Our hunch is that we're at an important moment in the history of technology and visual storytelling — a broad term that encompasses filmmaking, TV, online video, and narrative-driven games. New software is making incredible things possible in visual effects and animation, and also democratizing those fields. Web sites offer to help finance film projects, or share ad revenue with video-makers. Marketing and release strategies are shifting by the minute. High-end high-def cameras are plummeting in price. The connection with the audience is changing. Established ways of doing things just don't seem to be working anymore, while new opportunities are emerging. Our goal is for The Conversation to delve into all those issues — and more, with your ideas, help, and participation. The Conversation will focus exclusively on the new business and creative opportunities that are arising in 2008. We expect every participant to bring his or her concerns, questions, or examples of what they've been doing and how well it's working, to share during the sessions or during the designated schmooze-time. (There will also be an opportunity to present during a Saturday workshop session.) The overall goal is for The Conversation to be a real exchange of ideas — a gathering of people working on the edge and thinking about the future. Here's Conversation co-hosts Scott Kirsner and Tiffany Shlain talking about some of the topics that will be on the table: