At this year’s FMX conference in Stuttgart, AYON, the open-source studio platform developed by Ynput, will host a full day of talks and workshops exploring the latest developments in production pipelines for VFX, animation, and virtual production.

The sessions will take place on Wednesday, May 7, in Raum Ulm, and will feature insights from both the creators of AYON and studios who have adopted the platform across a range of real-world productions.

Here’s a look at the schedule:

10:00 – AYON Studio Platform: What is Ahead of Us?

Speaker: Milan Kolar, CEO and Founder of Ynput

The day opens with a keynote from Milan Kolar, offering a detailed look at AYON’s evolution over the past year. The session will cover newly launched features, the community-driven roadmap for 2025, and a preview of upcoming developments focused on expanding toolsets and smarter production tracking. The talk will conclude with initial findings from the 2024 Pipeline Survey, highlighting current industry trends and challenges.

11:15 – Set up Full Studio Pipeline with AYON in Under an Hour

Speaker: Martin “Murphy” Licko, Head of Customer Success at Ynput

This hands-on session will walk through the process of setting up a full studio pipeline with AYON in less than an hour. Covering everything from initial configuration to project launch, the workshop is aimed at team leads, pipeline TDs, and studio owners seeking a modern, flexible solution without lengthy deployment times.

12:30 – From A(Lab) to B: Efficiently Adopting Existing USD Data with AYON and Houdini

Speakers: Jan Jinda, Lead 3D Asset Artist, and Roy Nieterau, Founder and Technical Director at Colorbleed

Focusing on USD adoption workflows, this session will demonstrate how AYON can manage and track USD assets using Animal Logic’s ALab dataset. The talk will show how AYON integrates with Houdini Solaris to streamline asset management, layout, and lighting workflows across departments.

14:30 – Advanced Farm Ops: bEpic’s UE Farm Integration & AYON’s Delivery Automation Tools

Speakers: Tony Dorfmeister, Lead Pipeline Developer at bEpic Studio, and Jakub Jezek, Co-Founder & 2D Pipeline Lead at AYON

Tony Dorfmeister and Jakub Jezek will present developments in AYON’s automation tools for delivery packaging and transcoding. The session will also explore how bEpic Studio integrated Unreal Engine rendering into their Deadline-based farm setup, highlighting ways to improve processing efficiency on large projects.

15:45 – The Invisible Pipeline: Balancing Structure and Flexibility for Artists with AYON at THE LINE

Speaker: Pete Addington, Head of CG at THE LINE

Pete Addington will share THE LINE’s approach to designing a pipeline that supports artists without imposing rigid workflows. The session will focus on how AYON was used to build invisible structures that provide consistency while preserving creative flexibility.

17:00 – How Planet X Adopted AYON with No Pipeline TDs

Speaker: Robert Okker, Head of AI & Tech at Planet X

Robert Okker will recount Planet X’s experience implementing AYON with limited technical resources during the demanding virtual production of iHostage. The talk will detail how AYON helped the studio manage complex workflows across Blender, Substance, Houdini, and LED volumes, even in the absence of a dedicated pipeline team.

18:15 – State of Pipelines: 2024 Pipeline Survey Report and Discussion

Speaker: Milan Kolar, CEO and Founder of Ynput

The final session of the day will present results from the 2023 and 2024 Pipeline Surveys, with insights drawn from more than 240 studios. Following the report presentation, an open discussion will invite attendees to share perspectives on emerging trends and help shape future industry research.

We look forward to welcoming you to Raum Ulm on May 7. Whether you’re already using AYON or simply curious to learn more about modern pipeline workflows, we invite you to join the sessions, meet the team, and connect with others in the AYON community. See you at FMX.