Breathe Brighton

Along with many of you I’m sure, I recently went to see ‘Inception’ at the Duke of York cinema.  I really enjoyed it, as I love films and art in general for that matter, which is inspired by the surreal and the unconscious mind.  I met the visual effects supervisor Paul Franklin a few days after watching the film and told him I saw his film as an Independent film with a Hollywood budget.  He thought this was true and we both agreed that, but for, Director, Christopher Nolan’s fantastic reputation he has built up over the years, this film would never have been green lighted by a Hollywood
Studio.


 

This left me thinking, what is an independent style of film?  Why did we believe that Inception had this Independent feel, although with expensive pyjamas?  I think the answer lies in the content and the artistic vision feeling uncompromised in its delivery. An independent film, or indie film, is a film that is produced mostly outside of a major film studio. The term also refers to art films that differ from most mass marketed films.

For example, when Mel Gibson was in pre-production on ‘Apocalypto’, he was insistent on the film being in Mayan with English subtitles, which put off most of the studios funding the project.  As Mel Gibson is a multi-millionaire he decided to fund it himself for the same kind of money he was looking for.  So that film became another independent film with a Hollywood budget.




Studio films sometimes lose their way during production due to power struggles between the director, writers and the moneymen.  It’s usually either down to the moneymen wanting to make the film more commercial and the director not wanting to lose his unique vision he has for the project.  The more powerful reputation the director has and by the same token, the money or awards that director has made, the more likely he will win this power struggle or sometimes even have it written into his contract.  I believe that for better or worse the final say should always go to the director, as the point of having a director is that you get someone’s singular consistent vision up on screen and not a mishmash of different ideas from lots of different people.  The director’s job is to listen to these ideas but be a filtering system, whereby the best ideas, which fit into the overall ethos of the film, are the ones that get used.

As an independent film director, I have not encountered this problem as I have always had the final say on my films.  This is because they are little to no budget productions where everyone involved is working for free.   The reasons they want to be involved is because the script is decent and they have spoken to me and believe I can take this decent script and make it into a good film.  The reason my vision has never been questioned is probably down to 2 main things; My personality which is very assured and due to the budget restraints, I tend to be working with crew and cast who haven’t got lots and lots of experience.  Thus, they are less likely to think they know better.

It would be nice to have the money to put into my films, but I would not enjoy having the power I have as director taken away from me during the middle of a production.  So I guess, like a lot of things, its always a balancing act.  This is why art films and indie films will always be around and have their admirers due their uncompromising style and ability to tackle issues that are not popular but may be important to some.

I'm essentially on here to see what's going on in bright town through a new medium, and I like the idea of it all being completely Brighton based, makes it very handy for lots of reasons. 
But, I'm also down on here as 'local talent' so I'm here also to see if I can be promoted more locally, I'm a music composer and have been for sometime, I'm only 19 but I've played well over 200 gigs varying in bands, orchestras, duets and solos. I have a 'Music' & 'Music Technology' A-level teamed with a 'Film Studies' A-level too. I've made two solo albums within the genres of IDM, Jazz, Progressive, Electronic, Drum & Bass, Folk, Electroacoustic and general Organised Sound, working on my third album whilst I complete my University of Brighton degree in 'Digital Music & Sound Arts' (@Grand Parade). I've also made an 12 track album with an ElectroFolk band in two weeks and I've recorded over 50 of my own compositions. I love Music and Sonic energy and I know it's what I need to do to make my money to live. So, if you are an employer of any kind, whether it is paid work or not, I can make the music you need for anything within a day or two if you need it.
Peace, Ish (Imyme) xx

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