Independent film examples

Grand Budapest Hotel:

This indie film was released in 2014 and was directed by Wes Anderson. It had an all star cast including: Bill Murray, Adrian Brody, Edward Norton, léa Seydoux, Jude Law, Owen Wilson and Ralph Fiennes as Gustave. H. The film was produced by serval small independent company's such as American Empirical Pictures, Indian Paintbrush, Bablesberg Studios, TSG Entertainment; but was distributed by FOX searchlight Pictures. The film is about a legendary hotel concierge and his adventures through the first and Second World War in the fictional republic of Zubrowka. The picture itself won 118 adwards and was  nominated for 198 other awards. The thing that makes the film so good is that it is unique. It is filmed in such a way that is asthetically pleasing to an audience. The colours are bright, the sets are big and the camera remains still and focuses and does not involve "shaky cam". The script and screen play (also written by Anderson) are very well written it is endlessly quotable. Every single micro and macro element of he film is perfect. Personally I could watch the film over and over and you can tell the actors enjoy the roles and have fun with it.

Notes to take for this particular film include:
~Colour
~Cinematogrphy
~Script
~Story

 Birdman:

Again anouther 2014 release but directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu. This stars Edward Norton, Emama Stone, Zach Galifianakis, Naomi Watts, and Michael Keaton as Birdman. Again, like Budapest this film was produced by several company's such as Regency Enrerprises, New Regency Pictures, M Productions, TSG Entertainment and Worldwide Entertainment; the film was also distributed by FOX Searchlight Pictures. The film is based around an actor who is typecast as a superhero character he used to play, tries to gain some credibility for "respected" acting by staging a show on Broadway. The picture 167 awards and was nominated for 238 awards. What makes this film special is it's different type of cinematography. The scenes are never cut, and is if the 2hour long film is one continuous shot. Unlike Grand Budapest the colour is dark and not as bright, in fact shows Broadway as a dirty, confound, unglamorous place. Shaky cam is also extremely noticeable in the film as it help aids the audiences understanding that we are supposed to feel like we are following the actors. The main thing to take away from this is the cinematography as it is totally unique to this film.

Halloween:

This is a 1978 release directed by John Carpenter. Unlike the previous two films we've looked at the budget was significantly less. This film having $325,000 whereas films like Birdman having a budget of $18 million. It was produced by Falcon International Productions and Distributed by Compass International pictures. It also doesn't have an all star cast. But the thing that makes this film a memorable and decent independent film is the memorable character of Michael Myer/ The shape played by Nick Castle. Michael Myers is now one the most iconic horror and film character to date, with the Halloween franchise spawning many sequels, prequels and remakes. If we were to take anything a way from this film as research it is that we need a strong, memorable character that can be recognised by anyone.