Blog # 10---Option 1

In my opinion, independent film makers have really helped the American film industry. The Hollywood studio has so many rules that the themes end up being about the same. The "Indies" have the power to do whatever they want and come up with crazy themes that they think will be successful. It brings more variety to the American film industry. It also gave film directors and producers that didn't have much money the chance to show their work due to how cheap they were to make. The "Indies" aren't really financially supported so it makes it rough for them to make films.

Independent filmmakers around the world have created a diverse range of film making styles that symbolize their own unique cultures and subcultures such as experimental film and underground film. Some independent filmmakers use digital video techniques. While most of the US film industry is located in Los Angeles, one-third of all independent films in the US are produced in New York City. While Hollywood sold films that were safe, escapist and mega-expensive, independents were the opposite. Now a days, it's easier to make independent films because of all the computer software available and how great the digital camcorders work. They have such nice picture quality to them. Independent films have believable plot lines and realistic characters, and they often delve into the darker side of life that the studios would not touch.

Independent movie-making has resulted in the proliferation and repopularization of short films and short film festivals. Full-length films are often showcased at film festivals such as Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival, the Slamdance Film Festival, the South By Southwest film festival, the UK's Raindance Film Festival, or the Cannes Film Festival. Award winners from these exhibitions often get picked up for distribution by major film studios, and go on to worldwide releases.

It wasn't until the 90s that Miramax changed other studios minds. They started buy "Indies" and were making profit. Small budget films such as Sex, Lies and Videotape, Pulp Fiction and Good Will Hunting helped change people’s attitudes toward independent film. Compared to the studio pictures, indies were made for very little money, relatively quickly and with first time directors and screenwriters. Independent films began grossing hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide, and the studios began to pay attention. Independent film directors are very passionate about their films and will do almost anything to get them produced. Now that the studios have their fingers in the financing of many indie films, it seems that creativeness may have been stifled. Studios cut, re shoot and change the endings of many indie films in order to make them more palatable to a mainstream audience.