Analyzing the Present and the Possible Future of Independent Cinema

The phrase "shoestring budget " has long been attached with how an independent film is made. Although there are some blurry areas seen especially when a film backed up by a major studio is branded as "independent," the overall idea of independent film, also often addressed as "indie film," is quite clear: it is a non-commercial motion picture work primarily exhibited and distributed for art-house and independent film viewers.

Independent vs. Mainstream: A Comparison

An independent film can be packaged like a mainstream offer. Yet, people within the independent circuit primarily take advantage of the fact that they can better explore and creatively control their vision and storytelling for their projects. Instead of always using a commercial cinema's formulaic three-act formula for a movie with a typical beginning, middle, and end, independent filmmakers have more license to express themselves, experiment, and come up with alternative ways to tell their stories. They also don't get tied up with the mainstream requirements of using bankable names and commercial elements to recuperate a large production's cost.

Independent Cinema's Current Role in the World of Filmmaking

Independent cinema offers something relatively new and fresh so audiences have a greater variety of choices than just mainstream movies. Commercial offers utilize a generally tried-and-tested formula where ideally, a movie works around a premise already used for countless times since the time of black-and-white movies, but the actors and actresses, the settings, and the film technology change as time passes by. And so, coming up with a "new" film doesn't necessarily mean coming up with a "new" story. Every new project just changes treatment, format, and ways to become an indirect derivative of another old film's story. For making independent films, it also doesn't literally mean coming up with an "original story," but it really provides more diverse film options whether inside or outside the widely used "mainstream movie formula."

Although independent films tend to have a much limited scope in terms of audience, they can still flood film festivals with cash and they typically bring home awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Hollywood Foreign Press Association (Golden Globes), British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and other renowned awards organizations around the world.

Present and Future Challenges

There is an awareness that Hollywood has almost completely abandoned the indie movie business in favor of merchandisable CGI spectacles for the simple reason of better profitability. There seems to be only a few that still exist to keep up with the prestige and minimal demand for artistic, socially relevant, and more experimental films that can grace film festivals and awards season events. Because of the smaller demand, its greatest challenge is how to increase viewership to also increase the opportunities for filmmakers more interested in producing projects geared towards artistic pursuits.

Independent Cinema in the Next 10 Years

Perhaps, in the next 10 years, digital technology and the increasing demand for audio-visual content can pave way for more independent movie projects . Aside from sustaining the kind of independent film production set-up and venues for showcasing independent movies already existing now, indie movies in the next decade may require more short films that can be conveniently made available in gadgets like mobile phones, tablets, and handheld game consoles. Pay TV channels and distributions through the likes of Netflix and iTunes may also become much more beneficial to independent filmmakers because instead of them looking for their audience, their audience would be able to look for them instead -- even while simply being at the comfort of their own homes.