We live in the era of changes. What we thought of as the film industry a few decades ago is no longer relevant today. The explosion of technology and digital platforms has changed the film business beyond recognition, further fueled by the worldwide pandemic and economic uncertainty that followed.

According to Deborah LaVine, the Dean of the School of Filmmaking, one of the quintessential shifts we see in the film industry at the moment is “a hunger right now for home entertainment that is so intense." No wonder Netflix's original programming has more than doubled since the beginning of 2020, while cinema theaters seem to have partially lost their initial appeal.

LaVine believes that consumers don’t have to rely on major movie studios or television networks (or even streaming services) to deliver content. And content creators have been freed from many of the formalities of the film business, with the ability to create and distribute their own work becoming ever more accessible. Social media has further accelerated this trend and it’s likely not going anywhere soon.

The aspiring filmmakers today have to be “entrepreneurial,” LaVine argues. "There are all sorts of paths available to them, and the space is ripe for audacity."

To find out more about how the film industry is doing right now, Bored Panda reached out to Romina Espinosa, also known as REDROMINA, a filmmaker, published author, and content creator who said that the industry is at a crossroads now.

“The ability to create films has become more accessible so we are seeing many more talented people emerging from all over the world. Because of the growth of the internet and streaming platforms, filming is not location-dependent—you can be filmmaking from anywhere and reach an audience everywhere,” Romina explained.

According to Romina, we'll be seeing more independent films being released alongside the "hundreds of millions" of budget blockbuster films. “Filmmakers will get more creative with the way they tell stories and incorporate new technologies like VR/AR. Films will be more about the experience than exclusively watching on a screen. The next 5-10 years are going to be exciting for filmmakers and movie-goers!”

Most of the action when creating a movie happens behind the scenes and people never get to see it. “I feel most audience members don't realize the amount of work, time, and energy that can go into creating one short 10-second scene. It can go by really fast and enhances the movie-going experience, but it might have been something that took an entire day to create,” Romina explained.