Independent film
An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a
It is not unusual for well-known actors who are cast in independent features to take substantial pay cuts for a variety of reasons: if they truly believe in the message of the film, they feel indebted to a filmmaker for a career break; their career is otherwise stalled, or they feel unable to manage a more significant commitment to a studio film; the film offers an opportunity to showcase a talent that has not gained traction in the studio system; or simply because they want to work with a particular director that they admire. Many examples of the latter include John Travolta and Bruce Willis taking less pay to work with Quentin Tarantino on Pulp Fiction.[2]
Generally, the marketing of independent films is characterized by
History
Edison Trust
In 1908, the
At the time of the formation of the MPPC,
The Edison Trust was soon ended by two decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States: one in 1912, which canceled the patent on raw film, and a second in 1915, which cancelled all MPPC patents. Though these decisions succeeded at legalizing independent film, they would do little to remedy the de facto ban on small productions; the independent filmmakers who had fled to Southern California during the enforcement of the trust had already laid the groundwork for the studio system of classical Hollywood cinema.
Studio system
In early 1910, director
During the Edison era of the early 1900s, many
By establishing a new system of production, distribution, and exhibition which was independent of The Edison Trust in New York, these studios opened up new horizons for
While the small studios that made up Poverty Row could be characterized as existing "independently" of any major studio, they utilized the same kind of vertically and horizontally integrated systems of business as the larger players in the game. Though the eventual breakup of the studio system and its restrictive chain-theater distribution network would leave independent movie houses eager for the kind of populist, seat-filling product of the Poverty Row studios, that same paradigm shift would also lead to the decline and ultimate disappearance of "Poverty Row" as a Hollywood phenomenon. While the kinds of films produced by Poverty Row studios only grew in popularity, they would eventually become increasingly available both from major production companies and from independent producers who no longer needed to rely on a studio's ability to package and release their work.
This table lists the companies active in late 1935 illustrates the categories commonly used to characterize the Hollywood system.
Big Five majors | Little Three majors | Poverty Row (top four of many) |
---|---|---|
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | United Artists | Grand National |
Paramount Pictures | Columbia Pictures | Republic Pictures |
20th Century Fox
|
Universal Studios
|
Monogram Pictures |
Warner Bros. | Producers Releasing Corporation (a.k.a. PRC) | |
RKO Pictures |
Lincoln Motion Picture Company, United Artists and resistance to the studio system
The studio system quickly became so powerful that some filmmakers once again sought independence. On May 24, 1916, the Lincoln Motion Picture Company was formed, the first movie studio owned and controlled by independent filmmakers.[4] In 1919, four of the leading figures in American
The four partners, with advice from McAdoo (son-in-law and former
Still, even with a broadening of the company, UA struggled. The
Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers
In 1941,
Low-budget films
The efforts of the SIMPP and the advent of inexpensive portable cameras during
Little Fugitive became the first independent film to be nominated for
Unlike the films made within the studio system, these new low-budget films could afford to take risks and explore new artistic territory outside the classical Hollywood narrative. Maya Deren was soon joined in New York by a crowd of like-minded
Exploitation boom and the MPAA rating system
Not all low-budget films existed as non-commercial art ventures. The success of films like Little Fugitive, which had been made with low (or sometimes
Like those of the avant-garde, the films of
In 1968, a young filmmaker named
With the production code abandoned and violent and disturbing films like Romero's gaining popularity, Hollywood opted to placate the uneasy filmgoing public with the MPAA ratings system, which would place restrictions on ticket sales to young people. Unlike the production code, this rating system posed a threat to independent films in that it would affect the number of tickets they could sell and cut into the grindhouse cinema's share of the youth market. This change would further widen the divide between commercial and non-commercial films.
However, having a film audience-classified is strictly voluntary for independents and there's no legal impediment to releasing movies on an unrated basis. However, unrated movies face obstacles in marketing because media outlets such as TV channels, newspapers and websites often place their own restrictions on movies that do not come with a built-in national rating in order to avoid presenting movies to inappropriately young audiences.[12]
New Hollywood and independent filmmaking
Following the advent of
The attempt was a success, and in 1955 United Artists became the first "studio" without an actual studio. UA leased space at the Pickford/Fairbanks Studio, but did not own a studio lot as such. Because of this, many of their films would be shot on location. Primarily acting as bankers, they offered money to independent producers. Thus UA did not have the overhead, the maintenance or the expensive production staff which ran up costs at other studios. UA went public in 1956, and as the other mainstream studios fell into decline, UA prospered, adding relationships with the Mirisch brothers, Billy Wilder, Joseph E. Levine and others.
By the late 1950s, RKO had ceased film production, and the remaining four of the big five had recognized that they did not know how to reach the youth audience. In an attempt to capture this audience, the Studios hired a host of young filmmakers (many of whom were mentored by
Within a month, another young Corman trainee,
While most members of the New Hollywood generation were, or started out as, independent filmmakers, a number of their projects were produced and released by major studios. The New Hollywood generation soon became firmly entrenched in a revived incarnation of the studio system, which financed the development, production and distribution of their films. Very few of these filmmakers ever independently financed or independently released a film of their own, or ever worked on an independently financed production during the height of the generation's influence. Seemingly independent films such as Taxi Driver, The Last Picture Show and others were studio films: the scripts were based on studio pitches and subsequently paid for by the studios, the production financing was from the studio, and the marketing and distribution of the films were designed and controlled by the studio's advertising agency. Though Coppola made considerable efforts to resist the influence of the studios, opting to finance his risky 1979 film Apocalypse Now himself rather than compromise with skeptical studio executives, he, and filmmakers like him, had saved the old studios from financial ruin by providing them with a new formula for success.
Indeed, it was during this period that the very definition of an independent film became blurred. Though Midnight Cowboy was financed by United Artists, the company was certainly a studio. Likewise, Zoetrope was another "independent studio" which worked within the system to make a space for independent directors who needed funding. George Lucas would leave Zoetrope in 1971 to create his own independent studio, Lucasfilm, which would produce the blockbuster Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. In fact, the only two movies of the movement which can be described as uncompromisingly independent are Easy Rider at the beginning, and Peter Bogdanovich's They All Laughed, at the end. Peter Bogdanovich bought back the rights from the studio to his 1980 film and paid for its distribution out of his own pocket, convinced that the picture was better than what the studio believed — he eventually went bankrupt because of this.
In retrospect, it can be seen that
On realizing how much money could potentially be made in films, major
Film critic Manohla Dargis described this era as the "halcyon age" of the decade's filmmaking that "was less revolution than business as usual, with rebel hype".[15] She also pointed out in her New York Times article that enthusiasts insisted this era was "when American movies grew up (or at least starred underdressed actresses); when directors did what they wanted (or at least were transformed into brands); when creativity ruled (or at least ran gloriously amok, albeit often on the studio's dime)."[16]
Outside Hollywood
During the 1970s, shifts in thematic depictions of sexuality and violence occurred in American cinema, prominently featuring heightened depictions of realistic sex and violence. Directors who wished to reach mainstream audiences of
When Lynch's first feature film, Eraserhead (1977), brought Lynch to the attention of producer Mel Brooks, he soon found himself in charge of the $5 million film The Elephant Man (1980) for Paramount. Though Eraserhead was strictly an out-of-pocket, low-budget, independent film, Lynch made the transition with unprecedented grace. The film was a huge commercial success, and earned eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay nods for Lynch.[19] It also established his place as a commercially viable, if somewhat dark and unconventional, Hollywood director. Seeing Lynch as a fellow studio convert, George Lucas, a fan of Eraserhead and now the darling of the studios, offered Lynch the opportunity to direct his next Star Wars sequel, Return of the Jedi (1983). However, Lynch had seen what had happened to Lucas and his comrades in arms after their failed attempt to do away with the studio system. He refused the opportunity, stating that he would rather work on his own projects.[20]
Lynch instead chose to direct a big budget adaptation of Frank Herbert's science fiction novel Dune for Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis's De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, on the condition that the company release a second Lynch project, over which the director would have complete creative control. Although De Laurentiis hoped it would be the next Star Wars, Lynch's Dune (1984) was a critical and commercial flop, grossing a mere $27.4 million domestically against a $45 million budget. De Laurentiis, furious that the film had been a commercial disaster, was then forced to produce any film Lynch desired. He offered Lynch only $6 million in order to minimize the risk if the film had failed to recoup its costs; however, the film, Blue Velvet (1986), was a resounding success, earning him another Academy Award for Best Director nod.[21] Lynch subsequently returned to independent filmmaking, and did not work with another major studio for over a decade.
Unlike the former, John Waters released most of his films during his early life through his own production company,
Independent Cinema movement
In 1978,
In 1991, the festival was officially renamed the Sundance Film Festival, after Redford's famous role as
In 2005, about 15% of the U.S. domestic box office revenue was from independent studios.[25]
Co-optation
The 1990s saw the rise and success of independent films not only through the film festival circuit but at the box office as well while established actors, such as
The acquisitions of the smaller studios by conglomerate Hollywood was a plan in part to take over the independent film industry and at the same time start "independent" studios of their own. The following are all "indie" studios owned by conglomerate Hollywood:
- Sony Pictures Classics (1992–present)
- Searchlight Pictures (1994–present)
- Paramount Vantage (1998–2013)
- Miramax (1979–present)
- Focus Features (2002–present)
- Warner Independent Pictures (2003–2008)[28]
- Castle Rock Entertainment (1987–present)
- Marvel Studios (1993–present)
By the early 2000s, Hollywood was producing three different classes of films: 1) big-budget blockbusters, 2) art films, specialty films and niche-market films produced by the conglomerate-owned "indies" and 3) genre and specialty films coming from true indie studios and producers. The third category comprised over half the features released in the United States and usually cost between $5 and $10 million to produce.[29]
Hollywood was producing these three different classes of feature films by means of three different types of producers. The superior products were the large, budget blockbusters and high-cost star vehicles marketed by the six major studio producer-distributors. Budgets on the major studios' pictures averaged $100 million, with approximately one-third of it spent on marketing because of the large release campaigns. Another class of Hollywood feature film included art films, specialty films, and other niche-market fare controlled by the conglomerates' indie subsidiaries. Budgets on these indie films averaged $40 million per release in the early 2000s, with $10 million to $15 million spent on marketing (MPA, 2006:12). The final class of film consisted of genre and specialty films whose release campaigns were administered by independent producer-distributors with only a few dozen or possibly a few hundred screens in select urban markets. Films like these usually cost less than $10 million, but frequently less than $5 million, with small marketing budgets that escalate if and when a particular film performs.[30]
Internationally
The independent film industry exists globally. Many of the most prestigious film festivals are hosted in various cities around the world.[31] The Berlin International Film Festival attracts over 130 countries, making it the largest film festival in the world.[32] Other large events include the Toronto International Film Festival, Hong Kong International Film Festival, and the Panafrican Film and TV Festival of Ouagadougou.[31]
The European Union, specifically through the European Cinema and VOD Initiative (ECVI), has established programs that attempt to adapt the film industry to an increasing digital demand for film on video on demand services, outside of theatrical screenings. With this program, VOD offerings are paired with traditional movie screenings.[33] There is also more of a push from EU National governments to fund all aspects of the arts, including film.[34] The European Commission for Culture has an Audiovisual sector, for example, whose role is most notably to help distribute and promote films and festivals across Europe. Additionally, the Commission organizes policymaking, research, and reporting on "media literacy" and "digital distribution."[34]
Technology and democratization
As with other media, the availability of new technologies has fueled the democratization of filmmaking and the growth of independent film. In the late forties and fifties, new inexpensive portable cameras made it easier for independent filmmakers to produce content without studio backing. The emergence of camcorders in the eighties broadened the pool of filmmakers experimenting with the newly available technology. More recently, the switch from film to digital cameras, inexpensive non-linear editing and the move to distribution via the internet have led to more people being able to make and exhibit movies of their own, including young people and individuals from marginalized communities. These people may have little to no formal technical or academic training, but instead are autodidactic filmmakers, using online sources to learn the craft. Aspiring filmmakers can range from those simply with access to a smartphone or digital camera, to those who write "spec" scripts (to pitch to studios), actively network, and use crowdsourcing and other financing to get their films professionally produced. Oftentimes, aspiring filmmakers have other day-jobs to support themselves financially while they pitch their scripts and ideas to independent film production companies, talent agents, and wealthy investors. This recent technology-fueled renaissance has helped fuel other supporting industries such as the "prosumer" camera segment and film schools for those who are less autodidactic. Film programs in universities such as NYU in New York and USC in Los Angeles have benefited from this transitional growth.[35]
Crowdsourced funding
The economic side of filmmaking is also less of an obstacle than before, because the backing of a major studio is no longer needed to access necessary movie funding. Crowdfunding services like Kickstarter, Pozible, and Tubestart have helped people raise thousands of dollars; enough to fund their own, low-budget productions.[36] As a result of the falling cost of technology to make, edit and digitally distribute films, filmmaking is more widely accessible than ever before.
Full-length films are often showcased at film festivals such as the Sundance Film Festival, Slamdance Film Festival, South by Southwest Festival, Raindance Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, and Palm Springs Film Festival.[37] Award winners from these exhibitions are more likely to get picked up for distribution by major film distributors. Film festivals and screenings like these are just one of the options in which movies can be independently produced/released.
Analog to digital
The development of independent film in the 1990s and 21st century has been stimulated by a range of technical innovations, including the development of affordable
One of the examples of such a new indie approach to filmmaking is the 1999 Oscar-nominated documentary film Genghis Blues that was shot by the Belic brothers on two Hi8 consumer camcorders and won that year's Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for a Documentary.[39] At the time, distribution was still film-based so the movie had to be "filmed out" from interlaced digital video format to film running at traditional 24-frame per second rate, so interlacing artefacts are noticeable at times. In 2004 Panasonic released the DVX100 camcorder, which featured film-like 24-frame per second shooting rate. This gave independent filmmakers the ability to shoot video at a frame rate considered standard for movies at the time[40] and opened the possibility of clean digital frame to film frame conversion. Several acclaimed films were made with this camera, for example Iraq in Fragments.[41] More recent devices allow "filming" at very high frame rates to facilitate distribution into a number of frame rates without artifacts.
Even though new cinema cameras such as the
New technologies have also allowed the development of new cinematic techniques originating in independent films, such as the development of the zoom lens in the early 20th century. The use of the (controversial) hand-held shot made popular in the ground-breaking The Blair Witch Project also lead to an entirely new subgenre: the found-footage film.
Independent filmmaking has also benefited from the new editing software. Instead of needing a post-house to do the editing, independent film makers use a personal computer or even just a cellphone with editing software to edit their films. Editing software available include
Camera phone filmmaking
Nowadays, high pixel Camera phones are widely using also for mainstream film cinematography. New Love Meetings, a documentary film shot on Nokia N90, directed by Barbara Seghezzi and Marcello Mencarini in 2005 from Italy, Why Didn't Anybody Tell Me It Would Become This Bad in Afghanistan, a docufiction film shot on Samsung, directed by Cyrus Frisch in 2007 from Netherlands, SMS Sugar Man, a narrative film shot on Sony Ericsson W900i, directed by Aryan Kaganof in 2008 from South Africa, Veenavaadanam a documentary film shot on Nokia N70, directed by Sathish Kalathil in 2008 from India, Jalachhayam a narrative film shot on Nokia N95, directed by Sathish Kalathil in 2010 from India are the first noted experimental works with the first generation Camera phones.
Hooked Up, To Jennifer, Tangerine, 9 Rides, Unsane, High Flying Bird, Ghost, Pondicherry I WeirDo, Banger are some examples shot on iPhones.
See also
- British Independent Film Awards
- Independent Spirit Awards
- List of film festivals
- Outline of film
- Independent animation
- American Eccentric Cinema
- World cinema
- List of American independent films
References
- ^ Callahan, Peter (January 8, 2001). "Don't Lose It At The Movies The Brothers McMullen and Blair Witch--yes. Waterworld II--no. A primer on indie-film investing". CNN. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
- ^ "How 'Pulp Fiction' Destroyed Indie Cinema". Decider. October 14, 2014.
- ^ Edidin, Peter (August 21, 2005). "La-La Land: The Origins". The New York Times.
Los Angeles's distance from New York was also comforting to independent film producers, making it easier for them to avoid being harassed or sued by the Motion Picture Patents Company, AKA the Trust, which Thomas Edison helped create in 1909.
- ^ "The Lincoln Motion Picture Company is Formed".
- ^ Siklos, Richard (March 4, 2007). "Mission Improbable: Tom Cruise as Mogul". The New York Times.
- ^ "The 26th Academy Awards | 1954". Oscars.org. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
- Sight & Sound. British Film Institute. Archived from the originalon March 9, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
- ^ "Take One: The First Annual Village Voice Film Critics' Poll". The Village Voice. 1999. Archived from the original on August 26, 2007. Retrieved July 27, 2006.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the originalon March 29, 2005.
- ^ "All-time 100 Movies". Time. February 12, 2005. Archived from the original on March 14, 2007. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
- ^ "The Film-Maker's Cooperative: A Brief History". Archived from the original on April 27, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2008., The Film-Makers' Cooperative
- ^ Marich 2013, p. 350.
- ^ "The 42nd Academy Awards | 1970". Oscars.org.
- ^ "What Is Independent Film? – Raindance". Raindance. January 19, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
- ^ Dargis, Manohla (August 17, 2003). "The '70s: Get over it". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
- ^ Dargis, Manohla (November 12, 2010). "'60s Hollywood, the Rebels and the Studios: Power Shifted (or Did It?)". The New York Times. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
- ISSN 0362-4331.
- ^ "Bruce Conner: The Artist Who Shaped Our World". DangerousMinds. June 25, 2011.
- ^ "The 53rd Academy Awards | 1981". Oscars.org.
- ^ "David Lynch interview 1985". Davidlynch.de. Archived from the original on October 11, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
- ^ "The 59th Academy Awards | 1987". Oscars.org.
- ^ "UbuWeb Film & Video: The Cinema of Transgression". Ubu.com. Archived from the original on July 3, 2018. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
- ^ Rabin, Nathan (November 1, 2007). "My Year Of Flops Case File #81 Heaven's Gate". The A.V. Club.
- ^ Peden, Lauren David (December 2005). "Sundance Subdued". Coast Magazine. Freedom Communications. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved November 11, 2007.
- better source needed]
- ^ Levy 1999, p. 13-14.
- ^ a b McDonald & Wasko 2008, p. 29.
- ^ McDonald & Wasko 2008, p. 29-30.
- ^ McDonald & Wasko 2008, p. 30-31.
- ^ McDonald & Wasko 2008, p. 31.
- ^ a b "What Are the World's Most Prestigious Film Festivals?". Mental Floss. November 26, 2013. Archived from the original on March 20, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
- ^ "The Berlinale: A Constantly Evolving Festival". berlinale.de.
- ^ Caranicas, Peter (July 4, 2017). "European Digital Initiatives Offer New Paths for Distributing Indie Films". Variety. Archived from the original on March 20, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
- ^ a b "Culture and Creativity — Audiovisual". European Commission. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
- ^ "New York University – The Top 25 American Film Schools 2017". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 20, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
- ^ "Crowdfunding Statistics and Analytics for Film and Video in 2014". insights.wired.com. January 19, 2015. Archived from the original on January 22, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
- ^ Clemons, Audra. "10 US Film Festivals You Should Know About". Culture Trip. Archived from the original on March 20, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
- ^ Amdur, Meredith (November 16, 2003). "Sharing pix is risky business". Variety. Archived from the original on September 15, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2007.
- ^ "Elijah Wald • Film Writing Archive". elijahwald.com.
- ^ "Internet Filmmaker's FAQ". filmmaking.net. Archived from the original on March 20, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
- ^ Thomson, Patricia (April 2006). "Sundance 2006: Frozen Moments". American Cinematographer.
- better source needed]
- ^ Kirsner 2008, p. 199.
Bibliography
- Marich, Robert (2013). Marketing To Moviegoers: A Handbook of Strategies and Tactics (3rd ed.). ISBN 978-0-80-933196-3.
- Levy, Emanuel (1999). Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-5124-4.
- McDonald, Paul; Wasko, Janet, eds. (2008). The Contemporary Hollywood Film Industry. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978-1-40-513388-3.
- Kirsner, Scott (2008). Inventing the Movies: Hollywood's Epic Battle Between Innovation and the Status Quo, from Thomas Edison to Steve Jobs. Boston: CinemaTech Books. ISBN 978-1-4382-0999-9.
Further reading
- Biskind, Peter (2004). Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-86259-X.
- Hall, Phil (2009). ISBN 978-1-59393-335-7.
- "indies are dead. long live the indies!". The Monster That Ate Hollywood. Season 20. Episode 8. November 22, 2001. PBS.
- King, Geoff (2005). American Independent Cinema. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253218261.
- Lyons, Donald (1994). Independent Visions: A Critical Introduction to Recent Independent American Film. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-38249-8.
- Maccann, Richard Dyer (Summer 1962). "Independence, with a Vengeance". Film Quarterly. 15 (4). University of California Press: 14–21. JSTOR 1211185.
- Merritt, Greg (2000). Celluloid Mavericks: The History of American Independent Film. Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 1-56025-232-4.
- Pierson, John (2004). Spike Mike Reloaded. Miramax Books. ISBN 1-4013-5950-7.
- Redding, Judith; Brownworth, Victoria (1997). Film Fatales: Independent Women Directors. Seal Press. ISBN 1-878067-97-4.
- Vachon, Christine (2006). A Killer Life: How an Independent Film Producer Survives Deals and Disasters in Hollywood and Beyond. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-5630-1.