Michael Ballhaus (left) welcomes the digital camera as a storytelling tool. Program Director Rolf Krämer (center) and Tom Atkin (right), Director of the Visual Effects Society, speak at the festival.

Well, maybe he is right, but certainly a larger number of people will have access to high-performance tools and hopefully a democratizing of filmmaking will get going.

Of course, like any other tool, the technical equipment alone will not turn noncreative nobodies into the next Lars Van Triers overnight. It will still take a pro and smart, creative mind that knows and masters the art form to revolutionize our understanding of what cinema can be.

The first glimpses of this bright future were already visible at the eDIT/VES, not only in terms of HD but also in terms of digitally enhanced visuals that slowly but steadily sneak their way into serious movies and become more and more attractive to non-special-effects moviemakers.

The best example of this development might have been The Hulk, presented at the eDIT/VES by Gerald Gutschmidt. Let’s not forget: we’re talking about a superhero-special-effects movie with a digital main character, shot by former arthouse director Ang Lee.

Director Peter Greenaway (left) rang the death knell for celluloid. His latest work is shot entirely in HD. Author Harald Siepermann found time to sketch Dennis Muren. Courtesy of Harald Siepermann.

This might be an exception, but visual effects constantly keep maturing, witness the various forms of digital doubles or face replacements seen more and more often in serious movies. Movies such as Roman Polanski’s The Pianist or Sönke Wortmann’s Das Wunder von Bern, where you wouldn’t have seen them a couple of years ago. That wouldn’t have happened if visual effects weren’t able to guarantee a solid performance and believability.

Conventions such as the eDIT/VES can definitely serve as a breeding ground for trends like that, which usually start with commercials. Some brilliant and highly creative examples were presented and discussed.

We all know that it is much easier for commercials, because they rely much more on decorative pictures and eye-catching visuals than on coherent stories and character development, to create stunning effects and breathtaking visuals. They will continue to lead the way, push the envelope and inevitably the less agile features will follow.

When it comes to pure animation, it has become very obvious that Flash and other sorts of digital animation have left their South Park-ish 2D looks behind, and animators have begun to explore different perspectives as a result of more sophisticated storytelling tools. eDIT/VES takes care of a flow of information that is necessary for further development and progress in all arts devoted to the visual image, and provides an opportunity for people to understand that the tool for future filmmaking is convergence and looking outside your own gene pool.

Harald Siepermann lives in Hamburg, Germany, and works as a freelance character designer for Walt Disney Feature Animation, DreamWorks and many other major studios. His credits include Mulan, Tarzan, Treasure Planet and Brother Bear. He also runs his own comic book series, Alfred J. Kwak, which has been transformed into a TV series and stage play. He is currently developing a feature film based on this character.