I’ve written before about Hollywood’s hatred for their own audience and their resulting financial woes. Today, rather than spend another post forecasting the American film industry’s demise, I think it’s high time to suggest an actionable plan to make sure the forces of Christendom and the West will fill the vacuum left by Tinseltown’s debauched and dying elite.
After all, we don’t want to see the rats scurry from the ship they sank to the newly arrived rescue boat for want of alternatives.
Luckily I’ve spent years immersed in the indie movie scene, talking in-depth with startup film makers at cons and festivals. I also have considerable online marketing expertise. Drawing on that experience, I humbly present the following plan to enable dissident film makers to take back the US film industry.
Compared to self-publishing, film making has more and higher barriers to entry. Thankfully, advances in technology and changes in the market–especially lower equipment prices–have significantly lowered many of these barriers for indie film productions.
The highest hurdle to be surmounted before a movie can be made is money. After studying the situation, I’m convinced that the money problem can be overcome through the strategic choice of genre.
Here are the three best genres for indie film makers to focus on:
Bring up movie making to most people, and they’ll immediately think of actions films, effects-heavy science fiction epics, or comedies. These are some of the most expensive and difficult film genres to work in. Stunt work, practical and special effects, and name actor salaries can easily break an indie film’s budget. Comedies are cheaper but require the greatest skill to write and perform.
If you want to make an end run around most of these obstacles, consider making documentaries. While not as glamorous as other types of film making, solid documentaries can be, and have been, made on the cheap. Unlike indie film productions in other genres, documentary film makers have a good track record for securing wide distribution.
Getting started on your own documentary can be as simple as picking a subject, acquiring a decent handheld digital video camera, and conducting interviews. Consumer editing software is now capable of turning out professional-quality movies without the need to take out a second mortgage.
Want to take your documentary game to the next level? Recent documentaries have been successfully paid for by relatively modest crowdfunding campaigns.
Another aspect of documentary film making that shouldn’t be overlooked in light of the culture war is the unique ability of documentaries to openly and convincingly present arguments for a particular set of ideas. The simple fact that your movie is a documentary will completely preempt accusations of peddling message fic, even though documentaries, like all other kinds of movies, present narratives.
A documentary can make a compelling argument with little more than the correct choice of interview subjects, a little extra spent on appealing graphics, and above all careful editing.
Plus, don’t overlook the fact that there exists a sizable market full of avid viewers who binge watch documentaries and are always looking for new content to consume.
In short, if you have little film production experience and less disposable cash, consider starting your movie making career with a documentary.
Hollywood had long harbored a love-hate relationship with the horror genre. On one hand, horror films are considered low rent, and there’s still a stigma attached to working on horror productions. Few normies are aware that major stars like Kevin Bacon, Johnny Depp, and Jennifer Aniston got early breaks by landing schlock horror roles.
On the other hand, horror movies are insanely lucrative. Browse this list of the most profitable films ever and count how many of them are horror movies–sometimes in the same series!
Horror movies are only slightly more expensive than documentaries, they’re far easier to write than comedies–although that could be my survivorship bias showing–and they don’t rely on big names to draw in audiences. By and large, horror fans will forgive mediocre performances as long as you give them a good scare.
Although, getting a name actor for your production is not as difficult as you might think. There’s a whole generation of venerable character actors whose stars have faded somewhat since their heyday in the 80s and 90s who’ve proven willing to help out fledgling film makers. Hit the convention circuit. find your favorite horror icon’s booth, and offer to buy him a beer. Or contact his agent and ask about salary requirements for a few days’ work. Chances are, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Producing a professional-looking horror movie entails higher equipment costs than a documentary, but those costs are nothing like they were just ten years ago. Even a state-of-the-art RED camera is within the budget of a rather modest production.
The main difficulty with horror films is securing distribution. One creative solution to this problem is to pick a fifteen minute segment of your script that tells a story with a definite beginning, middle, and end. Shoot that sequence as a standalone short film, and show it at conventions, festivals, and pitch meetings. Your fifteen minute short will serve as a trailer or demo reel to catch distributors’ interest and raise funding to finish and promote the movie.
If your creative impulses run more toward the mainstream and artistic end of the genre spectrum, producing a professional caliber drama is not beyond your reach. A Glasgow director recently made a high quality crime drama for £3,000.
In terms of the cost of admission and return on investment, note that Reservoir Dogs snagged a place on the most profitable movies list above.
Drama is generally more challenging to write than horror, but it can be produced even more inexpensively. A cleverly written drama can get away with a minimal number sets, or even just one. Construct your movie like a stage play with a small cast of well-developed characters, and throw a real-world problem at them.
Dramas are also ideal for guerrilla-style film making. Want to do some location shooting? Grab your camcorder and hit the street. [Disclaimer: I do not advocate any form of illegal activity.]
To take these concepts to their ultimate logical conclusion, you could go for broke and make all three kinds of movies at the same time.
Here’s an example. Put together a horror movie consisting of found footage recorded by a black and white security camera in a convenience store as a lone cashier works the graveyard shift. You only need one camera and one set.
At the same time, get a RED cam, a camcorder, a 16mm camera, or all of the above to shoot a drama with the same cast at a couple more locations. You can even reuse the same convenience store set, disguising it by shooting from different angles and in color.
While the horror and drama productions are underway, have another unit on set filming a “making-of” documentary about the dual movie project. Release the documentary on its own, or include it as a bonus feature to entice audiences and distributors.
In short, you get triple the return from what’s essentially one production.
For more indie film making tips, check out Rebel Without a Crew by director Robert Rodriguez.
There you have my plan for rebuilding the movie industry after Hollywood burns itself to the ground. True, startup film makers who turn their efforts to indie documentaries, horror movies, and dramas won’t be producing tent pole blockbusters anytime soon. But this model should enable a number of small studios to get off the ground and start building audiences quickly. And have fun while doing it.
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