DOES THE END JUSTIFY THE MEANS? HOW DO WE DEFINE "SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS" FILMMAKING? Two accountants recently told me that the IRS is questioning (as they tended to do so years ago) whether filmmakers are hobbyists or professionals. They determine this on the basis of whether or not profits are made on a sustainable basis. Most obviously, one of the main issues facing our industry is supply and demand—too many people willing to work for low wages in an industry in which there is too little demand in comparison to what is produced. Certainly, the indie doc economy has been impacted by oversupply, due in part by lower barriers to entry created by myriad of technological changes, and an ever-changing media landscape. But given that we operate as members of a ‘progressive’ community, should our industry be held to a higher standard than simply succumbing to predominant market forces? If not, how can professional careers be sustained? Maybe they cannot. Perhaps independent doc filmmaking will parallel higher education employment. As NPR reported today, college instructors are increasingly hired as adjunct professors and being paid as much as babysitters in major urban areas, all while tuitions skyrocket. (I taught a graduate class at Columbia for a semester…we didn’t do it for the pay.) Fearing being ‘black-listed’, adjuncts have kept silent until now. NPR noted that a coalition is forming among low paid workers such as fast food workers—groups who often seek government assistance to make ends meet. For many years now I have felt that the doc community operates in such a way that it is untrue to progressive ideals in both word and deed. How many filmmakers can afford to pay employees proper compensation, health insurance o... ... middle of paper ... ... write write and we can talk talk talk but who REALLY knows how our industry functions until we have hard data. Besides, filmmakers are so reluctant to talk so as not to disclose their own tightly held, valuable relationships/connections, or out of fear of being labeled trouble-makers/whiners and thus running the risk of being discredited. All the while, non-filmmaker industry colleagues and stakeholders have much to loose if they ruffle feathers. Why put business relationships and friendships at risk? Why should anyone stick her/his head out of the foxhole if it is going to get shot? In an effort to begin the process of gaining support for an analysis of our field that would yield data for the basis of discussion, I am working on putting together a task force—The Indie Doc Sustainability Task Force. We can talk more tomorrow but this issue runs deep and wide.
However, after the dust settled, it was widely accepted that the blacklist was unjust, which enabled many film workers to pursue the movie studios in civil courts through the 1950’s for unpaid contracts and wages (Lewis, 2008). While the studios were initially impacted by the Paramount decision, the breadth of competition and independent successes of smaller studios gave rise to the advancement of innovative filmmaking that may not have been possible if it were not for the Paramount decision. Filmmaking is one of the riskiest and most profitable ventures in modern day society, and without these events, the studios and the film workers may not share the successes that they do
In Hollywood political conflict was also paving the way for what would later occur in Hollywood as the HUAC would attack the industry. Big business controlled the lucrative industry and the companies that controlled the market were eight major studios in Hollywood. The Metro-Goldw...
...a Rae article that, “moviemakers are in the movie business, not the social change business”. Although they talk about film specifically, any medium of entertainment could still apply to this statement. This cycle of production is unhealthy, but if the process works, why fix it?
Festivals, Interviews and the Art of Filmmaking." Can Social Media Help "Indie" Filmmakers Make It Big. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
Sustainable living to reduce your personal footprint (n.d.). In WWF Global. Retrieved May 4, 2014, from
... ed (BFI, 1990) we read … “contrary to all trendy journalism about the ‘New Hollywood’ and the imagined rise of artistic freedom in American films, the ‘New Hollywood’ remains as crass and commercial as the old…”
and the film trade itself. Fanned to a pitch of semi-hysterical anticipation by the press, the
achieving the goal of sustainability. 12th ed. of the 12th e ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Dean, Katie. “Film Piracy Steals the Show”. WIRED. December 2003 http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,61673,00.html . accessed Nov. 16, 2004
In Hollywood today, most films can be categorized according to the genre system. There are action films, horror flicks, Westerns, comedies and the likes. On a broader scope, films are often separated into two categories: Hollywood films, and independent or foreign ‘art house’ films. Yet, this outlook, albeit superficial, was how many viewed films. Celebrity-packed blockbusters filled with action and drama, with the use of seamless top-of-the-line digital editing and special effects were considered ‘Hollywood films’. Films where unconventional themes like existentialism or paranoia, often with excessive violence or sex or a combination of both, with obvious attempts to displace its audiences from the film were often attributed with the generic label of ‘foreign’ or ‘art house’ cinema.
Rhythm and Hues was a well-known visual effects studio, has been around since 1987. This studio did the special effects for movies such as The Golden Compass, and more recently for the award-winning Life of Pi, which won an Oscar for it’s visual effects. This studio has had much success, but despite this the studio was forced to file bankruptcy only a couple of weeks prior to winning an Oscar. This signifies a red flag for the VFX industry as a whole. If a successful studio is able to fall under so easily, what will happen to the smaller, less successful studios? How is this affecting those working in the VFX industry? The VFX industry is struggling because of their poor business model which had led to heartache for studios and visual effects artists everywhere. In my analysis of the VFX industry, I have discovered that the financial difficulties of the studios have negatively affected worker’s lives and the lives of their families because of the unstable nature of the business.
Independent film is in many ways, an oxymoron. At one point the well-known independent films truly were independent from the influence of the major studios. They were creations from the artistic ideas and expressions of persons free from the influence and oversight of a studio. While there still is a plethora of independent filmmakers throughout the country and worldwide, the independent films that receive the most exposure tend to at some point receive support from a major studio or one of the studio’s distributors. The problem with independent film is the label people associate with it. What constitutes an independent film? Is it total creative autonomy free from a studio, and inevitably, free from the financial support that studio and their
In recent months, there has been issues regarding the frayed business models, insecure vision of the future, and the financial instability. These matters became a worldwide dialogues when a protest at the Oscars by a group of 450 VFX artist protesting outside the Oscars.
Maria G Mackavey. Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge. Hollywood: Sep 2006. Vol 9 iss; pg244 6pgs
Culkin, Nigel & Randle, Keith 2003, Facing the Digital Future: The Implications of Digital Technology for the Film Industry, University of Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire.