First sessions announced for shots Out of the Box London 2026

Taking place at The Londoner hotel in Leicester Square on Wednesday 18th November, this year’s Out of the Box, which is sponsored by Division Film and XR, will gather voices from across production companies, agencies and brands for a day of debate and unfiltered creative discussion.

We are happy to say that the first of this year's sessions and speakers can be announced, with the full line-up revealed over the coming few weeks. We are, though, starting strong with four sessions, each digging into areas of the industry and of creativity which affect us all. 

Get your tickets for shots Out of the Box on 18 November 2026.

First up, we can tell you that Nexus Co-Founder and CCO, Chris O’Reilly, will be presenting a session called Robot and Scarecrow: How new technology allied with traditional craft can shape the creative landscape. O’Reilly will explore a creative landscape shaped by an apparent contradiction: increasingly intelligent and responsive tools arriving alongside a renewed value for the handmade, the intuitive and the imperfect.

Leveraging Nexus Studios’ Emmy- and BAFTA-winning legacy, O’Reilly looks at what happens when different ways of thinking and making are brought together from the outset, rather than treated as opposing choices.

Above: Chris O’Reilly will discuss mixing the old with the new in his talk, Robot and Scarecrow: How new technology allied with traditional craft can shape the creative landscape.

Also speaking on the day is Soraya Selinger, Founder of Attention Culture, who will be looking at the need to re-examine how the creative industry engages with younger audiences in her talk, The next generation is watching: Engaging with younger audiences. 

In the the wake of the under 16’s social ban, Selinger will reflect on marketing standards, ethical behaviour and the overall responsibility the creative industry has in creating and distributing meaningful compelling and creative stories, free from the constraints of harmful content, or addictive algorithms driving engagement. She will also, crucially, look at how we raise the bar without stifling creativity or compromising commercial objectives.

Above: Soraya Selinger will tell us how to attract younger audiences in her presentation about engaging the next generation.

In their talk, Designing brand DNA: The strategic power of sound, Warner Chappell Music's Jessica Entner and Bleue.tv's Aurélien Rubod will be making the case for sonic identity as a core strategic tool, backed by neuroscience, measurable impact and some of the most iconic sound decisions in modern branding. 

While we may obsess over logos, colour palettes and brand consistency at every touchpoint, sound — the sensory trigger most directly linked to emotional memory and purchase intent — gets only half a day in post. Entner and Rubod will explain why that half a day isn't enough.

Above: Being present for Jessica Entner and Aurélien Rubod's will be a sound investment. 

We also have the potentially revelatory session, Confessions from the agency side. Having worked both for agencies and production companies, and now Founding Partner and MD/EP at EXF.STUDIO, Kristie Girvan ruminates on what agency heads of production really think about triple-bidding, procurement pressures, shrinking timelines and rigid 30-second box-ticking. She also considers what makes one leave the agency side behind to champion a more streamlined, director-led studio model?

Drawing on her experience on both sides of the fence, Girvan lifts the lid on the realities that often go unsaid, while also exploring what it means to lead as a female EP, build healthier production cultures and protect creative ambition in an increasingly pressured industry.

Above: Kristie Girvan will give the lowdown on her role as a former agency head of production, as well as exploring what it means to lead as a female EP, and how to create and protect healthy production cultures and creative ambition.

Get your tickets for shots Out of the Box at The Londoner, Leicester Square, on 18 November 2026.

Tickets include breakfast and lunch from The Londoner’s kitchen, plus plenty of time to connect, catch up and continue the conversation.