independent vs hollywood - Blog Post 18

Independent vs Hollywood

Blog Post 18

INDEPENDENT FILMS:

An independent film is a profession film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major studio system. They are known to be 'non-mainstream' as they have smaller audiences. Also independent companies usually find it hard to find a distributer. Usually, but not always Independent films tend to be made with considerably lower film budgets than major studio films, furthermore independent films are often screened at local, national or international film festivals before distribution.

A good example of a successful independent film is Slumdog Millionare, this is a film starring Dev Patel and Freida Pinto which is a drama film directed by Danny Boyle, it won the best British independent film in 2008. It was predominantly funded by Film Four. 

Another example of a successful independent film is 'Pulp Fiction' directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring John Travolta, Samuel L Jackson and Uma Thurman. It was the first independent film to gross more than $200 million. The nature of the films development, marketing and distribution had a sweeping effect on the field of independent cinema. 

Gun scene from 'Pulp Fiction'

HOLLYWOOD PRODUCTIONS:

Hollywood productions are known to be 'mainstream', it can be a major film studio which produces and distributes films on a regular basis.  They tend to include big budget blockbusters such as 'Avatar' -2009. These films are usually created for the masses and tend to be based on popular cultures at the time.  Hollywood productions are far more successful in the filming industry, this can be based on various factors such as having a higher budget which can lead to well known actors/actresses, a good location, studios and even props. 

For example, Spider-Man 3 (2007) directed by Sam Raimi, starring Toby Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, was the third most expensive film rocketing at $258 million. The film itself consists of very advanced special effects which already suggests that the film is of high budgets due to its high standard, furthermore big set pieces were used in the film for example in the video below when the bomb explodes and kills venom and the editor.

             

Another great example is Avatar (mentioned earlier) which was directed by James Cameron, starring Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana. Again similarly to Spider-Man 3, Avatar was a very expensive film ranking sixth in 'most expensive films', the high use of animation and special effects works very effectively on Avatar which also suggests and clearly shows that the film is of high budget.