VP Gathering returns for its sixth edition: “Leaders of the Craft” and you’re invited!
With Virtual Production technology developing at breakneck speed, the real question is no longer what the tools can do, but how they are being applied in practice. VP Gathering brings together the people working at that intersection: the practitioners, educators, researchers, and technologists who are actively shaping how Virtual Production is used, taught, and pushed forward.
Returning to Breda University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands from 14–16 April 2026, the Virtual Production Gathering has become a key meeting point for studios, educators, and creatives working across the evolving VP landscape. It is a space where real production experience meets experimentation, where new workflows are discussed openly, and where the conversations shaping the craft begin to take form.
For anyone working in or around Virtual Production, these kinds of spaces matter. The field is still developing rapidly, and gatherings like this help define not only what is possible, but what comes next.
The craft behind the technology
The Virtual Production Gathering brings together professionals from film, television, media, education, and the wider digital industries to explore the latest developments in the field. From real-time technologies and motion capture to AI, gaussian splatting, integrated pipeline solutions, and emerging creative workflows, the event offers both technical insight and practical reflection on where production is heading.
This year’s theme, “Leaders of the Craft,” shifts the spotlight away from tools alone and towards the people shaping how they are used. Virtual Production ultimately succeeds not because of technology, but because of the expertise, creative leadership, and decision-making that transform those tools into storytelling.
Three days exploring the VP ecosystem
The 2026 edition spans three days, each focusing on a different part of the Virtual Production ecosystem.
14 April — Education Day
Education Day is designed for higher education professionals, academics, and educators working across media, arts, games, and entertainment. Through live demonstrations, expert panels, discussions, and student project showcases, the day explores how Virtual Production is being integrated into teaching and learning environments.
For educators, it provides an opportunity to exchange approaches, discover emerging technologies, and better understand the evolving skills required by the industry.
15 April — Industry Day
Industry Day focuses on professionals working directly in production. The programme includes presentations from leading Virtual Production voices, demonstrations of cutting-edge tools and workflows, expert panels, private partner meetings, and networking opportunities.
It is a day designed for exchange: between studios and solution providers, between practitioners and educators, and between those already working in VP and those looking to deepen their involvement.
14–15 April — VP Marketplace
Running alongside the first two days, the VP Marketplace provides a dedicated space where vendors and service providers showcase the hardware, software, and expertise shaping current and future Virtual Production pipelines.
It offers attendees the chance to explore new tools, have practical conversations, and discover solutions that can directly influence their workflows.
16 April — Masterclass Day
New for 2026, the Gathering introduces a full day of hands-on masterclasses designed for professionals, educators, and advanced practitioners looking to deepen their craft.
Sessions will explore areas such as cinematic lighting, pixel streaming, writing for Virtual Production, and working with MetaHumans, led by specialists who actively use these techniques in production.
Together, the three-day structure reflects the broader VP ecosystem: education, industry collaboration, technological innovation, and applied learning.
Conversations to Collaborations
One of the reasons the VP Gathering has resonated so strongly with the community is that it creates the conditions for genuine exchange.
Last year’s event saw educators meeting industry leaders, studios discovering new collaborators, and attendees encountering solutions they did not know existed through the VP Marketplace. Many of the most valuable conversations happened between sessions, over coffee, or during the networking events that bring the community together.
To support this further, the 2026 edition introduces B2Match, a meeting platform that allows participants to schedule conversations with other attendees before the event even begins. It is a small addition with a big impact, helping ensure that the right people find each other during the Gathering.
VPSN role as Educational Partner at VP Gathering 2026
The Virtual Production Studio Network (VPSN) is proud to support VP Gathering as an Educational Partner.
As a project co-funded by the European Union through Erasmus+, VPSN works to strengthen the relationship between industry practice and education in Virtual Production. That includes supporting knowledge exchange, developing learning frameworks, and helping ensure that emerging talent has access to the realities of production.
Events like VP Gathering play an important role in that ecosystem. They bring together the practitioners shaping the craft today with the educators preparing the next generation to work within it.
Join the VP community in Breda
Whether you are working in film, television, real-time production, games, or Virtual Production education, the Virtual Production Gathering offers a rare opportunity to meet the people actively shaping the field.
You can explore the programme, the growing line-up of speakers, and get your tickets today!
