Codes and conventions of Independent films

When thinking about the genres we could use for our Media Studies 'opening sequence', we had to take in to consideration what we had to work with, so obviously we couldn't produce an elaborate feature film, because we didn't have the necessary tools, say for example, CGI effects and professional cameras. Then, after lots of watching media coursework from the past, it finally occurred to me that the "Indie" genre was the way to go.

"Indie" is short for independent, basically meaning the film is a professional feature length film that is  not produced in a major film studio, mainly due to budget restrictions. Although some people do think that indie films are less inticing, I often think that more work has gone into them because they cannot rely on special effects or fantastic backdrops, and therefore, the actors and storyline are a lot better. Independent films are produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, as well as major companies may also release these films. Some major companies may include 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Dream Works and some indie companies are Film4, Working Title Films, Rogue pictures and TriStar Pictures.

According to the AboutFilmSchools website the codes and conventions of an indie film are as follows:

1) Author’s movies, the director plays a preponderant role and it almost always uses its own scripts and takes charge of other aspects like sound and photography allowing him to express creatively and to capture its feelings and restlessness.

2) Thematic, it faces a series of topics that conventional films don’t take in consideration such as prostitution, drugs, homosexuality, the family decadence, etc.
Financing, the independent film directors consider that, the more relationship with a study, the smaller independence, for this reason, its filming doesn’t fall inside the rigid schemes of the big film studies.
3) Aesthetics, it includes different formats and ideas, they use different techniques such as black and white, shiny colours, etc.
4) Beyond these characteristics, an independent film director should possess an own artistic vision that takes him to be free in the creative process.

The fact that the director plays such a predominant role in the overall process is very important to me, as it allows me to work freely and exercise the muscle. Ideally, independent films can be abstract and there are no rigid guidelines to follow and for me, this means that some indie movies really stand out to me for their quirks. E.G. I recently saw a movie called 'Under The Skin' which was absolutely whacky

and weird, but the cinematography, setting, actors and methods were all incredibly intriguing. There were actually parts in the movie whereby people didn't even know they were being filmed, let alone how to act, capturing the raw essence of humanity. Methods and techniques like these are very rarely used and definitely couldn't be used in a major movie set up.
Independent films very open to the interpretation of many different sub-genres, some being that of romance, thriller and sci-fi, which is important to our group as we have a wider variety to choose from in the foundation and planning stages. We don't want to put ourselves in a box at the minute and my plan is to view as many sources of inspiration as possible before settling of a final sub-genre. Indie films generally deal with very important and sensitive issues, raising awareness and making the audience question the bigger picture.

I also think that before you can actually jump straight in and explore film making, you need to study the directors. Some really out there directors would be Wes Anderson, Danny Boyle, The Coen Brothers and Richard Ayoade. In my next few blog posts, you will see me analyse some incredible work by the likes of these directors.
Personally, I think everything lies in the details of the set design because film is a visual art. I love to see an extra effort being made in the set, whereby a prop will reflect a symbolic reference or the location will be extraordinary. One good example of this is in Richard ayoade's 'Submarine', where water is used as a symbolic reference throughout to symbolise a depression. There is water in almost every scene bringing us back to the constant reminder of the recurring theme.