What is independent cinema?

What is independent cinema?
-          Independent cinema explores subjects considered taboo in the mainstream film industry and are usually created on a low budget.

History
The roots of independent film can be traced back to when the early pioneer filmmakers at the turn of the century resisted the control of the Motion Pictures Patents Company, when filmmakers built their own cameras to escape the Edison trusts in order to relocate to Southern California where they laid the foundations of the American film industry as well as the Hollywood studio system.
Conventions: studio vs independent
Independent
·         It faces a series of topics that conventional films don’t take in consideration such as prostitution, drugs, homosexuality etc.
·         Aesthetics, it includes different formats and ideas, they use different techniques such as black and white, shiny colours, etc.
·         The characters are often more quirky and real. They are also more rounded and neither bad nor good.
·         The storyline is more likely to be non-linear and most include flashbacks.
·         Happy endings are not always present and many end leaving viewers with questions.

Studio
·         Obvious characters, usually stereotypical, such as the action-hero.
·         An easy-to-follow narrative with universal themes, which can be described in one sentence and can be used as a tagline to promote the film.
·         High production values, expensive costumes and locations. These films often use special effects and/or CGI.
·         High profile celebrity actors. These actors can often be related to the film genre.
·         The visual appeal of events or situations you would not see in everyday life, such as explosions, car chases, fantasy worlds and historical settings.
·         Easy to understand plots.

Social and production context
·         Production context is the social and economical aspects which surround the making of a film. The possibilities and impossibilities of film making depending on the budget. Also, it is about what genres and techniques will result in a higher grossing films, directors have to think about what kinds of films are popular.

·         Social context is what films (especially indie films) rely on for people to understand the characters. It consists of what lifestyle they lead and the way they were brought up and educated. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

evaluation

Evaluative analysis My production is the screenplay “Common People” – the main intention for my film was to show the importance of sincerity and being open. This is something humans have never really mastered. I wanted to create something that people could relate to and I wanted to comment on the world around us, I wanted to show a pessimistic view of the world but give a spark of hope at the end- which was my narrative twist. I want to use a mixture of cinematography to show through my theme but keep a quite drab and realistic aesthetic. The films I have studied for inspiration are  When the Day Breaks  (Forbis/Tilby, Canada, 1999) ,  Curfew  (Christensen, US, 2012) ,  La Jettée  (Marker, France, 1962) ,  The Gunfighter  (Kissack, US, 2014) and  Wasp  (Arnold, UK, 2003) . These films are quite different in terms of genre however they all somewhat study and analyse different parts of the human condition and some of th...
Read more

With close references to two scenes from “Pan’s Labyrinth”, explore how cinematography and mise-en-scene create meaning. (A grade)

The story of the toad in the tree is very similar to Ofelia’s mother’s pregnancy. The baby is making her unwell just like the toad is making the tree. This creates a parallel early on in the film from the real world to the fantasy world and shows that the fantasy world is affected by the real world. When Ofelia enters the tree, we can straight away hear the sound of squelching which really adds to the grotesque aesthetic of the film and begins to create a picture of a disgusting place. The shot of Ofelia’s ribbon blowing away in the wind foreshadow the trouble she is going to get into after this quest which makes it more sinister. The grotesque insects crawling around inside the tree represent life and the frog seems to be eating away at it, the bugs are crawling all over Ofelia almost as though they are guiding her or begging for her help. The long shot of Ofelia as she is crawling through the tree establishes the fact that the tree is dying, the roots seem blackened and some are b...
Read more

Heathers: Personal Response (B grade)

‘Heathers’ is possibly one of the darkest teen movies ever written, as it mocks the American school system’s dismissal of deep psychological issues most teenagers face, whether they are the bullies or the bullied. In the film, main character Veronica (Winona Ryder) accidentally kills the height of popularity, Heather Chandler (Kim Walker) and makes it look like a suicide, therefore setting up a strange kind of trend. The dark humour and strange characters make it so different from all the rest, and the perfect display of mob psychology in schools across America leaves viewers wondering whether they should laugh or cry. One of the most memorable scenes is Heather C’s funeral. The scene begins with a low angled shot on the priest which shows the dominance of religion, this could be mocking the idea of religion, and how little it manages to help the young people in the film. The priest then explains how “video games” and “MTV” were the cause of Heather’s “suicide” providing a humorou...
Read more