Independant+Film

Independent Film
toc An independent film is defined as: "A film that is produced without major funding or with less than 50% funding from a major studio." Genre: The increasing popularity of independent films has inspired a new meaning for the term 'indie film'. The term can now refer to a short film or even a feature film that has an indie 'feel' i.e. has a style and look as though it was creating at low production costs or else addressing a provocative or current cultural theme.

The roots of independent film can be traced back to when the early pioneer filmmakers at the turn of the 20th century resisted the control of the Motion Picture 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. (wikipedia) The studio became independent, and eventually the filmmakers got independene. With time, independent film makers have each their diversified style of filming and ideas that evaluate the culture and subculture of each film. Then with the use of technology, things have developed and become more efficient and the development of independent filmmakers nourished.
 * History**

Popular vs Underground Independant Film
Certain independent films have achieved much success in the box office. A well known example is Brokeback Mountain. The Sundance Film Festival is a celebration of Independent Cinema. The festival itself started by Robert Redford has gathered numerus young directors and started their carear.

Examples of Independent Films:
 * Four Eyed Monsters (dir. Susan Buice & Arin Crumley)
 * The Book of Revelation (dir. Anna Kokkinos)

Film Process
According to Michael Rabiger, a film is a reproduction of conscious. It contains human visceral elements that are manipulated to create a desired vision. He mentions that a film often begins through ideation. This means that rather than a general outline of events, a film begins with "a persistant image, mood, strong feeling, interest, or persuasion." As a result, many of these ideas are strong but many also never reach fruition.
 * Screencraft**

The script writing process involves a specific, conventionalized format of writing using, for example a specific fong (courier) and methods for organizing dialogue, setting, and text. The script is the basis of production organization.
 * Script Writing**

Preproduction involves the materialization of ideation and a concrete production manual to organize, illustrate with a storyboard, and plan the entire production process of the film.
 * Preproduction**

When filming a film it is important to familiarize oneself with camera concepts. When filming human interaction, for example, there is a subjected that acts as well as the subject that is acted upon. The shot point of view has to correspond to the action between individuals in a given situation. For example, the camera can show a shot of a person then a shot of what he or she sees. Conversely, a subject looking off screen, toward an undefined object, depicts the way in which the person sees; that is the emotion of the person in the given moment, whether angry, pensive, etc.
 * Production**

Postproduction involves the selection of the highest quality cilps, editing, and music compilation. It is a strenuous process but one that can make or break a film. Effective editing uses an appropriate mix of effects to create mood, ambience, etc. Music often carries the emotional or visceral aspect of a film and is a vital element toward its success.
 * Postproduction**

During filming, the camera shoots for dialogue since this is the most difficult aspect for continuity, direction, and effect. It is essential to record at least 2 minutes of ambient sound on location as well, in order to fill in any gaps in dialogue later on, in postproduction. Care must be taken to minimize interference. Sound is essential toward the effective presentation of a film, and has to make sense with what's going on on screen and be diegetic (within the characters' script) or non-diegetic (overlapping music or sound to create mood.)
 * Sound**

Dogme 95
An Independent Film group that was created by Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg with a very specific vision of the filmmaking process. The director would essentially not be credit, whereas more emphasis would be placed on the role of the cast. The intent was to //purify// film from superfluous effects or distractions in order to produce greater directness in the communication of ideas. The set of 10 rules for Dogme 95 is called the Vow of Chastity:


 * Rules**:
 * 1) Filming must be done on location. [|Props] and sets must not be brought in (if a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found).
 * 2) The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. (Music must not be used unless it occurs where the scene is being filmed).
 * 3) The camera must be a hand-held camera. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted. (The film must not take place where the camera is standing; filming must take place where the action takes place.)
 * 4) The film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable. (If there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera).
 * 5) Optical work and filters are forbidden.
 * 6) The film must not contain superficial action. (Murders, weapons, etc. must not occur.)
 * 7) Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden. (That is to say that the film takes place here and now.)
 * 8) Genre movies are not acceptable.
 * 9) The final picture must be transferred to the Academy [|35mm film], with an [|aspect ratio] of 4:3, that is, not [|widescreen]. (Originally, the requirement was that the film had to be //filmed// on Academy 35mm film, but the rule was relaxed to allow low-budget productions.)
 * 10) The [|director] must not be credited.

//The above list is imported directly from Dogme 95// http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogme

The success of this project is debatable. It can be argued that film is not a 'pure' genre from the outset since it requires certain communication strategies, conventions and technologies. The audience plays an active role in decoding the message of the film. Furthermore, the camera angle is never pure despite supposedly 'neutral, hand-held' method. Rabiger describes how all creative endeavors have limitations; and this establishment of dispersed control can yield positive results within a film crew.

Art Film
An art film usually envisions expressing certain ideals or ideas. It is commonly very short and projected in unconventional spaces for film such as galleries, buildings, or interiors of churches. These films rarely have a clear narrative and require background information on the artist or film to understand the content.

Example of Film Artists: >
 * Pipilotti Rist

Certain Hollywood or major production feature films can be classifed as art films if they contain certain psychological, artistic, or heavily dramatic qualities. The same applies to films that are criticisms of social or political norms, or else offer a new critical approach to the way the viewer perceives everyday situations, are interesting and insightful.

Some examples of thes kind of art films: > Pi (dir. Darren Aronofsky)
 * Requiem For A Dream (dir. Darren Aronofsky)
 * The Fountain (dir. Darren Aronofsky)
 * Nashville (dir. Robert Altman)
 * The Company (dir. Robert Altmant)
 * Blue Velvet (dir. David Lynch)
 * A Clockwork Orange (dir. Stanley Kubrick)
 * Magnolia (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)
 * Boogie Nights (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)
 * In The Mood For Love (dir. Wong Kar-wai)

Experimental Film
"Experimental film" [or "experimental cinema"] is a term used to describe a range of filmmaking styles that are concerned with avant garde approaches to film making. Many film scholars have argued that experimental film to be one of the major modes of filmmaking, along with the narrative film, the documentary film and the animation film. Like these wide ranging categories, a single definition of what constitutes exprimental film therefore does not adequately cover the many differing approaches, philosophies and techniques that have informed its history. It has been argued that experimental film is in fact a film genre and that many of its more typical features - such as a non-narrative, impressionistic or poetic approaches to the film's construction - define what is popularly understood to be "experimental". One of the pioneers of experimental filmamking was Salvador Dali.

Experimental film is willfully nonconformist. In opposition to "dominant" or "mainstream" cinema, some filmmakers set out to create films which challenge orthodox notions of what a movie can show and how it can show it. These filmmakers work independently of the studio system, and often they work alone. Their films are hard to classify, but usually they are called experimental or avant-garde.

Experimental films are made for many reasons. The filmmaker may wish to express personal experiences or viewpoints in ways that would seem eccentric in a mainstream context. The experiemental filmmaker may tell no story, creating poetic reveries or pulsating visual collages. Alternatively, the filmmaker may create a fictional story, but it will usually challenge the viewer.

Anime
//Ghost in a Shell// is an Indie-style Anime film that incorporates the cyberpunk, philosophical discussion of the borderline of human and machine. It is an example of "adult anime" that is similar to the graphic novel in that it presents serious content in animated form.

Independent Film Channel
The [|Independent Film Channel] (**IFC**), launched in September 1994, is a premium American digital channel dedicated to presenting independent films, unedited and commercial-free.