<p>Bengaluru: The seventh edition of Bengaluru GAFX 2026 kicked off in Bengaluru on Friday, bringing together startups, students, creators and technologists across the globe to discuss the fast-evolving AVGC-XR landscape. </p>.<p>Following the theme ‘Evolution Reloaded’, the three-day conference spotlighted the convergence of human creativity with AI, real-time engines and immersive media. </p>.AI disruption | Need to re-evolve skill sets, policy, says Priyank Kharge.<p>In the first sessions of the day, cinematographer Arvind Kashyap provided insights into the making of the famed Kannada movie franchise ‘Kantara’ and the race against time to release ‘Kantara Chapter 1’ within a span of four months between the final edit and the movie release date. In addition to discussing the film’s prominent VFX usage, such as bringing the Bramha Rakshasa character to life, Kashyap also covered finer details where VFX played an important role, including sky replacements and background extensions. </p>.<p>Kashyap shared that the hardest scene to shoot was the carriage fight sequence in the prequel. “Due to unexpected weather changes, we had to split the shoot and ensure the scenes looked seamless despite the two shooting schedules being weeks apart. From the way the light fell on characters to the placement of clouds in a gloomy sky, we had to pay attention to every tiny detail,” he elaborated. </p>.<p>Speaking on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Kashyap shared that while AI was not used to produce the movie, as a cinematographer, he often utilised AI as a tool to visualise scenes. </p>.<p>In addition to panel discussions and one-on-one sessions, the event also included multiple zones for startups in the field to display their innovations — including live demos of various Virtual Reality (VR) games and experiences. </p>.<p>The popular activities among the crowd were the live sketching alley and the cosplay competitions. </p>.<p>“Despite being a tech capital, Bengaluru doesn’t see a lot of events focused on gaming design and the creativity of it all. More such events would be appreciated as more and more youngsters are getting into this field and are interested in building an occupation revolving around it,” said Priyanka, a 21-year-old animation and game designer, who dressed up as the character of Mike Hatsune for the cosplay competition. The theme for the first day of the competition was ‘Anime and Manga’. </p>.<p>Apart from this, sessions such as ‘Creative Growth Blueprint’ discussed the importance of collaborations and the need for government support in marketing and distributing the works of local studios. In a fireside chat, Sean Hyunil Sohn of Krafton India examined India’s emergence as a strategic global gaming market.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: The seventh edition of Bengaluru GAFX 2026 kicked off in Bengaluru on Friday, bringing together startups, students, creators and technologists across the globe to discuss the fast-evolving AVGC-XR landscape. </p>.<p>Following the theme ‘Evolution Reloaded’, the three-day conference spotlighted the convergence of human creativity with AI, real-time engines and immersive media. </p>.AI disruption | Need to re-evolve skill sets, policy, says Priyank Kharge.<p>In the first sessions of the day, cinematographer Arvind Kashyap provided insights into the making of the famed Kannada movie franchise ‘Kantara’ and the race against time to release ‘Kantara Chapter 1’ within a span of four months between the final edit and the movie release date. In addition to discussing the film’s prominent VFX usage, such as bringing the Bramha Rakshasa character to life, Kashyap also covered finer details where VFX played an important role, including sky replacements and background extensions. </p>.<p>Kashyap shared that the hardest scene to shoot was the carriage fight sequence in the prequel. “Due to unexpected weather changes, we had to split the shoot and ensure the scenes looked seamless despite the two shooting schedules being weeks apart. From the way the light fell on characters to the placement of clouds in a gloomy sky, we had to pay attention to every tiny detail,” he elaborated. </p>.<p>Speaking on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Kashyap shared that while AI was not used to produce the movie, as a cinematographer, he often utilised AI as a tool to visualise scenes. </p>.<p>In addition to panel discussions and one-on-one sessions, the event also included multiple zones for startups in the field to display their innovations — including live demos of various Virtual Reality (VR) games and experiences. </p>.<p>The popular activities among the crowd were the live sketching alley and the cosplay competitions. </p>.<p>“Despite being a tech capital, Bengaluru doesn’t see a lot of events focused on gaming design and the creativity of it all. More such events would be appreciated as more and more youngsters are getting into this field and are interested in building an occupation revolving around it,” said Priyanka, a 21-year-old animation and game designer, who dressed up as the character of Mike Hatsune for the cosplay competition. The theme for the first day of the competition was ‘Anime and Manga’. </p>.<p>Apart from this, sessions such as ‘Creative Growth Blueprint’ discussed the importance of collaborations and the need for government support in marketing and distributing the works of local studios. In a fireside chat, Sean Hyunil Sohn of Krafton India examined India’s emergence as a strategic global gaming market.</p>