An independent film , independent movie , indie film , or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in some cases, distributed by major companies). Independent films are sometimes distinguishable by their content and style and how the filmmakers' artistic vision is realized. Sometimes, independent films are made with considerably lower budgets than major studio films.
172-509: Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American filmmaker, photographer, painter, and musician who has earned acclaim as an independent filmmaker. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultures . His early career was devoted to directing television commercials in the Pacific Northwest . He made his feature-length directorial debut film Mala Noche (1985). His second film, Drugstore Cowboy (1989),
344-806: A "spiritual journey". The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival but was met with harsh critical reception at the Cannes, being booed and laughed at. In December 2016, it was announced Van Sant would direct Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot , a biopic about cartoonist John Callahan , starring Joaquin Phoenix , Rooney Mara , Jonah Hill , Jack Black , and Mark Webber . Principal photography began in March 2017. Van Sant released two musical albums: Gus Van Sant and 18 Songs About Golf . Van Sant played himself in episodes of
516-424: A big budget adaptation of Frank Herbert 's science fiction novel Dune for Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis 's De Laurentiis Entertainment Group , on the condition that the company release a second Lynch project, over which the director would have complete creative control. Although De Laurentiis hoped it would be the next Star Wars , Lynch's Dune (1984) was a critical and commercial flop, grossing
688-410: A billion-dollar deal, acquired New Line Cinema, Fine Line Features , and Castle Rock Entertainment in 1994. The acquisitions proved to be a good move for Turner Broadcasting as New Line released The Mask and Dumb & Dumber , Castle Rock released The Shawshank Redemption , and Miramax released Pulp Fiction , all in 1994. The acquisitions of the smaller studios by conglomerate Hollywood
860-476: A box office success. In addition to directing, he devoted considerable energy to releasing two albums and publishing a novel, Pink , which was a thinly veiled exploration of his grief over River Phoenix's death. Van Sant traveled to the deserts of Argentina , Utah , and Death Valley for the production of 2002's Gerry , a loosely devised, largely improvised feature in which stars Matt Damon and Casey Affleck —both playing characters named Gerry—wander through
1032-475: A built-in national rating, in order to avoid presenting movies to inappropriately young audiences. Following the advent of television and the Paramount Case , the major studios attempted to lure audiences with spectacle. Widescreen processes and technical improvements, such as Cinemascope , stereo sound, 3-D and others, were developed in an attempt to retain the dwindling audience by giving them
1204-518: A camera, and the ability to do high quality digital scanning to standard motion picture digital formats like 2K and 4K, DPX or ProRes 4444 , Super 8 remains a popular format for creating a variety of interesting scenes. Super 8 provides an ideal, inexpensive medium for traditional stop-motion and cel animation and other types of filming speed effects not common to video cameras. To give further support to filmmakers dedicated to shooting on Super 8 mm film, many film festivals and screenings—such as
1376-459: A centralized archive. Founded in 1962 by Jonas Mekas , Stan Brakhage , Shirley Clarke , Gregory Markopoulos , and others, the Cooperative provided an important outlet for many of cinema's creative luminaries in the 1960s, including Jack Smith and Andy Warhol . When he returned to America, Ken Anger would debut many of his most important works there. Mekas and Brakhage would go on to found
1548-621: A chance to experience film by lending film and cameras to a select group at film festivals and trade events like this film festival at The Art Center College of Art & Design. Several post-secondary institutions in the United States continue to utilize Super 8 in Film and Cinema programs. For example, both City College of San Francisco 's Cinema Department and the University of North Texas ' Radio, Television and Film Department require
1720-442: A concept of a new Super 8 camera at the 2016 CES expo. There are literally millions of Super 8 cameras that are still available and viable because of manufacturing methods back in the 1960s and 1970s. These cameras can be found at specialized retailers and distributors and at auction sites such as eBay . Kodak currently offers one color reversal stock, Ektachrome 100D, three of its latest Vision 3 color negative stock,
1892-481: A costly distribution system or concede defeat. The veteran producer Joseph Schenck was hired as president. Not only had he been producing pictures for a decade, but he brought along commitments for films starring his wife, Norma Talmadge , his sister-in-law, Constance Talmadge , and his brother-in-law, Buster Keaton . Contracts were signed with a number of independent producers, especially Samuel Goldwyn , Howard Hughes and later Alexander Korda . Schenck also formed
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#17327835062382064-490: A crowd of like-minded avant-garde filmmakers who were interested in creating films as works of art rather than entertainment. Based upon a common belief that the "official cinema" was "running out of breath" and had become "morally corrupt, aesthetically obsolete, thematically superficial, [and] temperamentally boring", this new crop of independents formed The Film-Makers' Cooperative , an artist-run, non-profit organization which they would use to distribute their films through
2236-482: A decade. Unlike the former, John Waters released most of his films during his early life through his own production company, Dreamland Productions . In the early 1980s, New Line Cinema agreed to work with him on Polyester (1981). During the 1980s, Waters would become a pillar of the New York–based independent film movement known as the " Cinema of Transgression ", a term coined by Nick Zedd in 1985 to describe
2408-423: A dry sense of the absurd, and the refusal to treat homosexuality as something deserving of judgment. Unlike many gay filmmakers, Van Sant—who had long been openly gay—declined to use same-sex relationships as fodder for overtly political statements, although such relationships would frequently appear in his films. Shot in black-and-white, the film earned Van Sant almost overnight acclaim on the festival circuit, with
2580-505: A fellow studio convert, George Lucas , a fan of Eraserhead and now the darling of the studios, offered Lynch the opportunity to direct his next Star Wars sequel, Return of the Jedi (1983). However, Lynch had seen what had happened to Lucas and his comrades in arms after their failed attempt to do away with the studio system. He refused the opportunity, stating that he would rather work on his own projects. Lynch instead chose to direct
2752-546: A few dozen or possibly a few hundred screens in select urban markets. Films like these usually cost less than $ 10 million, but frequently less than $ 5 million, with small marketing budgets that escalate if and when a particular film performs. The independent film industry exists globally. Many of the most prestigious film festivals are hosted in various cities around the world. The Berlin International Film Festival attracts over 130 countries, making it
2924-556: A film about a naïve young actress who goes to Hollywood and abandons her ideals. It was never released. During this period, Van Sant began to spend time observing the denizens of the more down-and-out sections of Hollywood Boulevard . He became fascinated by the existence of this marginalized section of L.A.'s population, especially in context with the more ordinary, prosperous world that surrounded them. Van Sant would repeatedly focus his work on those existing on society's fringes, making his feature film directorial debut Mala Noche . It
3096-427: A greater exposed area. The Super 8 standard also allocates the border opposite the perforations for an oxide stripe upon which sound can be magnetically recorded . Unlike Super 35 (which is generally compatible with standard 35 mm equipment), the film stock used for Super 8 is not compatible with standard 8 mm film cameras. There are several varieties of the film system used for shooting, but
3268-405: A larger-than-life experience. The 1950s and early 1960s saw a Hollywood dominated by musicals, historical epics, and other films which benefited from these advances. This proved commercially viable during most of the 1950s. However, by the late 1960s, audience share was dwindling at an alarming rate. Several costly flops, including Cleopatra (1963) and Hello, Dolly! (1969) put severe strain on
3440-478: A loose-knit group of like-minded New York artists using shock value and humor in their Super 8 mm films and video art . Other key players in this movement included Kembra Pfahler , Casandra Stark , Beth B , Tommy Turner, Richard Kern and Lydia Lunch . Rallying around such institutions as the Film-Makers' Cooperative and Anthology Film Archives, this new generation of independents devoted themselves to
3612-441: A low budget who still want to achieve the classic look of real film. Super 8 has been used in theatrical features, usually for creative effect. Oliver Stone , for example, has used it in films such as JFK , where his director of photography Robert Richardson employed it to evoke a period or to give a different look to scenes. The PBS series Globe Trekker uses approximately five minutes of Super 8 footage per episode. In
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#17327835062383784-497: A mainstream film production if it has the necessary funding and distribution. In 1908, the Motion Picture Patents Company or "Edison Trust" was formed as a trust . The Trust was a cartel that held a monopoly on film production and distribution comprising all the major film companies of the time ( Edison , Biograph , Vitagraph , Essanay , Selig , Lubin , Kalem , American Star , American Pathé ),
3956-526: A mere $ 27.4 million domestically against a $ 45 million budget. De Laurentiis, furious that the film had been a commercial disaster, was then forced to produce any film Lynch desired. He offered Lynch only $ 6 million in order to minimize the risk if the film had failed to recoup its costs; however, the film, Blue Velvet (1986), was a resounding success, earning him another Academy Award for Best Director nod. Lynch subsequently returned to independent filmmaking, and did not work with another major studio for over
4128-651: A number of filmmakers responded by building their own cameras and moving their operations to Hollywood, California , where the distance from Edison's home base of New Jersey made it more difficult for the MPPC to enforce its patents. The Edison Trust was soon ended by two decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States : one in 1912, which canceled the patent on raw film, and a second in 1915, which cancelled all MPPC patents. Though these decisions succeeded at legalizing independent film, they would do little to remedy
4300-450: A number of young film makers began to experiment with transgression not as a box-office draw, but as an artistic act . Directors such as John Waters and David Lynch would make a name for themselves by the early 1970s for the bizarre and often disturbing imagery which characterized their films. When Lynch's first feature film, Eraserhead (1977), brought Lynch to the attention of producer Mel Brooks , he soon found himself in charge of
4472-431: A process similar to the creation of Super 16 from standard 16 mm film. The creators of Sleep Always experimented with widening the camera gate to expose into the sound track region to achieve this. In March 2005, Pro8mm introduced its own version of the widened gate, achieving aspect ratio of 1.58 and calling it Max8. Because top and bottom of the frame are meant to be cropped to achieve final 16:9 aspect ratio,
4644-623: A result of the falling cost of technology to make, edit and digitally distribute films, filmmaking is more widely accessible than ever before. Full-length films are often showcased at film festivals such as the Sundance Film Festival, Slamdance Film Festival, South by Southwest Festival, Raindance Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, and Palm Springs Film Festival. Award winners from these exhibitions are more likely to get picked up for distribution by major film distributors. Film festivals and screenings like these are just one of
4816-508: A separate partnership with Pickford and Chaplin to buy and build theaters under the United Artists name. Still, even with a broadening of the company, UA struggled. The coming of sound ended the careers of Pickford and Fairbanks. Chaplin, rich enough to do what he pleased, worked only occasionally. Schenck resigned in 1933 to organize a new company with Darryl F. Zanuck , Twentieth Century Pictures , which soon provided four pictures
4988-403: A significant disaster. Van Sant's 1995 film To Die For helped to restore his luster. An adaptation of Joyce Maynard 's novel, the black comedy starred Nicole Kidman as a murderously ambitious weather girl; it also stars Matt Dillon as her hapless husband and, the third Phoenix sibling in as many projects, Joaquin Phoenix , as her equally hapless lover (River had died of a drug overdose
5160-702: A similar service for Super 8 film in the Fuji Cartridge (Single8). There are now more varieties of Super 8 film available than ever before. In 2017, Kodak announced that Ektachrome will soon be available again in the Super ;8 format. In Spring of 2019, Kodak officially released Ektachrome 100D in Super 8 and 16 mm formats. Super 8 film is available worldwide through specialty shops and online from major companies such as Amazon. It has become common to see it sold with processing prepaid and for it to be sold with scan-to-digital services at
5332-744: A single 400' film, though most sellers sold them at a reduced price. The Walt Disney Studio, however, kept their releases at the 200-foot limit. Columbia Pictures , which had operated an 8mm division since the early 1960s, enjoyed success with a "Viewer's Digest" series of 400' feature condensations and complete prints of their Three Stooges short comedies. Vintage silent films starring Charlie Chaplin , Buster Keaton , Mary Pickford , Rudolph Valentino , Lillian Gish , and other legends were available from companies specializing in them such as Blackhawk Films and included both short films and multi-reel complete feature-length movies. Full-length sound films, particularly those in color, were seldom released due to
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5504-581: A studio's ability to package and release their work. This table lists the companies active in late 1935 illustrates the categories commonly used to characterize the Hollywood system. The studio system quickly became so powerful that some filmmakers once again sought independence. On May 24, 1916, the Lincoln Motion Picture Company was formed, the first movie studio owned and controlled by independent filmmakers. In 1919, four of
5676-426: A switchable daylight filter built in, allowing for both indoor and outdoor shooting. The original Super 8 film release was a silent system only, but in 1973, a sound on film version was released. The film with sound had a magnetic soundtrack and came in larger cartridges than the original cartridge in order to accommodate the sound recording head in the film path. Sound film requires a longer film path (for smoothing
5848-515: A vacant lot near Georgia Street in downtown Los Angeles . While there, the company decided to explore new territories, traveling several miles north to Hollywood , a little village that was friendly and positive about the movie company filming there. Griffith then filmed the first movie ever shot in Hollywood, In Old California , a Biograph melodrama about California in the 1800s, while it belonged to Mexico. Griffith stayed there for months and made several films before returning to New York. During
6020-417: A variety of 35 mm film stocks into the Super 8 film cartridge. This included emulsions from Kodak, Fuji and Ilford . Today Super 8 color negative film is the main color stock used. There are also Super 8 reversal films available, including 100D Kodak Ektachrome and 200D Agfa color, as well as black-and-white (B&W) from Foma , ADOX , ORWO and Kodak. The Super 8 plastic cartridge
6192-649: A variety of Super 8 film stocks. Kodak sells one Super 8 color reversal stock, Ektachrome 100D, and three Super 8 color negative stocks cut from their Vision 3 film series, ISO 50, ISO 200 and ISO 500, which can be used in very low light. Kodak reformulated the emulsions for the B&;W reversal stocks and made Tri-X (ISO 200). Film cut to Super 8 from other manufactured raw stock such as Fuji, Orwo, Adox, Agfa and Foma are also available. Pro8mm offers 7 color negative stocks made from Kodak and Fuji film. Color Reversal film for Super 8
6364-683: A variety of different levels from standard-definition digital to 4K data. It can even be purchased to include all the logistic associated with the process, including film processing, scanning and internet delivery of image and mail in and back services. This is a sample video done with the Super 8 film kit. In the beginning of 1965, Super 8 was introduced as a silent format. Over time, several companies began to offer sync sound options for Super 8 filmmaking. Two companies introduced comprehensive sound systems for Super 8. These were Super8 Sound Inc. led by Harvard film professor Bob Doyle and Optasound led by Richard Leacock at MIT. With double system, as it
6536-429: A variety of reasons: if they truly believe in the message of the film, they feel indebted to a filmmaker for a career break; their career is otherwise stalled, or they feel unable to manage a more significant commitment to a studio film; the film offers an opportunity to showcase a talent that has not gained traction in the studio system; or simply because they want to work with a particular director they admire. Examples of
6708-537: A year and half earlier). It was Van Sant's first effort for a major studio ( Columbia ), and its success paved the way for further projects of the director's choosing. The same year, he served as executive producer for Larry Clark 's Kids ; it was a fitting assignment, due to both the film's subject matter and the fact that Clark's photographs of junkies had served as reference points for Van Sant's Drugstore Cowboy . In 1997, Van Sant gained mainstream recognition and critical acclaim thanks to Good Will Hunting , which
6880-403: A year to UA's schedule. He was replaced as president by sales manager Al Lichtman who himself resigned after only a few months. Pickford produced a few films, and at various times Goldwyn, Korda, Walt Disney , Walter Wanger , and David O. Selznick were made "producing partners" (i.e., sharing in the profits), but ownership still rested with the founders. As the years passed and the dynamics of
7052-458: Is a 16 mm wide film but has Super 8 size sprockets. Double Super 8 for amateurs In amateur DS8 cameras, the film is used in the same way as standard 8 mm film in that the film is run through the camera twice, exposing one side on each pass. During processing, the film is split down the middle, and the two pieces spliced together to produce a single strip for projection in a Super 8 projector. The advantages of this system are
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7224-510: Is a biopic of openly gay San Francisco politician Harvey Milk , who was assassinated in 1978. The film received eight Oscar nominations at the 81st Academy Awards , including Best Picture , winning two for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Sean Penn , who starred as Milk, and Best Original Screenplay for writer Dustin Lance Black . Van Sant was nominated for Best Director . Van Sant later stated that his experience with Sean Penn on
7396-555: Is a fictionalized account of what happened to Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain in the days leading up to his death. In 2006, Van Sant began work on Paranoid Park based on the book by Blake Nelson , about a skateboarding teenager who accidentally causes someone's death. The film was released in Europe in February 2008. He also directed the "Le Marais" segment of the omnibus film Paris, je t'aime . Released in 2008, Van Sant's Milk
7568-478: Is also more of a push from EU National governments to fund all aspects of the arts, including film. The European Commission for Culture has an Audiovisual sector, for example, whose role is most notably to help distribute and promote films and festivals across Europe. Additionally, the Commission organizes policymaking, research, and reporting on "media literacy" and "digital distribution." As with other media,
7740-435: Is better. Also, camera manufacturers could use models already in production for double 8 mm film by enlarging the gate and slightly modifying the advancement mechanism for the use with Double Super 8 film (see comparison pictures in this segment). Double Super 8 for film-makers DS8 can also be used as an alternative film stock in modified 16 mm cameras and projectors, which allows for larger image sizes due to
7912-423: Is enough film for 2.5 minutes at the professional motion picture standard of 24 frames per second, and for 3 minutes and 20 seconds of continuous filming at 18 frames per second (upgraded from standard 8 mm 16 frame/s) for amateur use. In 1973, the system was supplemented with a larger cartridge, containing mag stripe film, which allowed sound cameras to record monaural sync-sound audio on
8084-892: Is of partial Dutch origin; the name "Van Sant" is derived from the Dutch name " Van Zandt ". The earliest Van Zandt arrived in the New Netherland area in the early 17th century, around what is now New York City . Van Sant is an alumnus of Darien High School in Darien, Connecticut , and The Catlin Gabel School in Portland, Oregon . One constant in the director's early years was his interest in visual arts (namely, painting and Super-8 filmmaking); while still in school he began making semi-autobiographical shorts costing between 30 and 50 dollars. Van Sant's artistic leanings took him to
8256-448: Is probably the fastest loading film system ever developed, as it can be loaded into the Super 8 camera in less than two seconds without the need to directly thread or touch the film. In addition, coded notches cut into the Super 8 film cartridge exterior allow the camera to recognize the film speed automatically. Not all cameras can read all the notches correctly, however, and there is some debate about which notches actually deliver
8428-410: Is said to have observed, "The inmates are taking over the asylum." The four partners, with advice from McAdoo (son-in-law and former Treasury Secretary of then-President Woodrow Wilson ), formed their distribution company, with Hiram Abrams as its first managing director. The original terms called for Pickford, Fairbanks, Griffith, and Chaplin to independently produce five pictures each year, but by
8600-681: Is still available from several Super 8 specialty companies. Wittner Kinotechnik offers Super 8 made from a batch of Agfa Aviphot 200D, which is perforated and slit for Super 8, 8 mm and 16 mm formats. This film is loaded into Super 8 and Single cartridges by several of the specialty companies. Other stocks, such as the new Fuji reversal film, and existing supplies of Kodak 35 mm 100D are often made available in Super 8 by these specialty companies. The growing popularity and availability of non-linear editing systems has allowed film-makers and any user of film to shoot Super 8 film but edit in digital. This avoids much of
8772-717: Is the longest running Super 8mm festival in the US. In Brazil Curta8 | Festival Internacional de Cinema Super8 is in its 11th year. A number of experimental filmmakers , such as Mason Shefa and Stan Brakhage , continue to work extensively in the format and festivals such as the Images Festival (Toronto), the Media City Film Festival (Windsor, Ont.), and TIE (based in Colorado) regularly project Super 8 films as part of their programming. In June 2010,
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#17327835062388944-546: The de facto ban on small productions; the independent filmmakers who had fled to Southern California during the enforcement of the trust had already laid the groundwork for the studio system of classical Hollywood cinema . In early 1910, director D.W. Griffith was sent by the Biograph Company to the west coast with his acting troupe, consisting of performers Blanche Sweet , Lillian Gish , Mary Pickford , Lionel Barrymore , and others. They began filming on
9116-648: The American Civil Liberties Union . Following on the heels of Easy Rider shortly afterward was the revived United Artists' Midnight Cowboy (also 1969), which, like Easy Rider , took numerous cues from Kenneth Anger and his influences in the French New Wave. It became the first and only X rated film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Midnight Cowboy also held the distinction of featuring cameo roles by many of
9288-555: The Anthology Film Archives in 1970, which would likewise prove essential to the development and preservation of independent films, even to this day. Not all low-budget films existed as non-commercial art ventures. The success of films like Little Fugitive , which had been made with low (or sometimes non-existent ) budgets encouraged a huge boom in popularity for non-studio films. Low-budget film making promised exponentially greater returns (in terms of percentages) if
9460-547: The Cannes Film Festival and many other festivals and events worldwide, where a sound track is required to be supplied with a completed but unprocessed cartridge. In the 2005 Cannes Film Festival , a Super 8 short film ( The Man Who Met Himself ) by British filmmaker Ben Crowe, shot on the now discontinued Kodachrome 40 format, was the first Super 8 film to be nominated for the Short Film Palme d'Or in
9632-572: The Flicker Film Festival , and Super Gr8 Film Festival —exist to give filmmakers a place to screen their Super 8 mm films. Many of these screenings shun video and are only open to films shot on film. Some require film to be turned in undeveloped and thus not permitting any editing, providing an additional challenge to the filmmaker. These include the Bentley Film Festival and straight 8 , which runs screenings at
9804-517: The Los Angeles Times naming it the year's best independent film . The film's success attracted Hollywood interest, and Van Sant was briefly courted by Universal ; the courtship ended after Van Sant pitched a series of project ideas (including what would become Drugstore Cowboy and My Own Private Idaho ) that the studio declined to take interest in. Van Sant returned to Portland, Oregon, where he set up house and began giving life to
9976-617: The Mirisch brothers, Billy Wilder , Joseph E. Levine and others. By the late 1950s, RKO had ceased film production, and the remaining four of the big five had recognized that they did not know how to reach the youth audience. In an attempt to capture this audience, the Studios hired a host of young filmmakers (many of whom were mentored by Roger Corman ) and allowed them to make their films with relatively little studio control. Warner Brothers offered first-time producer Warren Beatty 40% of
10148-485: The Rhode Island School of Design in 1970, where his introduction to various avant-garde directors inspired him to change his major from painting to cinema. After spending time in Europe, Van Sant went to Los Angeles in 1976. He secured a job as a production assistant to filmmaker Ken Shapiro , with whom he developed a few ideas, none of which came to fruition. In 1981, Van Sant made Alice in Hollywood ,
10320-461: The U.S. domestic box office revenue was from independent studios. The 1990s saw the rise and success of independent films not only through the film festival circuit but at the box office as well while established actors, such as Bruce Willis , John Travolta , and Tim Robbins , found success themselves both in independent films and Hollywood studio films. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1990 from New Line Cinema grossed over $ 100 million in
10492-599: The World War I effort. Already veterans of Hollywood, the four film stars began to talk of forming their own company to better control their own work as well as their futures. They were spurred on by the actions of established Hollywood producers and distributors, who were making moves to tighten their control over their stars' salaries and creative license. With the addition of Griffith, planning began, but Hart bowed out before things had formalized. When he heard about their scheme, Richard A. Rowland , head of Metro Pictures ,
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#173278350623810664-404: The blockbuster Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. In fact, the only two movies of the movement which can be described as uncompromisingly independent are Easy Rider at the beginning, and Peter Bogdanovich 's They All Laughed , at the end. Peter Bogdanovich bought back the rights from the studio to his 1980 film and paid for its distribution out of his own pocket, convinced that
10836-659: The "prosumer" camera segment and film schools for those who are less autodidactic. Film programs in universities such as NYU in New York and USC in Los Angeles have benefited from this transitional growth. The economic side of filmmaking is also less of an obstacle than before, because the backing of a major studio is no longer needed to access necessary movie funding. Crowdfunding services like Kickstarter , Pozible , and Tubestart have helped people raise thousands of dollars; enough to fund their own, low-budget productions. As
11008-485: The $ 5 million film The Elephant Man (1980) for Paramount. Though Eraserhead was strictly an out-of-pocket, low-budget, independent film, Lynch made the transition with unprecedented grace. The film was a huge commercial success, and earned eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay nods for Lynch. It also established his place as a commercially viable, if somewhat dark and unconventional, Hollywood director. Seeing Lynch as
11180-423: The 1950s progressed, the new low-budget paradigm of filmmaking gained increased recognition internationally, with films such as Satyajit Ray 's critically acclaimed Apu Trilogy (1955–1959). Unlike the films made within the studio system, these new low-budget films could afford to take risks and explore new artistic territory outside the classical Hollywood narrative. Maya Deren was soon joined in New York by
11352-405: The 1970s, as well as some short subjects. Releases in color and with sound began appearing in the 1970s and by the end of the decade, demand for longer condensations resulted in 400 ft (120 m) reels being released, running approximately 16–18 minutes, sometimes with a second "part II" 400'. The list price for the sound color films in 1980 were $ 39.95 for a single 200' film and $ 59.95 for
11524-487: The 200-foot reels without being edited. The 200-foot editions in black and white and silent were widely available and often sold in department stores such as Woolco in the $ 5.00-6.00 price range in the 1960s and 1970s. The leading companies releasing such films were Castle Films , owned by Universal Pictures and Ken Films , which licensed titles from 20th Century-Fox and other studios. The Walt Disney Studio released excerpts from many of their animated feature films in
11696-744: The 50D, 200T, and 500T, and Tri-X B&W reversal film in the Super 8 format. Several Super 8 specialty companies such as Pro8mm in Burbank CA, Wittner Cinetec in Hamburg, Germany, and Kahlfilm in Brühl, Germany, slit and perforate raw 35 mm film stock from Kodak, Fuji, ORWO , Agfa, and Foma and then repackage it in Kodak Super ;8 cartridges. Adox has its own B&W film supply and provides this in its own Super 8 cartridge design by GKfilmCinevia. Retro 8 of Japan provides
11868-479: The B-grade shlock film soon fell to the level of the Z movie , a niche category of films with production values so low that they became a spectacle in their own right. The cult audiences these pictures attracted soon made them ideal candidates for midnight movie screenings revolving around audience participation and cosplay . In 1968, a young filmmaker named George A. Romero shocked audiences with Night of
12040-543: The Blues (1993), his 1998 remake of Alfred Hitchcock 's Psycho , and The Sea of Trees (2015), were critical and commercial failures. Van Sant wrote the screenplays for several of his earlier works, and is the author of a novel, Pink . A book of his photography, 108 Portraits , has been published, and he has released two musical albums. He lives in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles, California . Van Sant
12212-615: The Edison era of the early 1900s, many Jewish immigrants had found jobs in the U.S. film industry. Under the Edison Trust, they were able to make their mark in a brand-new business: the exhibition of films in storefront theaters called nickelodeons . Within a few years, ambitious men like Samuel Goldwyn , Carl Laemmle , Adolph Zukor , Louis B. Mayer , and the Warner Brothers (Harry, Albert, Samuel, and Jack) had switched to
12384-796: The HBO series Entourage and the IFC series Portlandia . Van Sant was credited for all photography, paintings and art direction on the Red Hot Chili Peppers ' album Blood Sugar Sex Magik , and directed the video for " Under the Bridge ". He directed the pilot for the Starz television program Boss , starring Kelsey Grammer . Van Sant went onto The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast in 2014 to discuss filmmaking, writing, film history and their collaborations that never got made ( The Golden Suicides ) and
12556-627: The Hollywood movie studios to sell their theater chains and to eliminate certain anti-competitive practices. This effectively brought an end to the studio system of Hollywood's Golden Age . By 1958, many of the reasons for creating the SIMPP had been corrected and SIMPP closed its offices. The efforts of the SIMPP and the advent of inexpensive portable cameras during World War II effectively made it possible for any person in America with an interest in making films to write, produce, and direct one without
12728-534: The Living Dead , a new kind of intense and unforgiving independent horror film. This film was released just after the abandonment of the production code, but before the adoption of the MPAA rating system . As such, it was the first and last film of its kind to enjoy a completely unrestricted screening, in which young children were able to witness Romero's new brand of highly realistic gore. This film would help to set
12900-702: The Official Selection. In the UK, the Cambridge International Super 8 Film Festival, with the support of the film industry, runs a competition program of more than 60 films every year. The festival also features work of Super 8 filmmakers, industry talks, and a workshop. The United States Super 8mm Film + Digital Video Festival , established in 1988, takes place annually at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey and
13072-526: The Pickford/Fairbanks Studio, but did not own a studio lot as such. Because of this, many of their films would be shot on location. Primarily acting as bankers, they offered money to independent producers. Thus UA did not have the overhead, the maintenance or the expensive production staff which ran up costs at other studios. UA went public in 1956, and as the other mainstream studios fell into decline, UA prospered, adding relationships with
13244-568: The Single-8 footage. Also, when jammed, Single-8 footage has a tendency to stretch in the projector, unlike the acetate-based Super-8 film, which simply breaks. Although never as popular as Super 8, the format existed in parallel. On June 2, 2009, Fuji announced the end of Single-8 motion picture film. Tungsten balanced 200 ASA Fuji RT200N ceased to be manufactured by May 2010. Daylight balanced 25 ASA Fujichrome R25N remained available until March 2012. Fuji's in-house processing service
13416-627: The Super8 Shots film festival was launched in Galway , Ireland , the first Super 8 festival to occur in Ireland, and included classes on basics and uses of film through to processing your own film. Chicago 8: A Small Gauge Film Festival started in 2011, and will feature yearly programming of small gauge film from around the world. Super 8 can still be found at a few select higher educational institutions offering film production courses including
13588-463: The UK, broadcasters such as the BBC still occasionally make use of Super 8 in both drama and documentary contexts. A recent example of particular note is the 2005 BBC2 documentary series Define Normal , which was shot largely on Super 8, with only interviews and special timelapse photography utilising more conventional digital formats. Thanks to over a dozen film stocks, the ease of function and finding
13760-449: The United States . The Hollywood oligopoly replaced the Edison monopoly. Within this new system, a pecking order was soon established which left little room for any newcomers. By the mid-1930s, at the top were the five major studios, 20th Century Fox , Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , Paramount Pictures , RKO Pictures , and Warner Bros. Then came three smaller companies, Columbia Pictures , United Artists , and Universal Studios . Finally there
13932-404: The United States making it the most successful indie film in box-office history to that point. Miramax Films had a string of hits with Sex, Lies, and Videotape , My Left Foot , and Clerks , putting Miramax and New Line Cinema in the sights of big companies looking to cash in on the success of independent studios. In 1993, Disney bought Miramax for $ 60 million. Turner Broadcasting , in
14104-530: The aid of any major film studio . These circumstances soon resulted in a number of critically acclaimed and highly influential works, including Maya Deren 's Meshes of the Afternoon in 1943, Kenneth Anger's Fireworks in 1947, and Morris Engel, Ruth Orkin and Ray Abrashkin's Little Fugitive in 1953. Filmmakers such as Ken Jacobs , with little or no formal training, began to experiment with new ways of making and shooting films. Little Fugitive became
14276-411: The availability of new technologies has fueled the democratization of filmmaking and the growth of independent film. In the late forties and fifties, new inexpensive portable cameras made it easier for independent filmmakers to produce content without studio backing. The emergence of camcorders in the eighties broadened the pool of filmmakers experimenting with the newly available technology. More recently,
14448-451: The best results. Canon keeps an exhaustive list of their Super 8 cameras with detailed specifications on what film speeds can be used with their cameras. Usually, testing one cartridge of film can help settle any uncertainty a filmmaker may have about how well their Super 8 camera reads different film stocks. Color stocks were originally available only in tungsten (3400 K) Type A, and almost all Super 8 cameras come with
14620-433: The business changed, these "producing partners" drifted away. Goldwyn and Disney left for RKO , Wanger for Universal Pictures , Selznick and Korda for retirement . By the late 1940s, United Artists had virtually ceased to exist as either a producer or distributor. In 1941, Mary Pickford , Charles Chaplin , Walt Disney , Orson Welles , Samuel Goldwyn , David O. Selznick , Alexander Korda , and Walter Wanger —many of
14792-507: The camera, until 8 years later, on 22 November 2023, Kodak formally released the Super 8 camera for pre-order, confirmed its analog and digital-assist hybrid features, and 1.5:1 aspect ratio "Expanded Super 8 Gate" aperture feature. The camera is expected to be shipped around Q1 2024. Although Kodak launched Super 8 and had its own cameras, hundreds of other companies produced Super 8 camera, projection, editing, and sound equipment. Some of
14964-546: The climate of independent horror for decades to come, as films like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and Cannibal Holocaust (1980) continued to push the envelope. With the production code abandoned and violent and disturbing films like Romero's gaining popularity, Hollywood opted to placate the uneasy filmgoing public with the MPAA ratings system, which would place restrictions on ticket sales to young people. Unlike
15136-447: The content of the script, Van Sant finally secured Phoenix and Reeves, who played the roles of Mike Waters and Scott Favor, respectively. Centering on the dealings of two male hustlers (played by Phoenix and Reeves), the film was a compelling examination of unrequited love, alienation and the concept of family (a concept Van Sant repeatedly explores in his films). The film won him an Independent Spirit Award for his screenplay (he had won
15308-569: The craft. Aspiring filmmakers can range from those simply with access to a smartphone or digital camera, to those who write "spec" scripts (to pitch to studios), actively network, and use crowdsourcing and other financing to get their films professionally produced. Oftentimes, aspiring filmmakers have other day-jobs to support themselves financially while they pitch their scripts and ideas to independent film production companies, talent agents, and wealthy investors. This recent technology-fueled renaissance has helped fuel other supporting industries such as
15480-551: The defiance of the now-establishment New Hollywood, proposing that "all film schools be blown up and all boring films never be made again." In 1978, Sterling Van Wagenen and Charles Gary Allison , with Chairperson Robert Redford , (veteran of New Hollywood and star of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ) founded the Utah/US Film Festival in an effort to attract more filmmakers to Utah and showcase what
15652-712: The desert, discussing Wheel of Fortune , video games, and nothing in particular. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival . It took Gerry over a year to make it to theaters, in which time Van Sant began production on his next film, Elephant . Approached by HBO and producer Diane Keaton to craft a fictional film based on the 1999 Columbine High School massacre , the director chose to shoot in his hometown of Portland, employing dozens of untrained, teen actors. Melding improvisational long takes like those in Gerry with Harris Savides ' fluid camerawork,
15824-759: The fairly expensive price of such films although a small number were released by such companies as Viacom featuring stars with wide popularity such as John Wayne , Elvis Presley , and Katharine Hepburn . Blackhawk, which held the 8mm and 16mm rights to the Laurel and Hardy classics produced by Hal Roach , offered both their short comedies and complete features in black-and-white sound prints. Most sound films that were released complete on Super 8 with multi reels were usually public domain titles such as My Man Godfrey (1936), Of Human Bondage (1934) and His Girl Friday (1940), and sold by smaller companies such as Thunderbird and Niles. The emergence of home video and
15996-489: The features released in the United States and usually cost between $ 5 and $ 10 million to produce. Hollywood was producing these three different classes of feature films by means of three different types of producers. The superior products were the large, budget blockbusters and high-cost star vehicles marketed by the six major studio producer-distributors. Budgets on the major studios' pictures averaged $ 100 million, with approximately one-third of it spent on marketing because of
16168-403: The festival in the same year. Though most of Van Sant's other films received favorable reviews, such as Finding Forrester (2000) and Paranoid Park (2007), some of his efforts, such as the art house production Last Days (2005) and the environmental drama Promised Land (2012), have received more mixed reviews from critics, while his adaptation of Tom Robbins 's Even Cowgirls Get
16340-406: The film could have a successful run in the theaters. During this time, independent producer/director Roger Corman began a sweeping body of work that would become legendary for its frugality and grueling shooting schedule. Until his so-called "retirement" as a director in 1971 (he continued to produce films even after this date), he would produce up to seven movies a year, matching and often exceeding
16512-868: The film is environmentally hazardous. In 2005, Kodak announced the discontinuation of their most popular stock Kodachrome due to the decline of facilities equipped with the K-14 developing process. Kodachrome was "replaced" by a new ISO 64 Ektachrome , which uses the simpler E-6 process . The last roll of Kodachrome was processed on January 18, 2011, in Parsons, Kansas, by the sole remaining lab capable of processing it. In December 2012, Kodak discontinued color reversal stock in all formats, including 35 mm and Super 8. However, in Spring of 2019, Kodak introduced Ektachrome 100D in super 8 and 16 mm formats, citing surges in demand. Today, there are still
16684-417: The film loaded in a Single-8 cartridge has exactly the same dimensions as Super 8 (though it is made of a thinner and stronger polyester base, rather than the acetate base of Super 8 film), and can be viewed in any Super 8 projector after processing. However, Fuji recommended that only tape splices be used when combining Single-8 footage with Super-8, as standard film cement would not adhere to
16856-403: The film movement before it reaches the recording head) and a second aperture for the recording head. Sound cameras are compatible with silent cartridges, but not conversely. Sound film is typically filmed at a speed of 18 or 24 frames per second. Kodak discontinued the production of Super 8 sound film in 1997, citing environmental regulations, as the adhesive used to bond the magnetic track to
17028-534: The film was "amazing". His 2011 film Restless was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival , and starred Henry Hopper and Mia Wasikowska . Van Sant's film, Promised Land , was released on December 28, 2012. The film stars Frances McDormand , Matt Damon, and John Krasinski—the latter two co-wrote the screenplay based on a story by Dave Eggers. Filmed in April 2012,
17200-557: The film was influenced by Alan Clarke's 1989 film of the same name (see Elephant ). The finished film provoked strong reactions from audiences at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival . At the Cannes festival, the jury awarded Elephant with their top prize, the Palme d'Or , and Van Sant with his first Best Director statue from the festival. In 2005, Van Sant released Last Days , the final component of what he refers to as his "Death Trilogy", (the other parts being Gerry and Elephant ). It
17372-490: The film's success in Kevin Smith 's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back . Van Sant received the opportunity to remake Alfred Hitchcock 's classic Psycho . As opposed to reinterpreting the 1960 film, Van Sant opted to recreate the film shot-for-shot, in color, with a cast of young Hollywood A-listers. His decision was met with equal parts curiosity, skepticism, and derision from industry insiders and outsiders alike, and
17544-428: The filmmaking business would slowly squeeze out the more idiosyncratic of these young filmmakers, while ensconcing the more malleable and commercially successful of them. Film critic Manohla Dargis described this era as the "halcyon age" of the decade's filmmaking that "was less revolution than business as usual, with rebel hype". She also pointed out in her New York Times article that enthusiasts insisted this era
17716-483: The final film in each case has the same dimensions. The most popular system by far was the Kodak system. Launched in 1965 by Eastman Kodak at the 1964 – 65 New York World's Fair , Super 8 film comes in plastic light-proof cartridges containing coaxial supply and take-up spools loaded with 50 feet (15 m) of film, with 72 frames per foot, for a total of approximately 3,600 frames per film cartridge. This
17888-480: The finished result met with a similar reception. It starred Anne Heche , Vince Vaughn and Julianne Moore , and met with a negative critical reception and did poorly at the box office . In 2000, Van Sant directed Finding Forrester , about a high-school student ( Rob Brown ) from the Bronx unlikely becoming a friend of a crusty, reclusive author ( Sean Connery ). Critical response was generally positive and became
18060-555: The first independent film to be nominated for Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay at the American Academy Awards . It also received Silver Lion at Venice . Both Engel and Anger's films won acclaim overseas from the burgeoning French New Wave , with Fireworks inspiring praise and an invitation to study under him in Europe from Jean Cocteau , and François Truffaut citing Little Fugitive as an essential inspiration to his seminal work, The 400 Blows . As
18232-401: The five-per-year schedule that the executives at United Artists had once thought impossible. Like those of the avant-garde, the films of Roger Corman took advantage of the fact that unlike the studio system, independent films had never been bound by its self-imposed production code . Corman's example (and that of others like him) would help start a boom in independent B-movies in the 1960s,
18404-508: The following year, two New Hollywood directors had become sufficiently established for Coppola to be offered oversight of Paramount's The Godfather (1972) and Lucas had obtained studio funding for American Graffiti (1973) from Universal. In the mid-1970s, the major Hollywood studios continued to tap these new filmmakers for both ideas and personnel, producing films such as Paper Moon (1973) and Taxi Driver (1976), all of which met with critical and commercial success. These successes by
18576-419: The format is still regularly used by artists and students. Some seek to imitate the look of old home movies, or create a stylishly grainy look. Others want to create alternative looks for flashback sequences and altered states of consciousness. Some just like the idea of creating images in the classic style of using actual film. Super 8 is a relatively inexpensive film, making it popular among filmmakers working on
18748-652: The game. Though the eventual breakup of the studio system and its restrictive chain-theater distribution network would leave independent movie houses eager for the kind of populist, seat-filling product of the Poverty Row studios, that same paradigm shift would also lead to the decline and ultimate disappearance of "Poverty Row" as a Hollywood phenomenon. While the kinds of films produced by Poverty Row studios only grew in popularity, they would eventually become increasingly available both from major production companies and from independent producers who no longer needed to rely on
18920-531: The gross on his film Bonnie and Clyde (1967) instead of a minimal fee. The movie had grossed over $ 70 million worldwide by 1973. These initial successes paved the way for the studio to relinquish almost complete control to the film school generation and began what the media dubbed " New Hollywood ." Dennis Hopper , the American actor, made his writing and directing debut with Easy Rider (1969). Along with his producer/co-star/co-writer Peter Fonda , Hopper
19092-501: The ideas rejected by Universal. He directed Drugstore Cowboy about four drug addicts robbing pharmacies to support their habit. The film met with great critical success and revived the career of Matt Dillon . Drugstore Cowboy' s exploration of the lives of those living on society's outer fringes, as well as its Portland setting, were mirrored in Van Sant's next effort, the similarly acclaimed My Own Private Idaho (1991). Only with
19264-547: The increasing available of cable television dramatically decreased the market for Super 8 films in America in the early 1980s which led to a quick fadeout in availability, although the format remained quite popular in England into the early years of the 21st century with Derann films releasing full-length versions of many Disney films and vintage Hollywood musicals. Starting in 1971 in-flight movies (previously 16 mm ) were shown in Super 8 format until video distribution became
19436-491: The independent companies were forced into bankruptcy or merged, as the demand for Super 8 evaporated overnight. Some companies remained in business until 1985, when many gave up completely on movie-film equipment. A few later re-emerged, including Beaulieu, who, in 1985, introduced a new 7008 camera and Super 8 Sound that introduced a new version of its full-coat recorder, the Mag ;IV. The companies in which Super 8
19608-487: The large release campaigns. Another class of Hollywood feature film included art films, specialty films, and other niche-market fare controlled by the conglomerates' indie subsidiaries. Budgets on these indie films averaged $ 40 million per release in the early 2000s, with $ 10 million to $ 15 million spent on marketing (MPA, 2006:12). The final class of film consisted of genre and specialty films whose release campaigns were administered by independent producer-distributors with only
19780-778: The largest film festival in the world. Other large events include the Toronto International Film Festival , Hong Kong International Film Festival , and the Panafrican Film and TV Festival of Ouagadougou . The European Union , specifically through the European Cinema and VOD Initiative (ECVI), has established programs that attempt to adapt the film industry to an increasing digital demand for film on video on demand services, outside of theatrical screenings. With this program, VOD offerings are paired with traditional movie screenings. There
19952-454: The late 1960s through the 1970s, but was largely replaced in the 1980s by the use of video tape. During the mid-to-late 1980s Super 8 began to re-emerge as an alternative method for movie production, beginning with its use in MTV music videos in 1981. In 1993, the company Super8 Sound, now called Pro8mm, pioneered the use of the color negative in Super 8 by custom perforating and loading
20124-579: The latter include John Travolta and Bruce Willis taking less than their usual pay to work with Quentin Tarantino on Pulp Fiction . Generally, the marketing of independent films is characterized by limited release , often at independent movie theaters , but they can also have major marketing campaigns and a wide release . Independent films are often screened at local, national, or international film festivals before distribution (theatrical or retail release). An independent film production can rival
20296-573: The latter two, Van Sant was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and both films received Best Picture nominations. In 2003, Van Sant's film based on the Columbine High School massacre , Elephant , won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival . Van Sant also received the festival's Best Director Award that same year, making him one of only two filmmakers—the other being Joel Coen —to win both accolades at
20468-510: The leading distributor ( George Kleine ) and the biggest supplier of raw film, Eastman Kodak . A number of filmmakers declined or were refused membership to the trust and came to be described as "independent". At the time of the formation of the MPPC, Thomas Edison owned most of the major patents relating to motion pictures, including that for raw film . The MPPC vigorously enforced its patents, constantly bringing suits and receiving injunctions against independent filmmakers. Because of this,
20640-427: The leading figures in American silent cinema ( Mary Pickford , Charles Chaplin , Douglas Fairbanks , and D. W. Griffith ) formed United Artists. Each held a 20% stake, with the remaining 20% held by lawyer William Gibbs McAdoo . The idea for the venture originated with Fairbanks, Chaplin, Pickford, and cowboy star William S. Hart a year earlier as they were traveling around the U.S. selling Liberty bonds to help
20812-449: The main strip. In 1975, an even larger 200-foot (61 m) cartridge became available, which could be used in specifically designed cameras. The sound and the 200-foot cartridge system are no longer available, but the 50-foot silent cartridge system is still manufactured. Historically, Super 8 film was a reversal stock for home projection used primarily for the creation of home movies. It became an extremely popular consumer product in
20984-473: The members of New Hollywood led each of them, in turn, to make more and more extravagant demands, both on the studio and eventually on the audience. While most members of the New Hollywood generation were, or started out as, independent filmmakers, a number of their projects were produced and released by major studios. The New Hollywood generation soon became firmly entrenched in a revived incarnation of
21156-400: The more notable companies that made Super 8 equipment include: Canon, Bauer, Nizo, Super8 Sound (Pro8mm), Beaulieu, Leicina, Logmar, Ciro, Bolex, Goko, Hahnel, Wurker, Minolta, Minnette, Nikon. Most of these companies had long histories in the production of motion-picture equipment, dating back to the 1930s with 8 mm. In 1980, the consumer market for Super 8 collapsed. Most of
21328-474: The narrower super 8 sprockets. Some of the formats taking advantage of this are Max DS8 and Ultra DS8. As Super 8 progressed to be used in HD and theatrical applications, a need arose for widescreen compatibility without having to use expensive optical adapters or excessive cropping. Since magnetic sound-striped film was no longer available, that area of the film could be used to expand the picture aspect ratio in
21500-437: The norm and they were replaced by Video8 and later on, digital video. The films were printed with an optical sound track (amateur films use magnetic sound), and spooled into proprietary cassettes that often held an entire two-hour movie. Super 8 was most widely used for filming home movies. Some lower-budget television stations used Super 8 to film news stories . Today amateur usage of Super 8 has been replaced by digital , but
21672-536: The old studios from financial ruin by providing them with a new formula for success. Indeed, it was during this period that the very definition of an independent film became blurred. Though Midnight Cowboy was financed by United Artists, the company was certainly a studio. Likewise, Zoetrope was another "independent studio" which worked within the system to make a space for independent directors who needed funding. George Lucas would leave Zoetrope in 1971 to create his own independent studio, Lucasfilm , which would produce
21844-489: The one that did ( The Canyons ). The moving image collection of Gus Van Sant is held at the Academy Film Archive . The archive has preserved many of Van Sant's short films, including The Happy Organ , Ken Death Gets Out of Jail , Five Ways to Kill Yourself , and others. Independent film It is not unusual for well-known actors who are cast in independent features to take substantial pay cuts for
22016-455: The options in which movies can be independently produced/released. Super-8 Super 8 mm film is a motion-picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement over the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format. The film is nominally 8 mm wide, the same as older formatted 8 mm film, but the dimensions of the rectangular perforations along one edge are smaller, which allows for
22188-504: The perforations and the edge of the film which made good contact with a magnetic head problematic. A balance stripe was added on the opposite edge to facilitate spooling of the film. The Ektasound cartridge was deeper than the silent cartridge to allow access of the camera's recording head. Thus, silent cameras could not accept Ektasound cartridges, but Ektasound cameras and projectors accepted silent cartridges. Projectors, that could record and play sound, appeared before sound cameras. The sound
22360-628: The picture was better than what the studio believed — he eventually went bankrupt because of this. In retrospect, it can be seen that Steven Spielberg 's Jaws (1975) and George Lucas 's Star Wars (1977) marked the beginning of the end for the New Hollywood. With their unprecedented box-office successes, these movies jump-started Hollywood's blockbuster mentality, giving studios a new paradigm as to how to make money in this changing commercial landscape. The focus on high-concept premises, with greater concentration on tie-in merchandise (such as toys), spin-offs into other media (such as soundtracks), and
22532-430: The possibility of higher frame rates and rewinding film for double exposures or crossfades, which were very difficult or impossible with the super 8 film cartridges but possible with cameras using film spools. Since the film doesn't follow a diagonal path through the stacked spools of the super 8 cassette, the pin-registration of DS8 is considered to be superior to that of Super 8 film, and so picture stability
22704-431: The potential of independent film could be. At the time, the main focus of the event was to present a series of retrospective films and filmmaker panel discussions; however it also included a small program of new independent films. The jury of the 1978 festival was headed by Gary Allison , and included Verna Fields , Linwood Gale Dunn , Katherine Ross , Charles E. Sellier Jr. , Mark Rydell , and Anthea Sylbert . In 1981,
22876-485: The principal aim of which was to bring in the youth market which the major studios had lost touch with. By promising sex , wanton violence , drug use , and nudity , these films hoped to draw audiences to independent theaters by offering to show them what the major studios could not. Horror and science fiction films experienced a period of tremendous growth during this time. As these tiny producers, theaters, and distributors continued to attempt to undercut one another,
23048-638: The production code, this rating system posed a threat to independent films in that it would affect the number of tickets they could sell and cut into the grindhouse theaters' share of the youth market. This change would further widen the divide between commercial and non-commercial films. However, having a film audience-classified is strictly voluntary for independents and there is no legal impediment to releasing movies on an unrated basis. However, unrated movies face obstacles in marketing because media outlets, such as TV channels, newspapers and websites, often place their own restrictions on movies that do not come with
23220-520: The production company, Focus Features, selected the release date so that the film is eligible to qualify for awards consideration. After Promised Land , Van Sant directed a film titled Sea of Trees , which starred Matthew McConaughey and Ken Watanabe . The film tells the story of a man who travels to the infamous Aokigahara suicide forest in Japan to kill himself, only to encounter another man wishing to kill himself as well, with whom he then embarks on
23392-434: The production side of the business. After hearing about Biograph's success in Hollywood, in 1913 many such would-be movie-makers headed west to avoid the fees imposed by Edison. Soon they were the heads of a new kind of enterprise: the movie studio . By establishing a new system of production, distribution, and exhibition which was independent of The Edison Trust in New York, these studios opened up new horizons for cinema in
23564-598: The production, distribution, and exhibition of films. In 1942, the SIMPP filed an antitrust suit against Paramount's United Detroit Theatres. The complaint accused Paramount of conspiracy to control first-run and subsequent-run theaters in Detroit. It was the first antitrust suit brought by producers against exhibitors alleging monopoly and restraint of trade. In 1948, the United States Supreme Court Paramount Decision ordered
23736-651: The program at Chaffey College in Southern California. It is more common to find Super 8 film in art programs. These programs use the analog experience of film for its own creative potential rather than use Super 8 to teach traditional modern production methods. Art programs on many levels, such as this program put on in Santa Clarita California at ArtTree for students aged 10 to 15, teach the basic nature of film. Other programs such as "Do A Shot" sponsored by Pro8mm and Kodak give individuals
23908-524: The same award for his Drugstore Cowboy screenplay), as well as greater prestige. The film gained River Phoenix best actor honors at the Venice Film Festival among others. It helped Reeves—previously best known for his work in the Bill and Ted movies—to get the critical respect that had eluded him. Van Sant's next film, a 1993 adaptation of Tom Robbins ' Even Cowgirls Get the Blues ,
24080-466: The same people who were members of United Artists—founded the Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers . Later members included William Cagney , Sol Lesser , and Hal Roach . The Society aimed to preserve the rights of independent producers in an industry overwhelmingly controlled by the studio system. SIMPP fought to end monopolistic practices by the five major Hollywood studios which controlled
24252-559: The same time that the maverick film students of the American New Wave were developing the skills they would use to take over Hollywood, many of their peers had begun to develop their style of filmmaking in a different direction. Influenced by foreign and art house directors such as Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini , exploitation shockers (i.e. Joseph P. Mawra , Michael Findlay , and Henri Pachard ) and avant-garde cinema, ( Kenneth Anger , Maya Deren and Bruce Conner )
24424-561: The same year that United Artists, bought out by MGM after the financial failure of Michael Cimino 's Heaven's Gate (1980), ceased to exist as a venue for independent filmmakers, Sterling Van Wagenen left the film festival to help found the Sundance Institute with Robert Redford. In 1985, the now well-established Sundance Institute, headed by Sterling Van Wagenen, took over management of the US Film Festival, which
24596-483: The scripts were based on studio pitches and subsequently paid for by the studios, the production financing was from the studio, and the marketing and distribution of the films were designed and controlled by the studio's advertising agency. Though Coppola made considerable efforts to resist the influence of the studios, opting to finance his risky 1979 film Apocalypse Now himself rather than compromise with skeptical studio executives, he, and filmmakers like him, had saved
24768-506: The standard Super 8 frame and achieving aspect ratio of 1.5. In 2016, Eastman Kodak showed a concept for a new Super 8 camera, its first such camera in over 30 years. Although Kodak has neither confirmed nor denied it, Logmar is said to have assisted in the design of the transport and the camera's firmware. A working prototype was displayed at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show, with Kodak hoping to begin production in spring 2017. However, nothing has been heard from Kodak concerning
24940-409: The studio system, which financed the development, production and distribution of their films. Very few of these filmmakers ever independently financed or independently released a film of their own, or ever worked on an independently financed production during the height of the generation's influence. Seemingly independent films such as Taxi Driver , The Last Picture Show and others were studio films:
25112-411: The studios. Meanwhile, in 1951, lawyers-turned-producers Arthur Krim and Robert Benjamin had made a deal with the remaining stockholders of United Artists which would allow them to make an attempt to revive the company and, if the attempt was successful, buy it after five years. The attempt was a success, and in 1955 United Artists became the first "studio" without an actual studio. UA leased space at
25284-502: The success of Cowboy was Van Sant now given license to make Idaho (a film he had originally pitched that was knocked back several times because the studios deemed the script 'too risky'). New Line Cinema now gave Van Sant the green light, and he went on a mission to get the Idaho script into the hands of River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves , his preferred choice for the two young leads. After months of struggle with agents and managers over
25456-408: The switch from film to digital cameras, inexpensive non-linear editing and the move to distribution via the internet have led to more people being able to make and exhibit movies of their own, including young people and individuals from marginalized communities. These people may have little to no formal technical or academic training, but instead are autodidactic filmmakers, using online sources to learn
25628-409: The tedium of handling film and the damage to the film, which can occur when editing the actual film. Super 8 films may be transferred (scanned) to digital and then imported into computer-based editing and correction systems for post production. Today's systems can scan Super 8 to 4K digital in a variety of formats. Fujifilm of Japan developed an alternative format called Single-8, which
25800-407: The time the company got underway in 1920–1921, feature films were becoming more expensive and more polished, and running times had settled at around ninety minutes (or eight reels). It was believed that no one, no matter how popular, could produce and star in five quality feature films a year. By 1924, Griffith had dropped out and the company was facing a crisis: either bring in others to help support
25972-636: The top Warhol superstars , who had already become symbols of the militantly anti-Hollywood climate of NYC's independent film community. Within a month, another young Corman trainee, Francis Ford Coppola , made his debut in Spain at the Donostia-San Sebastian International Film Festival with The Rain People (1969), a film he had produced through his own company, American Zoetrope . Though The Rain People
26144-444: The use of sequels (which had been made more respectable by Coppola's The Godfather Part II ), all showed the studios how to make money in the new environment. On realizing how much money could potentially be made in films, major corporations started buying up the remaining Hollywood studios, saving them from the oblivion which befell RKO in the 50s. Eventually, even RKO was revived, the corporate mentality these companies brought to
26316-468: The viewfinder is modified to show 16:9 frame markings. Pro8mm claims that shooting with Max8 and then cropping it to achieve 16:9 provides 20% increase in the size of the negative compared to regular Super8 cropped to 16:9. In 2015, Logmar of Denmark made a one-off batch of 50 "digicanical" pro-level Super 8 cameras to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Super 8. These cameras use a widened gate as well, providing an 11% increase in imaging area over
26488-401: Was " Poverty Row ", a catch-all term used to encompass any other smaller studio that managed to fight their way up into the increasingly exclusive movie business. While the small studios that made up Poverty Row could be characterized as existing "independently" of any major studio, they utilized the same kind of vertically and horizontally integrated systems of business as the larger players in
26660-636: Was "when American movies grew up (or at least starred underdressed actresses); when directors did what they wanted (or at least were transformed into brands); when creativity ruled (or at least ran gloriously amok, albeit often on the studio's dime)." During the 1970s, shifts in thematic depictions of sexuality and violence occurred in American cinema, prominently featuring heightened depictions of realistic sex and violence. Directors who wished to reach mainstream audiences of Old Hollywood quickly learned to stylize these themes to make their films appealing and attractive rather than repulsive or obscene. However, at
26832-405: Was 22 frames. Projectors and cameras obviously could not record sound in this system, but optical sound package movies became briefly popular, particularly in Europe (mainly because they were cheaper to produce - though the projectors cost more). Although the optical sound should have been inferior in quality to magnetic sound (running at 3.6 inches per second for 24 frames per second), in practice it
27004-522: Was a plan in part to take over the independent film industry and at the same time start "independent" studios of their own. The following are all "indie" studios owned by conglomerate Hollywood: By the early 2000s, Hollywood was producing three different classes of films: 1) big-budget blockbusters , 2) art films , specialty films and niche-market films produced by the conglomerate-owned "indies" and 3) genre and specialty films coming from true indie studios and producers. The third category comprised over half
27176-421: Was an excessive flop, both commercially and critically. Featuring an unusually large budget (for Van Sant, at least) of $ 8.5 million and a large, eclectic cast including Uma Thurman , John Hurt , Keanu Reeves and a newcomer in the form of River Phoenix's younger sister Rain (at Phoenix's suggestion), the film was worked and then reworked, but the finished product nonetheless resulted in something approaching
27348-435: Was available until September 2013. An instant 8 mm film released in 1977 by Polaroid, Polavision uses the same perforations as Super 8 mm film. It can be projected through a Super 8 mm projector if the film is transferred from the original cartridge to an 8 mm reel. However, because of the additive color process, the picture will be much darker. Double Super 8 film (commonly abbreviated as DS8 or DS 8)
27520-627: Was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky , the son of Betty (née Seay) and Gus Green Van Sant Sr. The younger Gus' father was a clothing manufacturer and traveling salesman, who rapidly worked his way into middle class prosperity, holding executive marketing positions that included being president of the White Stag Manufacturing Company 's apparel operation. As a result of his father's job, the family moved continually during his childhood. Gus Van Sant's paternal family
27692-405: Was called, sound and picture are recorded separately. This was fine for more professional applications and for education about film production, but for consumers it was simply too complex and expensive. In 1973 Kodak introduced Ektasound—magnetic recording on the actual Super 8 film. The sound track was added on the edge of the film opposite to the perforations. Standard 8mm had the stripe between
27864-481: Was experiencing financial difficulties. Gary Beer and Sterling Van Wagenen spearheaded production of the inaugural Sundance Film Festival which included Program Director Tony Safford and Administrative Director Jenny Walz Selby. In 1991, the festival was officially renamed the Sundance Film Festival, after Redford's famous role as The Sundance Kid . Through this festival the Independent Cinema movement
28036-583: Was highly acclaimed, and earned him screenwriting awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and New York Film Critics Circle and the award for Best Director from the National Society of Film Critics . His next film, My Own Private Idaho (1991), was similarly praised, as were the black comedy To Die For (1995), the drama Good Will Hunting (1997), and the biographical film Milk (2008); for
28208-645: Was largely overlooked by American audiences, Zoetrope would become a powerful force in New Hollywood. Through Zoetrope, Coppola formed a distribution agreement with studio giant Warner Bros., which he would exploit to achieve wide releases for his films without making himself subject to their control. These three films provided the major Hollywood studios with both an example to follow and a new crop of talent to draw from. Zoetrope co-founder George Lucas made his feature film debut with THX 1138 (1971), also released by Zoetrope through their deal with Warner Bros., announcing himself as another major talent of New Hollywood. By
28380-562: Was launched. Such notable figures as Kevin Smith , Robert Rodriguez , Quentin Tarantino , David O. Russell , Paul Thomas Anderson , Steven Soderbergh , James Wan , Hal Hartley , Joel and Ethan Coen and Jim Jarmusch garnered resounding critical acclaim and unprecedented box office sales. The significance of the Sundance Film Festival is documented in the work of Professor Emanuel Levy Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film, (NYU Press, 1999; 2001). In 2005, about 15% of
28552-427: Was made two years after Van Sant went to New York to work in an advertising agency. He saved $ 20,000 during his tenure there, enabling him to finance the majority of his tale of doomed love between a gay liquor store clerk and a Mexican immigrant. The film, which was taken from Portland street writer Walt Curtis ' semi-autobiographical novella, featured some of the director's hallmarks, notably an unfulfilled romanticism,
28724-560: Was often much better, largely because packaged movie magnetic sound was often poorly recorded. Although the 8mm format was originally intended for creating amateur films, condensed versions of popular cinema releases were available from the 1940s (in the Standard 8 format) until the mid-1980s, for projection at home. These were scenes from feature-length films generally edited to fit onto a 200 ft (61 m) reel that ran 8–9 minutes. Also popular were theatrical cartoons which could fit on
28896-484: Was only a division simply closed. Kodak continued support for Super 8. A few products re-emerged with new features such as crystal sync and Max8. Several Canon models have also started to reappear as restoration efforts like the RhondaCam. Recently, new companies have started producing new Super 8 cameras. In 2015, Logmar introduced a limited-edition completely new Super 8 camera, and in 2016, Kodak showed
29068-446: Was recorded 18 frames in advance of the picture (as opposed to 56 frames for standard 8mm). This short distance of just 3 inches facilitated the relatively compact size of the later sound cartridges. Some projectors used the balance stripe to provide a second channel for stereo sound. Super 8mm was also specified with an optical sound track. This occupied the same location as the magnetic track. Picture to sound separation in this format
29240-423: Was released in 1965 as a different option to the Kodak Super 8 format. Single-8 cartridges, without a press plate, are of a different design from a Super 8 cartridge, resembling a cassette-style design (supply and take-up reels side by side) as opposed to Super 8's coaxial cartridge design (one reel on top of the other). Therefore, Single-8 film cartridges can only be used in Single-8 cameras. However,
29412-408: Was responsible for one of the first completely independent films of New Hollywood. Easy Rider debuted at Cannes and garnered the "First Film Award" ( French : Prix de la premiere oeuvre ) after which it received two Oscar nominations, one for best original screenplay and one for Corman-alum Jack Nicholson 's breakthrough performance in the supporting role of George Hanson, an alcoholic lawyer for
29584-555: Was written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck . The film, about a troubled, blue-collar mathematical genius, was a huge critical and commercial success. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards , including Best Director for Van Sant. It won two, including Best Screenplay for Damon and Affleck, and Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Robin Williams , who, in his acceptance speech, referred to Van Sant as "being so subtle you're almost subliminal." Van Sant, Damon and Affleck parodied themselves and
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