Lesson Objective: To understand the characteristics of the independent film industry

Independent Film

Indie films share mechanical and narrative attributes, which differ from Hollywood’s.

Hollywood:

• Adheres to continuity editing, the films of the indie genre

• Films need medium close shots and shot/reverse shots to keep the film together

• Big Budget/famous actors

Hollywood vs Independent Film

Independent:• makes use of techniques that conflict

the basic purpose of Hollywood editing e.g. handheld camera

• Make use of other types of shots more so than Hollywood does.

• Refusal to use epic establishing shots

• Small budget/less well known actors

“In a scene where Juno (Ellen Page) and Leah (Olivia Thirlby) are at the mall, there is no establishing shot. The narrative opens directly into a conversation between Juno and Leah at a new setting the audience has not seen before. A mall is something many audience members can recognize, so they eventually understand where they are, but with no exterior long shot, it takes a few moments. This is the opposite of what continuity editing tries to maintain. Here viewers are unsure and not kept totally clear on what is happening inside the film”

(King)

Juno• Lack of establishing shot (Thompson 2007)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fERhVMc30JU

Indie filmmakers use other techniques beside the distance of the shot to make their films stand apart from Hollywood’s. One unique method is using a mismatch of sound and image(Tzioumakis)

Handheld Camera

Inexact or off-centre framing – disorientating

Unconventional use of split-screen

Narrative structureHollywood:

• Linear

• Beginning, middle, end

• Equilibrium (Todorov)

• Chronological

Independent:

• non-linear

• Explorative

• Not necessarily in chronological order

• Unstructured

“some independent features are marked by their lack of strong, forward moving narrative drive, opting instead for more relaxed or de-centred structures…” (King)

CharactersHollywood:

“Hollywood protagonists tend to be active, to seek out goals and pursue them rather than having goals simply thrust upon them”

(Thompson)

Independent:

The characters are generally “goal-oriented, psychologically motivated”

(Tzioumakis)

Socially topical rather than timeless

• Select Brief

• Select two tasks

• Create Blog

• Email me blogsite address

• Upload some initial research (e.g. mood board of topic)

For next lessonj.evans@oaklandscatholicschool.org

http://asmediastudiesatoaklands.blogspot.co.uk/

https://twitter.com/OaklandsMedia