Ranting and Raving

This post was inspired by my friends ranting and raving about movies. My attempt to explain the different types of film making, and what you think is true about some types of film really isn’t.

In the film world there are two types of movies, studio and independent. Studio films are made by studios, and they are putting their own money into a film expecting a turnover. Independent films have private investors that are hoping for profit. In reality the two are the same, but who is fronting the bill is the difference. Independent films typically thought of as being seen as “artsy,” or bad or cheap, or many other things. I feel that there is a bias that when people know that they are watching an indie film. Most people don’t realize is that most companies have a section that is devoted to just supporting indie filmmaker, which doesn’t that create a paradox? Even companies that have nothing to do with film are jumping on the bandwagon.

A small example of this is Section Eight production (now closed). Section Eight was an independent production company that was fronted by a major motion studio. With star power behind the company (George Clooney) the films were independently made, with a studio backing.

Staying on that thought a movie that people don’t realize is indie film that people love is Oceans 11. Section Eight produced this and paid the writer, Clooney, $1.00.

Is having a studio movie better than an indie film? In some aspects I believe it does, there is money that is there. And well frankly it takes money to make a film. On the other hand there is greater pressure to make a profit. Doing this the studios typically try to appeal to the mass audiences.

Both sides of film have their problems. Story telling for a profit causes people to create art for money and not for betterment of though. There isn’t anything wrong with this honestly, because your message can still be told through this medium. I guess what I am saying is that just because something is called indie doesn’t mean that it is not a good film.