The Art of the Craft Festival

The festival will explore how craft, vision and innovation have shaped advertising's most compelling moving images across the decades. Through panel discussions, presentations and talks from legendary creators, the event offers a unique look at the evolution of advertising craft over the last 50 years to inform, educate and inspire the next fifty.

Groundbreakers: 50 Years of British VFX

In 1976, visual effects were the exception, not the rule. Half a century later, VFX artists are an essential part of every production, often on set, shaping ideas from the very first pre-vis sketch to the final grade.

This session celebrates the pioneers of British post-production — from the early experiments at Complete and Rushes, through the rise of Framestore and The Mill, to the design-driven artistry of Glassworks.

We revisit some of the most ground-breaking campaigns of the past 50 years and hear from the people who made them possible. Moderated by Stirling Archibald (Electric Theatre Collective), with insights from industry legends and practitioners Hector Macleod (Glassworks), Mike McGee (Framestore) and Joce Capper (Rushes), we’ll trace the journey from analogue tricks to digital breakthroughs, invisible polish to photoreal spectacle — and explore what these groundbreaking moments can teach us about the future of VFX.