Presentation on Independent Films

Welcome to my presentation on an Independent Film. 

An Independent film is a film that is produced from an Independent Studio. Even though the studio’s are independent most of the films are distributed by higher or major studios. An example of this would be Paranormal Activity which has been distributed by Paramount Pictures but has the studio of Solana Films.

Miramax is an independent film production company that has produced and distributed films. The company was founded in 1979 and was owned by The Walt Disney Company from 1993 to 2010. Miramax is now owned by Filmyard Holdings, LLC

One of the Independent film studios that has come up

time and time again in my research on independent films is Artisan. Artisan are known for The Blair Witch Project. Artisan is a independent studio, that specializes in Horror films, which was based in America until it was purchased by the Canadian company Lionsgate.

Momentum Pictures is a popular independent film distributor.

Solana Films is a new Independent Studio which has became popular after the success of Paranormal Activity.

There are a number of known Independent films such as The Blair Witch Project, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Donnie Darko, Reservoir Dogs and Paranormal Activity.

There are also some that are less known these are THX 1138, Run Lola Run, Clerks and Shallow Grave.

After watching a number of independent films I have chosen Donnie Darko.

I thought this was a suitable independent film to write about because it has been made by an independent studio and has a complex story line so this is the most interesting film to write about.

The Independent Film Studio that has made this film is Flower Films, this studio is popular for Charlie’s Angels, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and Donnie Darko.

I think the target audience for this film would be people from the age of 15 to around 50. This is clear because of the content of the film. People could relate to the normal family acts such as arguing during a family meal. Therefore this shows that the film could be aimed at teenagers and adults.

When the plot gets more complex the film is suitable for a more grown up mind to try to work out the outcome. Teenagers may be able to relate more to the life of Donnie Darko and his friends or his older sister Elizabeth Darko as they may be going through similar things. If adults have lost children or someone important they could relate to the mother of Donnie Darko when she loses him at the end of the film. The smoking and language also suggests that the target audience better for people over the age of fifteen.

The main characters are Donald ‘Donnie’ Darko, Frank and Gretchen Ross.

Donnie is played by Jake Gyllenhaal, he is seen as a complex character as he sees an imaginary friend called Frank who makes him commit crimes, like when Donnie is told to flood the school by Frank because he thinks that himself and Donnie can do what they like. In parts you could relate to Donnie as he is at an age where teenagers could relate to him easily, he is in love with Gretchen and is a student at school however he is in therapy since he tried to burn a house down this one may not be related to as much as the others.

Frank, Donnie’s imaginary friend, is seen as a man in a big rabbit costume. Frank can control Donnie and can make him do anything he asks. Frank is a very complex character as he is not a real person he seems to be a futuristic creature, I don’t find that Frank could be related to by anyone.

 Gretchen Ross is in love with Donnie, she is a student with Donnie at his school. Gretchen is a well rounded character but may be seen as slightly complex. People could relate to Gretchen as she is similar to Donnie in that she is a student and is in love with Donnie.

The subject of the film is disaster, time travel, love and sacrifice.

The story is mainly seen from Donnie’s point of view but the subplots show the other characters perspectives, this is important because it takes some of the focus away from Donnie. An example is when Donnie’s mum has to answer the door to her ‘friend’ and it only shows them two characters and Donnie is not in this shot. These could be regarded as her point of view and not Donnie’s. The other characters perspectives are really important to the making of the film.

While the film is been played all the subplots distract from the eventual ending of the film, which helps to build suspense. All the subplots make the ending of the film a mystery.

When this film is watched I feel the audience sees the tragic life of Donnie and how his whole family and most of the town is affected. Regarding the costumes I feel that the clothes that are worn by the whole cast capture the eye of 1988 very well. there are no particularly modern clothes, they all look comfortable in their time. Donnie Darko wears a hoodie which I researched and found that they weren't as popular in those times as they are now and very few people owned them, so this could be used to show Donnie’s isolation from all the other teenagers. The most bizarre costume would have to be Frank’s bunny costume this would make Frank stand out a lot more than the other cast, this will show he is special and could be from the future.

The hair styles in Donnie Darko were the correct styles for their time.

The darkness of the film makes everyone pay close attention in case they miss anything they need to see. There is also the presence of mystery with the darkness.

I have selected the first ten minutes of the film to take some of the camera techniques from. The film starts by using a tracking shot of a casual stroll down from the hills to a body in the middle of the road the darkness of the shot makes it difficult to see whether it is a body or not, once you find that it is Donnie the camera moves to the landscape as Donnie stands up into the camera frame, all of this builds tension and questions why is he in the middle of the road? What has he done?. The scene changes into watching Donnie on his bike, when it starts the sun that goes through the trees makes Donnie seem like he is going faster than he is, this is shot around the speed of an average run but to a casual stroll as he goes deeper into his village this is used to introduce his family. I find this is a very good way to introduce the characters because it gives each character enough time to show what they are like. Next they use long view from a shelf to show the family at there table as each character speaks they go for a close up of them, this gives the feel of speed in the shot and tension is built up more from this shot. The scene swaps into the next scene by showing Donnie at a medium shot then close up to the door as his mum knocks then back and forth between the conversation. Once the mother leaves the room it close ups on Donnie for his insult then a high up position medium shot of his mum outside with her response. The next transition is into the parents bed room the camera stays in one position to show the mother and father’s conversation this shot is quite plain and normal. Donnie enters the bathroom but you only see his reflection until he opens the medicine cupboard, the camera fades out this shows mystery. When Donnie’s father gets out of his bed they use a long shot to show this, then a back and forth between him and the television this could show how he may be lonely as he finds a conversation styled camera work with his television. The camera then skips to Donnie he is being told to get out of bed, the camera doesn't follow him as he gets out of his bed it keeps the distance, as he walks away the camera is in one set location, this shooting increases the tension more and keeps the audiences attention. Goes to shots of the family sleeping or walking into the house, a massive crash is heard and the chandelier starts to shake from the stillness of the chandelier this shows mystery as to what has caused this all to happen. The camera goes to shots of the family in separate turns from the father, to the mother and then the older sister and there reactions to the impact, this is key as it shows how they are all clueless. Each shot shows the positions of everything falling down all around them. The scene is finished by the swinging chandelier.Like before I have reviewed only part of the film for sound this time up to five minutes.

The film starts with thunder which gives a ominous feel to the start. Once the film starts the birds symbolize the start of a new day or life. The slow start to the music being played on the piano shows confusion and mystery with the images been shot. The first song that is played ends with “Fate, Up against your will” while the camera is on Donnie this gives the impression that Donnie has no control on his life. Next all the scene’s sounds are the speaking of the characters and the noise of knife’s and forks been placed on the table.

Thank you for watching.