In Hollywood, the huge billboards on Sunset Boulevard are now plastered with ads for Grand Theft Auto, a game, not a feature film. Not giant pictures of Nicolas Cage but graphical human figures in a virtual reality-style aesthetic. This is no surprise in itself; people have been saying for years that the game industry would surpass the movie business.

Everyone is a Film Maker
Not only games but new gadgets, too, are changing the world of film. Talking heads are getting more popular. Never before did people listen so intently to the faces on the screen. Moving images are used more and more to get messages across. Communication between people has given way to communication between screens. New trends in film production are also becoming visible: the first collaborative movies are being realised via the Internet. The films are financed, made and distributed online.

The Democratisation of Film
Today, scientists, politicians and visionaries travel the world with complete multimedia presentations, like pop stars. Software development is the engine of the new media production possibilities. Graphic software and simple editing programs now come free with computers, cameras and phones. The democratic character of video-editing and image-processing software makes it accessible to everyone, which also influences linear thinking.

Technology knows no boundaries
Special effects aren't just for films anymore: soon, our daily environment will become a platform for effects, when the chairs we sit in at home are able to move along with the pictures. A lot is changing in the movie industry.

The conference of the Stifo@Sandberg Master Class gave an overview of developments, new trends and ideas, in order to start a conversation about them with the speakers and audience.