The New Independent Film Paradigm

Industry experts predict that an implosion in the film world is inevitable, as a number of $250 million movies will inevitably flop and alter the industry forever. Simultaneously, digital media has revolutionized movies, as advances in affordable cameras and editing software, enables independent films to look comparable to any Hollywood feature at a fraction of its cost. The advent of online distribution sites provide an affordable means of distributing movies to a global audience that previously did not exist. The phenomenal growth of social media provides an extremely effective mechanism for marketing that is virtually unlimited.

In effect, changes in the industry have leveled the playing field and the independent filmmaker is operating in the best of times – the beginning of a brand new paradigm for making and selling movies. The advent of independent films is no longer a revolution, it is an established fact within the movie industry and is described in The Changing Movie Landscape.

As high quality movies can now be made for relatively little cost, the profit potential for making independent films is very real. Given the standard today does not require filmmakers to resort to using expensive 35 mm film, a quality movie production budget can be kept low, which increases its chances of returning a profit. The industry is filled with examples of movies that were made on very low budgets but went on to reap incredible returns. A number of these are identified in The Potential Of Low Budget Movies.

Because quality movies can be made independently and not have to rely on the green lighting of major studios, investors and filmmakers can now make the movies they want to make. And with every supposed sure-fire mega-blockbuster that bombs, along with every unheralded feature that finds an audience and generates incredible sales, it becomes readily apparent that Hollywood doesn’t hold the key to any guarantees for a hit. In fact, as described in Any Movie Concept Can Work, a great movie can come from any source.