will present a fast, easy-to-use workflow for creating a dynamic cinematic scene using Maya software (modeling, setup, and animation) and Unreal Engine (layout and rendering). This hands-on class has the indie artist and 3D generalist in mind, instead of big companies with armies of specialized artists. Unreal Engine is widely used in the industry as a powerful, real-time rendering alternative to more-traditional renderers. Unreal Engine is a perfect companion to Maya, letting you achieve high-quality renderers in a fraction of the time needed with other renderers. Nevertheless, Unreal Engine’s integration with Maya can be very confusing for beginners. This class will cut to the chase and show you how to set up your cinematic scene in Maya, and give you best practices to properly export it to Unreal Engine. Then we will show you how to set up everything again inside Unreal Engine, how to lay out your cameras and edit in Unreal Sequencer, how to apply post effects, and, finally, how to export your final cinematic scene.

3D layout is a critical component of the 3D animation production workflow. Working from storyboards, the layout artist builds the first 3D representation of that storyboard in a cinematic form by using the models created by the rest of the crew. The layout artist will set up cameras, and decide which lenses to use, where to position the lights, and how to lay out the 3D environment and props. They will then roughly animate the characters, either manually or with motion capture. The end result is a rough version of the scene that will be passed to the animation department. To be a good layout artist, a person needs to have a very good knowledge of Maya software, as well as a good mastery of cinematography concepts. This presentation will go though some basic concepts of cinematography that every layout artist needs to know. And then it will show how to create a 3D layout scene inside Maya step by step, starting from a 2D storyboard.

In this session, we’ll explore the fundamentals of creating expressive facial animation in Maya software, with a strong focus on design and appeal. From understanding key facial shapes to enhancing emotions with nuanced details, we’ll break down essential techniques that bring characters to life. We’ll also discuss how strong posing, clear silhouettes, and exaggeration contribute to readability and charm, ensuring that every expression feels intentional and engaging. This lecture will provide insights to elevate your facial animation with both technical precision and artistic appeal.

When Fox Nation’s Revolutionary War docuseries called for A-list performances in historic American locations, GO delivered the future. Instead of flying talent across the country, GO recreated the Boston Tea Party and Mount Vernon as immersive SCAPEs using LiDAR, NeRF, and photogrammetry. In this panel, we’ll break down how GO brought Rob Lowe to a virtual Boston Harbor and Kelsey Grammer to a digital Mount Vernon—without ever leaving LA. From Sustainable Design and cost-savings to creative flexibility, this is a case study in Digital Prototyping production, Autodesk integration, and the new blueprint for high-end, low-impact filmmaking.

In this session, we’ll walk through real-world examples that showcase how developers and pipeline engineers can programmatically submit, manage, and monitor compute-intensive tasks in the cloud. Using the Job and Resource APIs from the Flow Graph Engine API, you'll learn how to offload simulations, batch process assets, and streamline repetitive workflows using Bifrost as a cloud executor. This API-first approach frees up local machines, accelerates production, and enables scalable parallel execution—helping teams reduce turnaround time and improve pipeline efficiency. Whether you're building internal tools or optimizing large-scale asset generation, this session will offer practical insights into integrating cloud-based compute into your 3D production workflows.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and extended reality (XR) are changing how we design, collaborate, and learn. Whether it’s automating repetitive tasks, improving real-time collaboration, or creating immersive training environments, these technologies are making workflows faster and more interactive. This session will explore practical ways AI and XR are being used across design, architecture, and media. We’ll look at how AI enhances creativity and speeds up ideation, how XR helps teams visualize ideas before they’re built, and how these tools are transforming training by making learning more hands-on and accessible. Rather than replacing human skills, AI and XR are becoming essential tools for designers, engineers, and educators. This session will share real-world examples of how they’re shaping the —and how you can integrate them into your own practice.

Generative model data—such as photogrammetry and generative artificial intelligence (gen AI)—is becoming more and more pervasive in our daily work as we visualize experiences for our customers. While this generative content might look okay at first glance, upon further inspection we see that it’s far from being production ready. So, how do we turn it into something that we can use? Using 3ds Max software, we’ll cover various tools and functionality that can easily clean up and improve this data so you can use it as a positive force multiplier in your productions.

Dr. Tonya Custis, senior director of artificial intelligence (AI) at Autodesk, draws on 20 years of experience in AI research to explore both the limitations and the transformative potential of AI in design workflows. While powerful, AI is often misunderstood—it’s frequently perceived as a catch-all magical solution rather than a tool with specific strengths and weaknesses. As AI becomes more commonly used in daily life, expectations rise for its role in professional tools. The best way to move beyond the hype, fear, and uncertainty surrounding AI is to develop an understanding of its history, limitations, and the types of tasks it’s best suited to help with. In this session, Dr. Custis will demystify how AI actually works, examine current trends, and outline the unique challenges of applying AI to design workflows—particularly those involving complex 3D design data. She’ll also share some recent work from the Autodesk AI Lab, offering a glimpse into the current state of AI in design and what the future may hold.

Join us for an epic digital panel dedicated to fostering diversity and inclusion in the gaming industry. This event unites game developers, designers, storytellers, and enthusiasts to tackle the challenges and unlock the opportunities to create a more inclusive gaming landscape. Power up your network by connecting with industry leaders, dive into an insightful panel discussion, and level up your strategies for breaking down barriers and championing representation in games. Whether you're a veteran player or a newbie to the field, this digital panel is your ultimate chance to connect, learn, and contribute to a more inclusive future in gaming.

Delve into initiatives aimed at attracting under-represented talent, normalizing mental health support, and leveraging technology to create a smarter, more robust workforce, in collaboration with industry leaders like Women in Animation.

SYNK is an innovative real-time production toolkit that enables content creators to produce linear and virtual content using the same tools and processes used by big studios with decades of experience in animation. SYNK allows assets from traditional digital content creation software and outputs from game engines to be managed in a single accessible environment through an integrated real-time workflow. SYNK manages the data from the early concept phase all the way to final delivery, enabling output to virtual reality (VR) and extended reality (XR), cinema, animation, video games, and virtual productions.

Hear from a panel of technical visionaries as they explore the role of Universal Scene Description (OpenUSD) in fostering open data exchange—not just in media and entertainment, but across industries. From traditional filmmaking to virtual production, architecture, engineering, construction, automotive, and manufacturing, our team of experts will explore how USD opens the door for seamless connectivity and collaboration across large-scale 3D projects of all kinds. 

Intangible heritage, globally, is under threat from aggressive urbanization and globalization, particularly in developing nations like Vietnam. To safeguard Vietnamese oral traditions, social practices, festive events, and childhood play, the project Play to Preserve the Past uses augmented reality (AR) to undertake a nuanced exploration of creative practice methodologies and considerations for creating immersive AR experiences. Central to this pursuit, the research endeavors to explore the question: How can creative practitioners harness the potentials of AR for seamless transmission of intangible cultural heritage?

About USD$2 trillion—that's the amount of money the architecture, engineering, and construction industry has lost due to bad data. Bad data is data that's inaccurate, inaccessible, and incomplete. In the industries Autodesk serves, data is a critical lifeline for project decisions and automations. But all too frequently, that data is not easily accessible, or, even worse, the available data is simply bad. Across the globe, the ability to use data in an insightful manner is no longer a "nice to have"—it has become a primary source of competitive advantage. Furthermore, with the acceleration of AI, the need for data is increasing exponentially. Those who use their data to make informed decisions and gain performance insights will ultimately emerge as leaders in their industries. Meet the leaders behind the industry data models to learn more about how Autodesk will help solve top customer problems.

As technology continues to evolve, the intersection of 3D design and artificial intelligence (AI) presents exciting opportunities for innovation in content creation. In this session, we'll showcase experimentation with innovative techniques—namely, ComfyUI, ControlNet, and Stable Diffusion—to forge a future pipeline that seamlessly integrates 3D rendering with AI-driven processes. We'll outline a visionary approach toward empowering artists and streamlining the content creation process. By using advanced AI algorithms and data-driven insights, we aspire to give artists greater control over their creations as they enhance their efficiency and creativity while using Autodesk tools, specifically Maya and Arnold software. Our vision for the future pipeline revolves around achieving a seamless transition from 3D design to AI render, while empowering artists with unprecedented control over their creations.

Booleans are a foundational part of content creation, yet it was frowned upon to use traditional polygon booleans in media and entertainment projects. To solve this problem, Autodesk rebuilt their booleans from the ground up within 3ds Max software, creating a new, powerful, and trusted solution in the Boolean Modifier that unlocks exciting new workflows and capabilities. In this session, you'll learn about how and why this new system was created for 3ds Max, which benefits it provides, and how you can use it to its maximum potential in your own work to create amazing content for film and TV, games, XR, or 3D printing projects.

In the fast-paced world of product design, there's a universal challenge to stay ahead of trends while efficiently bringing products to market. X-Rite has addressed this with innovative solutions benefiting automotive brands and industrial designers alike. The PANTORA application simplifies digital material creation, offering a standardized platform for storing and sharing complex material data to streamline design workflows. The AxF format ensures compatibility and collaboration across platforms. Join us to explore how PANTORA and AxF can transform your approach to material design and 3D visualization.

AI tech may get all the attention, but there isn't an AI solution for the critical workflows that architects need to tell the stories of their projects. Designers want visualizations that simultaneously capture a building's aesthetic complexity and the hard data points of energy efficiency, occupant movement, and traffic flow. AI isn't delivering, and Chaos is stepping up. Come see the latest tools for Revit users to conduct energy analysis, with results that can be generated and understood by everyone contributing to your Revit project. Then see how to easily assemble visualizations from across teams and creation tools into real-time explorations, with animations features that go far beyond what design tools are made to support. Learn how quickly you can bring design options to life with stunning ray-traced rendering, dynamic crowds of digital humans, and realistic vehicles traffic. Chaos will show how all of this is possible today for the casual users while meeting the demands of specialists.

The kids are all grown up! The gamer generation has entered the workforce and they are not afraid to push technology to the limits for fast, high-quality results. In this class, you will see how the Autodesk Media and Entertainment collection can take AEC storytelling, visualization and simulation to the next level. Additionally, we will explore game engine workflows to create immersive experiences that help projects get to a finished state faster. Join us!