Podcast Summary

Podcast: Reshaping Workflows with Dell Pro Precision & NVIDIA RTX PRO GPUs

Episode: How Pixar Is Reinventing Rendering with XPU
Host: Logan Mahler (Dell Technologies)
Guests: Dylan Sisson (Pixar), Cindy Oli (Dell Technologies)
Release Date: March 31, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the groundbreaking evolution of Pixar’s rendering pipelines, focusing on the introduction of RenderMan XPU—a new hybrid CPU/GPU renderer powering the visuals for Toy Story 5. Dylan Sisson, veteran at Pixar and Head of RenderMan Creative Engagement, discusses Pixar’s four-decade legacy of innovation, technical breakthroughs, and the real-world impact of embracing new hardware in partnership with Dell and NVIDIA. The conversation covers Pixar’s technological culture, the shifting landscape of rendering, tangible differences XPU brings to animation, and the wider creative community through events like SIGGRAPH.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Pixar’s 40th Anniversary and RenderMan Origins

[02:04–05:26]

• Dylan Sisson provides a historical overview, noting “Today is Pixar’s 40th birthday, February 5th” and sharing anecdotes about Pixar’s roots as a commercial and tech studio.
• RenderMan’s development stemmed from a need to create imagery for film that existing hardware couldn’t support; Pixar designed its own software and even hardware.
• Major technical legacies:
  • Developed the first “shading language” and even the ubiquitous alpha channel (“You can’t imagine a world without an alpha channel. It’s like imagining a world without pizza. It’s impossible.” — Dylan Sisson, 04:21).
  • Successive inflection points: shift from efficient scanline rendering to ray tracing and Monte Carlo path tracing.

2. Introducing RenderMan XPU: The Hybrid Revolution

[05:46–08:10]

• XPU designed as a renderer that leverages both CPU and GPU resources—"independently, or both at the same time."
• The main philosophy: get artists closer to “final pixels” faster, increase creative interactivity, and collapse technical barriers between departments.
• “If you’re an artist…you can bring all that hardware to bear…our focus is providing interactivity for artists…allowing people to make more decisions sooner, eroding friction points in the pipeline.” — Dylan Sisson, 06:25

3. Technical & Creative Breakthroughs (and Challenges)

[08:56–10:06]

• Key foundational decision: XPU must produce identical pixels regardless of hardware—“We didn’t want to have one renderer for the CPU and one for the GPU. We wanted one renderer that abstracted…hardware. So we can…get the same pixel, which is extremely hard.” — Dylan Sisson, 09:13
• XPU’s debut on Toy Story 5 allowed the entire pipeline (shaders, lights, assets) to migrate seamlessly, a milestone not possible in previous renderer transitions.

4. Rendering Evolution: From Toy Story to Toy Story 5

[10:10–11:12]

• Shot realism, stylization, and the ever-growing ambition of visuals are discussed.
• “We’re always trying to surprise the audience with new kinds of images…Toy Story 5 is packed with that kind of stuff.” — Dylan Sisson, 10:32
• Playful teases: “The Pixar walking teapot might make a small cameo in Toy Story 5.” — Dylan Sisson, 10:58

5. AI, Machine Learning & Denoising in Production

[14:33–16:46]

• Dylan explains Pixar’s practical use of “narrow AI”—especially denoising with machine learning, first used on Toy Story 4.
• Machine learning denoisers cut rendering samples (and cost), enabling imagery that would have previously been impossible.
• “There’s people at Pixar who’ve worked in production a long time…they call the denoiser ‘magic.’ It just transforms what they can do and when they can go home.” — Dylan Sisson, 16:21

6. XPU in Workflow: Testing, Deployment, and Hybrid Compute

[16:53–19:05]

• XPU abstracts hardware: “You can basically pick which one [CPU or GPU]…jobs are allocated based on operation type."
• Robust, multi-environment testing at Pixar, including on a variety of Dell and other workstations.
• Live production (“best beta tester”) is essential for stress-testing new rendering technology.

7. Render Farms: On-Premises vs. Cloud

[19:05–21:14]

• Pixar’s hybrid approach: TDs (Technical Directors) check out servers by day (local & VM), then those become render farm nodes at night.
• Some cloud bursting for large workloads.
• Blinn’s Law: No matter how fast computers get, render times for movie frames stay constant due to increasing creative ambition.
• Empowering both studios and individuals to harness all hardware locally—or offload to the cloud as required.

Community Engagement & Pixar Traditions

1. The RenderMan Art & Science Fair at SIGGRAPH

[21:38–24:06]

• An annual community event at SIGGRAPH: networking, demos, and the legendary collectible “walking teapot” giveaway.
• “We have…our signature drinks, including the Render Manhattan…and at the end, everybody gets a walking teapot.” — Dylan Sisson, 21:54
• Began in 2003 as a whimsical project that “was actually cheaper than printing brochures.” Now a coveted prize—with some teapots selling for over $600 on eBay!

2. The RenderMan Challenge

[25:11–28:06]

• Now in its 13th year, invites artists worldwide to tell a visual story in a single image using provided assets and RenderMan (non-commercial/XPU encouraged).
• Huge community engagement, mentorships, and job opportunities—“A platform…that winners have been able to put on their resume and attribute them getting jobs to having participated.” — Dylan Sisson, 26:37
• Upcoming challenge launches at SIGGRAPH July 2026; open to all skill levels using free tools.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Imagine a world without an alpha channel…It’s like trying to imagine a world without pizza. It’s impossible.” — Dylan Sisson, 04:21
• “We can render pretty much whatever we want. But the challenge really is about enabling creative flow, allowing people to make more decisions sooner.” — Dylan Sisson, 06:43
• “We wanted to have one renderer that abstracted the ideas of the hardware…get the same pixel, which is…extremely hard.” — Dylan Sisson, 09:13
• “There’s people at Pixar…not impressed by anything…they call the denoiser ‘magic.’” — Dylan Sisson, 16:21
• “The teapot became very popular…seen them go on eBay for over $600, which is more than a license of RenderMan.” — Dylan Sisson, 24:41
• “It’s just a really fun way to explore storytelling in a single image with…cutting edge hardware. That’s RenderMan XPU…the same we’re running at the studio.” — Dylan Sisson, 27:37

Useful Timestamps

• 02:04 — Pixar’s founding & technology origins
• 05:46 — Core philosophy behind RenderMan XPU
• 08:56 — Technical challenges in making XPU “final frame” ready
• 10:32 — What audiences will notice in Toy Story 5
• 14:33 — Practical uses of AI/machine learning in Pixar’s pipeline
• 16:53 — How XPU distributes CPU vs GPU workload
• 19:05 — Pixar’s hybrid approach: local vs. cloud rendering
• 21:38 — SIGGRAPH’s Art & Science Fair and the walking teapot
• 25:11 — RenderMan Challenge: origins, prizes, and community impact
• 28:22 — Where to find Dylan Sisson online & how to download non-commercial RenderMan

Further Resources

• Try RenderMan XPU: Download the non-commercial version (with no watermarks/limitations) at renderman.pixar.com
• Connect with Dylan Sisson: LinkedIn & Instagram (@realDylanSisson)
• Learn, Compete, & Network: Join the RenderMan Challenge and SIGGRAPH Art & Science Fair annually – watch for dates via Pixar’s site and Discord.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the intersection of creativity and cutting-edge tech—from production artists and students to pipeline engineers. The discussion sheds light on how hardware advances (Dell, NVIDIA) and software breakthroughs empower the movie magic of today’s—and tomorrow’s—Pixar films.