Independent Film - Present Day and Digital Filmmaking

Present Day and Digital Filmmaking

Today, due to the large volume of inexpensive, high end digital film equipment available at the consumer level, independent filmmakers are no longer dependent on major studios to provide them with the tools they need to produce a film. Thanks to the falling cost of technology, thousands of small production companies can obtain the resources they need to produce entertaining films at a fraction of the cost of the big Hollywood studios. Post production has also been simplified by non-linear editing software available for home computers.

Presently, five of the Golden Age Majors continue to exist as important Hollywood studio entities through 2009. Their output is still marked by familiar stories and conservative choices in cast and crew. Companies such as Lucasfilm continue to exist, co-financing their productions and partnering with Big Six studios for distribution. In fact, co-financing has become a growing trend in modern day Hollywood, with over two-thirds of the films put out by Warner Bros. in 2000 being funded as joint ventures, up from 10% in 1987.

In an effort to cash in on the present day boom in independent film, today's Big Six major studios have created a number of independent-flavored subsidiaries, designed to develop less commercial, more character driven films which appeal to the growing art house market. These include MGM, UA (under MGM), New Line Cinema, HBO Films, Castle Rock Entertainment, Disneynature, DreamWorks, Sony Pictures Classics, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Miramax Films, Warner Independent Pictures, Picturehouse, Paramount Classics/Paramount Vantage, Go Fish Pictures (under DreamWorks), Focus Features, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, Destination Films, Fox Faith, Fox Atomic, Gener8Xion Entertainment, Hollywood Pictures, Rogue Pictures and Sherwood Pictures.

The increasing popularity and feasibility of low-budget films over the last 15 years has led to a vast increase in the number of aspiring filmmakers — people who have written spec scripts and who hope to find several million dollars to turn that script into a successful independent film like Reservoir Dogs, Little Miss Sunshine, or Juno. Aspiring filmmakers often work day-jobs while they pitch their scripts to independent film production companies, talent agents, and wealthy investors. Their dreams are much more attainable than they were before the independent film revolution because gaining the backing of a major studio is no longer needed in order for aspiring filmmakers to potentially access millions of dollars to make their film.

Independent movie-making has also resulted in the proliferation and repopularization of short films and short film festivals. Full-length films are often showcased at film festivals such as the Sundance Film Festival, the Slamdance Film Festival, the South By Southwest film festival, the Raindance Film Festival, ACE Film Festival, or the Cannes Film Festival. Award winners from these exhibitions are more likely to get picked up for distribution by major film studios.

The following studios are considered to be the most prevalent of the modern independent studios (they are used to produce/release independent films and foreign-language films in America):

• Film4 Productions
• Lions Gate Films
• Summit Entertainment
• Overture Films (out of business)
• Hannover House
• IFC Films
• Samuel Goldwyn Films
• The Weinstein Company/Dimension Films
• Magnolia Pictures
• Palm Pictures
• Tartan Films
• Newmarket Films
• ThinkFilm
• Troma Entertainment
• Maverick Entertainment Group
• First Look Studios (out of business)
• Image Entertainment
• Maya Entertainment
• Entertainment One
• Phase 4 Films
• Yari Film Group
• Screen Media Films
• LD Entertainment
• Millennium Entertainment

In addition to these higher profile "independent" studios there are thousands of smaller production companies that produce authentic independent films every year. These smaller companies look to regionally release their films theatrically or for additional financing and resources to distribute, advertise and exhibit their project on a national scale. The direct-to-video market is not often noted as artistically fertile ground but among its many entries are ambitious independent films that either failed to achieve theatrical distribution or did not seek it. Moving forward, particularly as theatrical filming goes digital and distribution eventually follows, the line between "film," direct-to-disc productions, and feature-length videos whose main distribution channel is wholly electronic, should continue to blur.

One third of all American independent films are produced in New York City.