On the distribution side, the driving force is money, but on the production side, technology leads the way, with filmmakers having a hand on the steering wheel.
With the technology advances in the last 10 years, a new movement called do-it-yourself (DIY) filmmaking has sprung up among a new generation of filmmakers. The DIY movement has its roots in the first films ever made, and extends through John Cassavetes and up to Spike Lee. Now, many more filmmakers are choosing to go this route, and are producing films without major or independent studios.
The technological breakthroughs have extended to all areas of filmmaking. There are cheap digital cameras that can produce images that are either very close to film, or purposely very different from film. Music can be recorded in home studios. Laptops can handle editing. Everything now comes in a cheap version, and though it may all add up to moderately priced, it’s still not the fortune once required.
The biggest concern for current DIY filmmakers is to be able to be self-sustaining – i.e, being able to continue to make movies and survive at the same time. The common solution is keep costs as low as possible (using new technologies), perhaps under $20,000 for one movie. Most of these inexpensive movies have been small character dramas. This make perfect sense, filmmakers are shooting what they know, and what is available. Can large canvas films be made on this kind of budget? It hasn’t happened yet, but I believe it is possible, with the right kind of film and a lot of luck.
The first murmurs of these possibilities are present in studio films. “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” was a big budget project with movie stars – but it didn’t start out that way. The director labored for years over 6 minutes of footage, all produced on his home computer. It was enough to get Hollywood interested, and forty million dollars were poured into the complete, 106 minute film. Not a low budject indie by any means, but those first six minutes give a glimpse of what might be soon possible, on a slightly smaller scale.
That scale was implemented in the Sundance hit “Primer”, from 2004. Though made for only seven grand, it embraced one of the classic bid budget genres – time travel. However, instead getting a Delorean up to 88 miles per hour, the characters in “Primer” simply turn a few valves on a aluminum box. While not a large scale film in setting, it does examine the large scale issues of time travel, such as doubles, fate, control, and prediction. Most of the actors in “Primer” double as crew members, quite a contrast to large scale Hollywood productions with 50 to 100 crew members.
Many productions have realized that films don’t need to be made with that kind of crew. Instead, a few key members can contribute in many areas to get the film made. On the very low end of the scale, there is no crew, and the camera equipment consists of cell phones. This is the approach the Beastie Boys new film took, letting the audience shoot their concert film, and then editing together the best footage. Now granted, most filmmakers don’t quite want the “cell phone” look, but they can get what they need on cameras that cost not much more then cell phones.
So, will we soon have independent film circuits criss-crossing the country (and the world), playing epic films shot on cell phones? Multiple cases might not happen within the next year, but I believe the little isolated pockets that are starting to form will eventually come together to reveal a truly new way of producing movies.
Notable DVDs this month:
The Complete Mr. Arkadin (aka Confidential Report) - Criterion Collection (April 18) – Another lost Orson Welles masterpiece is put back together. There are three versions presented here, including the original American and British versions, and a new comprehensive version. The set is packed, with original radio broadcasts of the source material, audio commentary and interviews with scholars, and even the original novel.
Match Point / Shopgirl (April 25) – Two small movies that didn’t get much attention at awards time (although “Match Point” did grab a best original screenplay nomination). They contain some of the best characters, and best acting of last year. “Shopgirl” has deleted scenes and a commentary, while the “Match Point” disc contains nothing but the movie.
• Alex Mechlin writes on the first of every month, exclusively in Lumino Magazine.
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