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The Evolution of Framestore’s Academy Award-Winning Rendering Tech
9:00am 8th July | Head of Applied Machine Learning Josh Bainbridge
Over the past fifteen years, Framestore has developed and refined a layered shading system that has become central to the studio’s pursuit of photorealistic surfaces. It has been used on more than 100 film and television productions, and was recognised in 2026 with an Academy Award for Technical Achievement.
This talk traces the evolution of that system across three generations, following its path from early architecture through to the engineering decisions that shaped a production-scale renderer. Josh will explore how published research has been adapted to the realities of large-scale visual effects, where physical correctness, artistic controllability and fast iteration must hold together. Drawing on productions including Guardians of the Galaxy, Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age and F1, Josh examines the relationship between research and the systems built to apply it in practice.
As machine learning and AI reshape how images are made, the relationship between artists and technology is shifting again. Josh will consider what this means for the meeting point of art and science that has defined this work so far, where the open problems now lie, and how the research community and creative practitioners might shape that future together.
Meet the Speaker
Josh Bainbridge | Head of Applied Machine Learning
Josh Bainbridge leads the studio’s machine learning team and its drive to innovate with the technology across creative production. He is helping shape Framestore’s wider AI strategy, guiding how emerging tools are explored, adopted and brought into the pipeline. Over more than a decade at the studio, Josh has enabled teams and developers to build software for computer graphics and visual effects on feature film and episodic production. He has architected systems grounded in research that ranges from light transport and shading systems, to Quasi-Monte Carlo techniques, and denoising algorithms.
In 2026, Josh received an Academy Award for Technical Achievement for the design, architecture and engineering of Framestore’s layered shading system, developed with Nathan Walster and used on more than 100 film and television productions. He serves as Chairman of the Technical Steering Committee for the Academy Software Foundation’s OpenQMC project and as an Industry Advisory Board Member at WMG, University of Warwick.
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