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Cupid's Dead: the Process of Amateur and Independent Moviemaking

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Cupid's Dead: the Process of Amateur and Independent Moviemaking £61302 WIWIHHHKUU“WMWHIIHWHIW Ill lCHiGANill lugmlm I: STATE will U IVE BRARIES Ill/I Hi LIBRARY Michigan State University This is to certify that the thesis entitled Cupid's Dead: The Process of Amateur and Independent Moviemaking presented by Michael Joseph Alexander has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Master of Artsdegree in _Ielennmrwnication W i Major professor Dateg/Z (9/0 C) 0-7639 MS U is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution PLACE lN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due. MAY BE RECALLED with earlier due date if requested. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE woo cmmmspu Cupid’s Dead: The Process of Amateur and Independent Moviemaking By Michael Joseph Alexander A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Telecommunications 2000 ABSTRACT Cupid’s Dead: The Process of Amateur and Independent Moviemaking By Michael Joseph Alexander This paper is a thesis project, the culmination of knowledge and experience gained in the pursuit of a Master’s degree in Telecommunication! Media Arts at Michigan State University. The actual project involves the development and production of a short movie based on an original screenplay. The producer began working on this project during the fall semester of 1999 and completed the project during the summer of 2000, working under the supervision of faculty advisers from the Department of Telecommunications. The written material in this thesis will detail some of the areas of study that must be considered in the production of a short movie without the help of an established production studio. These areas include: the history of independent moviemaking, a description of the movie, and the stages that were required to complete the project. A section devoted to the evaluation of the movie is included as well as a conclusion detailing what was learned and information that other students might find useful when producing similar projects. Copyright by Michael Joseph Alexander 2000 Dedicated to those who struggle with their dreams and Michael Dustin Ryski who lived a life too short to realize his. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Chapter 1: lndependentMoviemaking . Chapter 2: Development 13 Chapter3: Pre-Production 23 Chapter4: Production .. 26 Chapter 5: Post-Production 30 Chapter6: Evaluation . .. 33 Chapter 7: Conclusion 38 AppendixA: Sample Budget .. .. 44 Appendix B: Audience Review Results 46 Appendix C: Screenplay 48 79 vi INTRODUCTION This project is an examination of the process required to produce an independent movie. The rise of Independent moviemaking is the motivation for this project. The term independent film has come to represent the spirit of the American Dream in the entertainment industry. Filmmaking is one of the most desirable professions in America. In the past, authors were our cultural heroes; everyone wanted to write the great American novel. Today, everyone wants to make the great American film (Levy 13). Independent projects have launched the careers of several talented artists and given hope to many film lovers with dreams of expressing their vision. The question under research is whether or not an independent movie can be produced on a miniscule budget with one person performing most of the major moviemaking roles? This dissertation will contain a section defining the nature of independent film and its rise to prominence in American culture. Following this, each stage in the production of the movie will be described. These stages will contain some of the advice that independent moviemakers have provided and anecdotes from the making of the movie titled: Cupid’s Dead. Chapter 1 INDEPENDENT AND AMATEUR MOVIEMAKING Independent filmmaking invokes visions of aspiring, industrious directors working on slim budgets, without compromising for the established system. Their movies are gritty and off beat, with an eccentric subject matter and an experimental attitude. Today, independent projects are produced using several different formats: traditional 35mm film stock, 8mm and 16mm film stock, videotape, and computer animation (in this dissertation, the terms film and movie will be used interchangeably without regard to what material was used to record the project.) Defining the nature of an independent film is much debated. There seem to be two different ways to define what makes a movie an independent film. The first is the process by which producers finance their film. The other is the unique spirit of the film and the producer’s vision. When discussing the financial aspect of an independent film, it is prudent to look at where the money comes from, the size of the budget, and who is going to distribute the finished product. Film author Greg Merritt makes a distinction between “indie” films and “semi-indie" films. The former refers to a motion picture produced and financed without any ties to any studios and without a prior distribution deal. A “semi-indie” film does have a prior distribution deal with an established studio and might have been be produced by a smaller studio (Merritt, Celluloid Mavericks xii.) Many film organizations look mostly at the size and origin of the film’s budget. The Independent Film Project — West, the organization behind the Spirit Awards, only considers films with budgets below $10 million. The Sundance Film Festival, widely considered the most important film festival, only considers movies whose budgets consist of at least fifty- percent independent American financing. On the other hand, modern independent film budgets are not what they used to be. In the past, obscure, rogue companies produced low budget movies. Now, the big Hollywood companies have acquired the smaller ones. This conglomeration has pushed independent budgets to $50 million and higher. This makes it difficult to define independent films in financial terms. However, Greg Merritt states that, “To truly gain freedom, filmmakers must completely disassociate themselves from the studios until their vision is put on film; no financing, no prior distribution deal, no help, no interference (Merritt, Celluloid Mavericks 98.)” Being true to one’s vision is of paramount importance in the world of independent film. The “spirit” of the film is the other aspect that can determine independence. Critics believe that the motivating factor behind independent film is the opportunity to tell a unique or personal story the way the producer wants it told, free from the controls of the established commercial system and to experiment in the thrilling world of moviemaking (Merritt, Celluloid Mavericks xv). Independent filmmakers are usually outsiders to the established system. They are often members of ethnic minorities, gays and lesbians, and especially women. The percentage of minorities represented at the Sundance Film Festival is notably larger than in Hollywood (Levy 52.) White males who work outside of the Hollywood system are also part of the outsider spirit. These include video and animation professionals and persons from areas outside of California and New York. These can also include a guy from a state school in Michigan that has no film program. Emanuel Levy tries to sum up the definition is his book “Cinema of Outsiders.” He states that independent filmmakers typically hold an opposition to several dominant conventions. These conventions include: technological, institutional, aesthetic, economic, and political. Opposition to the dominant technology is demonstrated through the proliferation of video and animation styles as well as the long established practice of using 8mm and 16mm film instead of 35mm. Independent films also take an interpersonal and communal approach to production instead of the institutional, corporate style. Independent films strive to be aesthetically original and avant—garde instead of conventional and generic. Economic opposition includes a love of film and filmmaking over money. Finally, the prevailing political attitudes of independents are skewed toward the representation of diverse cultures verses ethnocentricity (Levy 5). To truly define the nature of independent film in America, it would be helpful to examine the history behind it, the factors that have promoted it, and the current opinion regarding its direction. The first public exhibition of a film in America was in New York in 1896. Thomas Edison, who owned several film industry patents, produced the event and the film consisted mostly of scenic shots. Edison and around sixteen other companies and individuals pooled their patents together and formed the Motion Picture Patents Company (MPPC) in order to exclude independents. No member of the MPPC could enter into contracts with non-members for anything, including: equipment, personnel, distribution, and exhibition. The courts basically prohibited all independents from engaging in any activity regarding filmmaking. In order to make their films, the independents used bootleg equipment and moved their operations west, to California. The Golden State provided aspiring filmmakers with better weather, ample scenery, and distance from the oppressive patent pool. They were also close to the Mexican border to escape the authorities. The MPPC was broken up in 1918 after being charged with violating the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. By that time, however, the demand for films, and the MPCC’s own business practices drove most of the members out of business. The most notable independent film of the era was D. W. Griffith’s controversial epic, The Birth of a Nation. It cost around $100,000 and it debuted in 1915. It went on to gross about $66 million and help launch the independent scene through the 19203. Though independently produced films had broken out; they were soon forced back underground. In the 19305, the label “independent” was a badge of insult. The big studios that had arisen made the quality films that were produced during this period. The “Big 5," Paramount, MGM, Warner Bros., RKO, and 20"1 Century Fox, controlled all aspects of the industry: production, distribution, and exhibition.
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