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The buzz wafted in the air above the din of electric guitars and show biz chatter at a benefit for one of the Alley's first digital film incubators Monday night. The digital film revolution is here. And with it, the low-cost high-impact work of tomorrow's Spielbergs and Scorceses.

Some 150 to 200 guests jammed into the cramped loft-like offices of the Manhattan Theatre Source to view the work of more than 20 digital artists, including web projections and premiere short films from Serbia-and talk shop. The Manhattan Theatre Source, a not-for-profit arts service organization supplying visual artists with free space and equipment, has just launched the Digital Source Cinema to help put New York's digital film scene on the map.

"Orson Welles once explained that 'filmmakers are the only artists who can't afford their tools,'" said filmmaker John Sullivan. "With digital production, I can buy an entire system for a fraction of what it costs to make a single movie."

"The turn-around time for digital films is just amazing," said producer and director James Weber of Loosely Translated Productions. "And the quality of the work is still very high." As if to prove Weber's point, members of his production team walked around the party with digital cameras, recording a half-hour film to show at the end of the evening.

"There's no place that exists where artists can put together their work without relying on a trust fund," said Fiona Jones, one of six founders and directors of the Manhattan Theatre Source. "We connect talented artists to those interested in supporting them. They in turn work hard, and introduce us to some wonderful artists."

The common thread with most of the people interviewed for this story is that digital filmmaking allows both the professional and non-professional alike unprecedented access to creating film.

For example, 400 feet of unprocessed film - about 12 minutes worth - would cost John Sullivan $120 with his student discount. By contrast, a tape cassette for his digital XL1 camera costs less than $10.

"I can put together a full production system for between $8,000 and $10,000," said Sullivan, who broadcast his 11-minute short "Safe Space" at the benefit. The film cost less than $75 to produce.

Others noted that while digital filmmaking holds a great deal of promise, the industry is still in its infancy. "I can't say I've been to many of these events," said renowned Alley columnist and observer Courtney Pulitzer.

And even a diehard digital fan like John Sullivan admits that digital film still has a ways to go. He says the difference between digital tape and traditional film stock is "like watercolors versus oil-based paints."

"But digital film allows me to keep shooting and getting better," he said. "It's giving me more opportunities."