Do indie films get made on purpose?

Owen Andrade

Owen Andrade

I was thinking the other day, do independent filmmakers ever purposely set out to make indie films, or is it something that just happens because of time and budget limitations? The only reason I ask this is because I've noticed that indie films have a very unique style to them, a style that's hard to replicate without it feeling forced, which makes me think indie films are just "happy accidents" so to speak.

What do you think? And also when does an indie film stop being indie and start being commercial?
 
Indie just means "Made outside of the studio system". It's a REALLY broad term that can mean a 100K movie or a 15M movie. What they are not (general) is 150M movie. That lack of budget limits subject mastter and forces you (to a degree) into a certain "style" of film.
 
Owen Andrade said:
I was thinking the other day, do independent filmmakers ever purposely set out to make indie films, or is it something that just happens because of time and budget limitations?
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I'm interested to know what your definition of "indie films" is. The
way I understand it, any film made outside of the studios is "indie"
(or independent). So any film we make is an "indie" film because
none of us are making films within the studios. And "indie film"
can be commercial, too. Many independently produced films are
picked up by major distributors, get a wide release with lots of
advertising and make a lot of money.

And "independent" can be quite broad. A person with a lot of money
can spend their own money on a movie that is made "independently"
and still be an "indie" film. Even if that is $100,000,000. I do not
believe there is a budget cut off. Or is there? If a very rich person
decided to spend their own money (no investors, no Indiegogo) how
much could they spend before it becomes a studio (non-independent)
movie?
 
Actually, I wasn't even trying to make a movie. The whole thing was a total accident. I was just trying to impress a girl, one thing led to another...oops, made an indie film! ;)
 
Yes, many financially successful indie films are happy accidents. Films like "The Blair Witch Project," "Clerks" and "Paranormal Activity" are prime examples of recent indie films that had commercial success. But the odds are very long. These days there are literally thousands of low budget indie feature films made every year, yet only one out of these thousands becomes commercially successful every few years. The indie "style" you refer to is nothing more than the limitations of budget.

What happens is that the right script finds the right director, somehow the producer finds (or provides) sufficient funds to shoot the film, the right cast and crew become attached, the right editor, sound editor and composer work on the post, and a hungry distributer successfully presents to an audience/culture that finds it appealing for some reason.
 
Alcove Audio said:
These days there are literally thousands of low budget indie feature films made every year, yet only one out of these thousands becomes commercially successful every few years.
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This article is 7 years old so I can only imagine the number of submissions has increased exponentially by now:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/16/movies/16leip.html?_r=1

As an example, let’s take the 2,613 feature films – up 29 percent from 2,023 last year – that were submitted to what has become the primary portal for new filmmakers seeking an audience, the Sundance Film Festival.

These completed movies make up the collective hopes and creative output of tens of thousands of talented people. But only 120 of these films — fewer than 5 percent of all submissions — were selected for screening at the festival.

If it’s a good year, maybe, just maybe, 10 of these movies, or 0.3 percent of the submissions, will be picked up for distribution within the United States.

What will happen to the remaining 2,603 movie submissions? For the most part, nothing.
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If it’s a good year, maybe, just maybe, 10 of these movies, or 0.3 percent of the submissions, will be picked up for distribution within the United States.
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And even those often only receive token distribution to a dozen-dozen theaters for a dozen weeks only, receiving little more than their production budget in ticket revenue, which when figuring in prints and advertising costs make them a bust.

For me, "The indie film look" is a miserable, self-naveling, dysfunction-as-entertainment, drama-fest.
2012: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsBznn8D13zOdHh6cHJBMW5aQkZSMzZYR2V3VUxQVUE#gid=0
  • Blue Valentine
  • City Island
  • Cyrus
  • The Extra Man
  • Happythankyoumoreplease
  • Ondine
  • Please Give
2011: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsBznn8D13zOdGlCeDRmWTFCYXJRWjJ3SUphZDNzMGc#gid=0
  • Homework / The Art of Getting By
  • Like Crazy
  • Martha Marcy May Marlene
  • Meek's Cutoff
  • Melancholia
  • Our Idiot Brother
  • Take Shelter
  • The Ledge
  • The Music Never Stopped
  • The Son of No One
  • Win Win
Wanna see some "entertaining" indie films?
  • Get Low <--- FAVE #2
  • Harry Brown
  • The Human Centipede
  • The Guard <--- FAVE!
  • Margin Call
  • Red State
  • The Troll Hunter / TrollHunter <--- FAVE #3
I wouldn't really call Splice and Black Swan "indie films", but they technically meet the definition. :rolleyes:
 
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