Project Fast-Forward
A Tour of the ASWF Landscape
Carol Payne - 2026 TAC Chair
xSTUDIO
rawtoaces
OpenRV
Continuous Integration platform
Outreach Committee
TAC
Technical Advisory Council
Governing Board
DPEL
MACHINE LEARNING WORKING GROUP
WAYLAND WORKING GROUP
ASWF Structure
Graduated
Mature, widely adopted. Has met defined best practices and security criteria
Digital Production Example Library (DPEL)
DPEL is a curated library of digital assets that demonstrate the scale and complexity of modern feature film production, free to use for researchers and developers to test, demonstrate, and inspire.
Learn more in their talk this afternoon!
dpel.aswf.io
MaterialX
#materialx
MaterialX is an open standard for the exchange of rich material and look-development content across applications and renderers.
Open Shading Language (OSL)
OSL is a language for programmable shading in advanced path tracing renderers and other applications. It contains a compiler and runtime for CPU and GPU.
Found in: RenderMan, Arnold, 3ds Max, Blender Cycles, Sony Imageworks, Pixar, Netflix Animation
#openshadinglanguage
OpenColorIO (OCIO)
OCIO is a complete color management solution geared towards motion picture production with an emphasis on visual effects and computer animation.
OCIO 2.5 Includes:
And also - OCIO is now supported in FFmpeg!
#opencolorio
OpenCue
OpenCue is an open source render management system.
#opencue
OpenEXR
OpenEXR provides the specification and reference implementation of the EXR file format, the professional-grade image storage format of the motion picture industry.
New Features for 2026:
And there’s more…
#openexr
OpenImageIO (OIIO)
OpenImageIO is a toolset for reading, writing, and manipulating image files of all image file formats relevant to VFX / animation via a format-agnostic API with a feature set, scalability, and robustness needed for feature film production.
Recent highlights:
#openimageio
OpenVDB
OpenVDB is a library comprising a compact hierarchical data structure and a suite of tools for the efficient storage and manipulation of sparse volumetric data.
#openvdb
Incubating
Projects with a community and established production usage
Academy Color Encoding System (ACES)
ACES provides a common color language so everyone can see and work with the same image throughout production, distribution, and archival. It enables filmmakers to preserve the intended look of their images when using different cameras, software tools, and displays.
#aces
https://acescentral.com/get-involved/
OpenFX
OpenFX is an open standard for creating visual effects (VFX) plug-ins. It allows plugins (shared libraries) to interface with host applications, giving artists thousands of new tools and capabilities.
1.5 Major Release Includes:
#openfx
OpenTimelineIO
#opentimelineio
OpenTimelineIO is an interchange format and API for editorial cut information. It provides a toolset to exchange and query edits.
rawtoaces
#rawtoaces
rawtoaces is a framework for converting digital camera raw images into a common color space (ACES) and file format (OpenEXR).
Recent highlights:
Rez
Rez is a cross-platform package manager for creating/managing standalone configured environments that reference centrally installed packages. Many studios rely on it to support versioning and usage workflows for their complex internal pipelines.
#rez
Sandbox
Entry point for early-stage projects
Dailies Notes Assistant (DNA)
#dna
DNA aims to explore how large-language-model-assisted transcription can meaningfully enhance the VFX dailies note-taking process.
Building an open-source, integratable platform that improves accuracy and efficiency in capturing review feedback.
MoonRay
#moonray
MoonRay is a high-performance production path tracer with layerable shaders and a computation framework for local and distributed rendering.
Recent Highlights:
Open Path Guiding Library (OpenPGL)
#openpgl
OpenPGL is an open-source library providing state-of-the-art path guiding algorithms that are ready to use by and easy to integrate into production renderers.��By improving the importance sampling process OpenPGL increases rendering efficiency of scenes with complex illumination setups.�
Recent Highlights:
OpenRV
#open-review-initiative
OpenRV is an Academy Award-winning review tool, leveraged by major studios for high-definition review and approval workflows
xSTUDIO
xSTUDIO is a high performance, modern playback and review application with an artist-friendly interface. xSTUDIO’s unique architecture, based on the ‘actor model’, ensures the most is made of the available hardware and the UI stays responsive even under heavy loads.
Recent development:
#open-review-initiative
OpenAPV
#openapv
The mission of the Project is to develop a royalty-free, open-source, open standard video codec for professional video capture and post-production.
OpenAssetIO
OpenAssetIO defines a common set of interactions between a Digital Content Creator (DCC) host, e.g. Nuke, and an Asset Management System (AMS), e.g. AYON. It exists as a bridge, providing a shared language for exchanging asset information.
#openassetio
OpenQMC
#openqmc
OpenQMC is a high-quality Quasi-Monte Carlo (QMC) sampling library for feature film VFX production.
QMC is an integral part of rendering platforms and tools, reducing compute time and making render times tractable. This year we have had:
Rongotai Model Train Club (RMTC)
#rmtc
RMTC is a provenance focused tracing, training & inference framework. Designed for responsible AI use in VFX productions.
Working Groups
#ASWF
Wayland WG
Long-term Working Groups
Working Groups
Machine Learning WG