After discovering a meter-long shelf with screws for fluid heads and tripods in Sachtler’s development department, a smile crossed Jon Fauer’s face. The famous and internationally esteemed cameraman seemed to have found paradise – spare parts galore, exactly what he looks for every time he shoots.

The anecdote says a lot about Fauer and his work – he pays attention to details. While doing a tour of the premises in Eching he stopped every now and then to talk to Sachtler employees, to go over details of CAD drawings, to look over the engineers’ shoulders in the development department and even filmed the tour with a small camcorder.

During the visit his main focus was on the exchange of ideas and information. At the Wendelin Sachtler Academy, Sachtler's product managers and marketing department held a round-table discussion about the industry's future.

“Time is money, meaning, speed is the topic of the future”, Fauer explained from experience. “Only those who work cost-effectively will be able to compete.” He added that this would also have consequences for producers of camera support equipment. Very often, the entire camera crew is out there entirely on their own, which means that equipment has to become lighter and more flexible. In this context, he mentioned Sachtler’s SOOM. “I tested it recently and as a tripod it is simply fantastic – an entire grip department in one portable case. Quite often I have used the SOOM as a monopod, too.”

According to Fauer, the industry is becoming more global and appears to be increasingly polarized between high-end features, independent features, Internet, television and new media. “High-end features will, I think, be shot on film for quite some time. Some of it is economics. The Academy’s Digital Dilemma Report showed us how film is, at the moment, a robust archival medium that is still far less expensive to store than digital assets. However, films will be finished digitally, and 4K projection is coming soon to a theatre near you. At the same time, digital cameras will strive for ever higher resolutions. Television is a hungry medium and HD production is feeding that. But, at the