I keep noticing people talking about problems in cinema like they’re new and it’s kinda weird. Corpos bought up the studios and took over the industry way back in black-and-white times. If anything, the lower bar for entry in modern times has made it easier for art to be made without the approval and funding of capitalists. (Not to downplay said problems. They’re still awful.)
It’s because we haven’t done enough trust-busting in the last few decades. Back in the day, the government said it was anticompetitive for a movie studio to own a theatre. But somehow today it’s okay for Disney to own every IP, and their own streaming platform
My son is a budding filmmaker, and we talk about this a lot.
Young filmmakers often don’t realize what miraculous times they live in. You can literally use the phone in your pocket to shoot a movie, edit it on your computer with free software, and then release it to the world on various video platforms, and even generate revenue, all without a nickel of studio or investor support.
But if all you want to do is make Marvel movies, then yeah, you have to sell your soul to The System.
Young filmmakers often don’t realize what miraculous times they live in. You can literally use the phone in your pocket to shoot a movie, edit it on your computer with free software, and then release it to the world on various video platforms, and even generate revenue, all without a nickel of studio or investor support
That literally just works out for like 1 out of 100s. It’s why people use bots to give it a little push so the almighty algorithm can recommend it to others. And that needs moneyz which is why YouTube front-page and recommendations filled with crap.
Depends on your definition of “works out.” If all you want to do is get your little movie made so you can learn about all the moving parts that go into it, and get it out there where people might find it, then everyone has all the elements needed to do that, except a script and actors.
My son and I talk a lot about the costs of films these days, both the actual shooting, and the promotion that follows, which often doubles the coat of the film, making it even harder to be profitable. It is skewing the sorts of movies that are getting released, and generally not for the better.
And yet there are really compelling, very successful films that were shot on micro-budgets, like Paranormal Activity, which cost $55K, and has made billions. If filmmakers can think on a micro-scale, it’s possible for them to get their movies into the market, where they can be found by adventurous movie lovers.
And that’s where you think it falls apart, not being able to get noticed by “the algorithm,” but obscure stuff goes viral every day. Being clever in your social media marketing can be far more valuable than throwing a big budget at it.
Eventually, we are going to have a backlash against the big studios, especially when they start getting all preachy and propaganda-ish (which is coming), and there a new American New Wave film movement with low budget films recorded on phones and small digital cameras will emerge.
Previously there’d be a shake-up every few decades that allowed a new crop of people with some fresh ideas to get their foot in the door, whether it was the switch from silent to talkies, the attempts to compete with television, the end of the Hayes Code, the special effects revolution, etc. There hasn’t been one of these in a long time, though, so the industry has become a lot more incestuous.
I keep noticing people talking about problems in cinema like they’re new and it’s kinda weird. Corpos bought up the studios and took over the industry way back in black-and-white times. If anything, the lower bar for entry in modern times has made it easier for art to be made without the approval and funding of capitalists. (Not to downplay said problems. They’re still awful.)
It’s because we haven’t done enough trust-busting in the last few decades. Back in the day, the government said it was anticompetitive for a movie studio to own a theatre. But somehow today it’s okay for Disney to own every IP, and their own streaming platform
Disney, Amazon, and Walmart. What other corporations run the world?
My son is a budding filmmaker, and we talk about this a lot.
Young filmmakers often don’t realize what miraculous times they live in. You can literally use the phone in your pocket to shoot a movie, edit it on your computer with free software, and then release it to the world on various video platforms, and even generate revenue, all without a nickel of studio or investor support.
But if all you want to do is make Marvel movies, then yeah, you have to sell your soul to The System.
That literally just works out for like 1 out of 100s. It’s why people use bots to give it a little push so the almighty algorithm can recommend it to others. And that needs moneyz which is why YouTube front-page and recommendations filled with crap.
Depends on your definition of “works out.” If all you want to do is get your little movie made so you can learn about all the moving parts that go into it, and get it out there where people might find it, then everyone has all the elements needed to do that, except a script and actors.
My son and I talk a lot about the costs of films these days, both the actual shooting, and the promotion that follows, which often doubles the coat of the film, making it even harder to be profitable. It is skewing the sorts of movies that are getting released, and generally not for the better.
And yet there are really compelling, very successful films that were shot on micro-budgets, like Paranormal Activity, which cost $55K, and has made billions. If filmmakers can think on a micro-scale, it’s possible for them to get their movies into the market, where they can be found by adventurous movie lovers.
And that’s where you think it falls apart, not being able to get noticed by “the algorithm,” but obscure stuff goes viral every day. Being clever in your social media marketing can be far more valuable than throwing a big budget at it.
Eventually, we are going to have a backlash against the big studios, especially when they start getting all preachy and propaganda-ish (which is coming), and there a new American New Wave film movement with low budget films recorded on phones and small digital cameras will emerge.
Reminds me a bit of how South Park parodied Marvel & streaming services a few years ago…
“Netflix, you’re green-lit. Who am I speaking with?”
Rick & Morty did the same exact thing with the heist episode. Like, the B-plot was almost literally the South Park Netflix episode’s
Previously there’d be a shake-up every few decades that allowed a new crop of people with some fresh ideas to get their foot in the door, whether it was the switch from silent to talkies, the attempts to compete with television, the end of the Hayes Code, the special effects revolution, etc. There hasn’t been one of these in a long time, though, so the industry has become a lot more incestuous.