Speakers & Talks - 2025
Talks are split between pub-floor sessions which are for the entire event audience to see, and individual room sessions which will go in parallel, so participants can choose their preferred content. Talk topics vary, but the underlying idea is to have world-class experts share insight into their processes, latest technology achievements, unique and important projects and similar.
These were the 2025 speakers:
Simon Holmedal
The Hidden Syntax
Beneath every design lies an invisible structure — a system of logic, rules, and relationships that shape the final form. In this talk, Simon Holmedal explores how procedural thinking reveals that hidden syntax: the interplay between visible output and invisible cause.
Rather than decorating outcomes, this is about building frameworks that let complexity arise — reverse-engineering elegance from structure, and designing with intent, where meaning is not imposed, but revealed.
Simon Holmedal is a director and partner at Panoply, a design studio recognized for its cutting-edge approach. He has collaborated with major brands like Apple, Marvel, and Amazon, delivering impactful, minimalist designs that seamlessly fuse complexity and simplicity.
Dennis Kleyn
Unreal Workflows in Film & Episodic: VP and VFX Case Studies
Dennis Kleyn from Planet X presents recent case studies, including the globally released Netflix feature iHostage and the Argentinian sci-fi series El Eternauta, to show how real-time tools are being used across both Virtual Production and VFX. From LED wall shoots to post-production environments, the talk explores how crossover pipelines can streamline workflows and enhance creative collaboration.
Dennis Kleyn graduated in 2002 from the Dutch Film Academy and switched to visual effects filmmaking after two years of directing. In 2004 he founded Planet X, where he is presently CEO, today among the most prominent studios in the Netherlands, providing creative visual effects for top-end feature film and television productions with a dedicated team of more than thirty VFX artists. Notable projects include iHostage (Netflix, 2025), El Eternauta (Netflix, 2025), One Hundred Years of Solitude (Netflix, 2024) Dragon Girl (winner Amanda Award 2021) and Close (Grand Prix Cannes 2022, Academy Award nominee).
In March 2022, Kleyn co-founded ReadySet Studios, a virtual production studio in Amsterdam. ReadySet welcomes content creators from around the globe to make use of its state-of-the-art virtual production facilities to realize outstanding in-camera VFX. The studio has facilitated well over 80 productions since its founding.
Kleyn is actively involved in the Dutch VFX community as chairman of the Dutch VFX Association (NVX), which he co-founded in 2014, and board member for the NPA, the Netherlands Post production Alliance. He is also a regular contributor to the post-production training programs organized by APostLab, which collaborates with industry-leading organizations such as Netflix to provide high-end international workshops.
Vladimir Koylazov
Latest developments at the Chaos Innovation Lab
Vladimir “Vlado” Koylazov is a co-founder of visualization company Chaos and is the co-creator of the globally acclaimed rendering software V-Ray – honored with Emmy® and Academy Awards® for its role in the widespread adoption of ray-traced rendering for motion pictures and television. In his previous role as Chief Technical Officer, Vlado has been the driving force behind the software development, R&D, and innovations at Chaos for more than 20 years, while being an active member of the global CG community. Vlado now leads the company’s recently established Innovation Lab which researches ways to perfect technologies in the field of ray tracing and 3D visualization.
Tom Kombüchen
Cables gl visual realtime programming on the web
Cables is a tool for creating beautiful interactive content.With an easy to navigate interface and real time visuals, it allows for rapid prototyping and fast adjustments. It can export complete Websites with interactive 3d content and visual effects. The founders of cables will give you a quick overview and introduction of how it works and what it can do.
Thomas (Tom) Kombüchen aka pandur is an autodidact programmer and visual artist. Having worked across the digital agency landscape for many years, he has extensive experience in digital product design and development. Tom has always been drawn to visual programming and real time animations. As an active member of the so-called demoscene, he has been developing animated realtime demonstrations as a hobby for more than 25 years. Spotting the potential of WebGL early on, Tom decided to build his very own visual programming engine. Today, ‘cables’ helps coders, designers and artists create interactive immersive experiences directly in the browser. He is the co-founder of ‘undev’, a development and design studio which uses cables for commercial client projects as well as digital art.
Bao Ngoc Vu
What do you do in RnD for games as a (Character)Artist?
Where do you even start with RnD? Why even do it in the first place? Questions over questions. Let’s open the curtains behind the AAA productions of being a game artist doing RnD.
This talk will introduce you to my daily struggles and challenges of in-house RnD but also very anecdotal and inspiring moments of what impact RnD has on the project and the team (trust me).
Bao has been a Character Artist for over 10 years, having worked on multiple AAA projects and studios such as Ninja Theory and Blizzard Entertainment, garnered him a lot of experience in multiple aspects of character creation and disciplines.
He is currently working for Riot Games doing mostly RnD for game characters, elevating the pipeline, workflows and look-dev.
Tom Grimes
The Game of Life
Are you the dog barking at cars? Are you, or have you ever been, the victim of a particular self-delusion? Worse, might you be teaching that self-delusion to others? Well, stop! It may be too late for you because you are already well-established (let’s be honest – older), but you can arm the next generation with better ways of thinking.
Tom Grimes has been part of the Chaos Corona team for almost a decade, first as the Product Marketing Manager, and now as the Product Manager. If that’s some sort of a pattern, then next he will just be the Product.
Prior to that, he’s been a 3D freelancer, a network operations engineer, a tech support supervisor, a marketing specialist for another 3D product, and an analyst/programmer on IBM mainframes for Rolls-Royce. Oh yes, and 2 weeks as the worst tele sales person ever, working for a portrait studio. There might be a clue to the underlying topic of the course in there somewhere!
Zap Andersson
AUTODESK
Unreal Mysteries
– How I made a TV-show in my spare time for free
Zap Andersson is working at Autodesk in the Arnold rendering team doing 3ds Max integration as well as core rendering code. He’s a nerd at materials and shaders as well as co-designer of the OpenPBR material model now used in MaterialX and USD.
Lately, Zap has taken a great interest in generative AI, and has been spending most of his spare time playing with and learning the technology. He worked previously at NVidia and mental images
Tim Dokter & Alexander De Bruijn
Point clouds against crime
Tim Dokter
Operational Visualization Specialist at The Netherlands’ Police
After 1½ decade working as (3D) motion designer serving several big corporate clients I switched to working for the Dutch police in 2021. In my work as a Forensic Visualization specialist, I use 3D technology to support criminal investigations. Together with my colleagues I bring the story of a criminal case to life in court.
Alexander De Bruijn
Operational Visualization Specialist at The Netherlands’ Police
Alexander De Bruijn began as a forensic photographer at the regional police IJsselland in 2000 . In 2005, he joined a multi-police agency project group to investigate the adoption of Lidar and panoramic image scanners within The Netherlands police departments. in 2015 he joined the visualisation and reconstruction expert team which specializes in bringing laser scanners, handheld scanners, surveying equipment, panoramic cameras and other technologies to assist in investigations and to bring presentations to court. His current focus is XR visualization possibilities for use in the criminal investigation process.
Lasse Rode
Nice Renders, Now What? – Marketing Lessons No One Taught Us (But We All Needed)
We all know how to craft compelling images – but what happens when the pipeline runs dry in crazy times? In his talk, Lasse shares his honest journey through the foggy world of marketing and lead generation, including what went wrong (and why), and what actually helped rebuild momentum. Less about hacks, more about mindset, consistency, and how not to lose your soul in the process.
Lasse runs a small studio for architectural visualisation in Berlin.
With over 20 years in the field, he’s worked on everything from quick turnarounds to high-profile competitions, always favoring clarity, collaboration, and strong partnerships over buzzwords and bloated workflows. A former partner at xoio, Lasse brings a grounded, unpretentious perspective to the world of CGI
Jay Patel
Finding solutions to complex challenges using tech and 3D
Jay is 3D Lead at heata, a render farm that uses waste heat from 3D rendering to provide free hot water to homes, he is also a co organiser of 3D London. His talk reveals work from his 22 year career in 3D production, delivering 3D content to industries that you might not even know existed…!
The talk will give insights into evolution of digital capture technology and the pioneering use in the 3D visualisation field!
Artur Tamiola & Bartosz Domiczek
When 3D Meets WTF
Welcome to the bizarre world where AI and 3D create delightful chaos – and occasionally, creative gold.
Vjekoslav Kiraly
How to Unlock Self-Worth with Editable Poly
Started 3ds Max career with 3d Studio Max R3, but soon realized (after 20+ years) that loving 3ds Max isn’t gonna pay the bills, loving yourself does. The EUE organizers wanted him to do a technical 3ds Max talk, he went the psychological route, but to comply with the organizers, it’s going to be a self-worth talk with a 3ds Max twist.
Carlos Pecino
COLORSPONGE
Rough CGI
Being a CG artist is more than just blending creativity with technical skill — it’s a demanding journey filled with tight deadlines, creative roadblocks, and the relentless pace of evolving technology.
In this presentation, I’ll explore the key role that work ethic and perseverance play in overcoming these challenges while maintaining a healthy mindset. Drawing from my own experiences, I’ll break down my workflow, share real-world obstacles I’ve faced, and reveal the strategies that helped me push through.
This session is designed to equip CG artists with practical tools and inspiration to stay motivated, build resilience, and keep pushing their creative limits — even when the road gets tough.
Paul Nicholls
FACTORY FIFTEEN
Building Worlds Within Spheres
Factory Fifteen’s creative director Paul Nicholls showcases his company’s work within experiential media from VR to the biggest screens in the world. Factory Fifteen are known for designing hyper-detailed cinematic worlds and telling stories within them. Their recent projects for the UFC in The Sphere in Las Vegas set a new standard in sports entertainment; crafting several films for the infamous event that celebrated Mexican traditions on Mexican Independence Day. Paul will guide audiences at EUE through the process of designing and delivering these worlds within spheres.
Paul is the CCO and co-founder of Factory Fifteen. He specializes in directing branded content and experiential projects. Paul has crafted content for the biggest screens in the world including The Sphere, The BBC Tokyo Olympics, Woolmark Fashion Show, and Holiday Joyride for Kia cars. He was selected for the Saatchi & Saatchi New Creators Showcase at Cannes Lion and won a BAFTA for his Tokyo Olympics titles.
