Frame By Frame: Independent Filmmaking in the 21st Century

Wheeler Winston Dixon Author

12/18/2015 Added

199 Plays

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Professor Dixon talks about the problems facing independent creators now- most specifically, how to get their work out before the public in an oversaturated marketplace.

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[00:00:16.175]Hi, I'm Wheeler Winston Dixon, James Ryan Professor of Film Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
[00:00:21.548]and this is Frame By Frame.
[00:00:22.988]And I want to speak about the state of film making in 2015... not only in the United States, but around the world.
[00:00:29.022]Films are now divided into 2 rough genres. There are mainstream Hollywood films, and there are independent films.
[00:00:35.805]Independent films play at theaters, for example, like the Mary Riepma Ross Theater here in Lincoln,
[00:00:42.037]Those are small budget films that are individual visions, but you're never going to find them at the multiplex. It just doesn't happen.
[00:00:49.105]So, the problem with independent filmmakers these days is there's a lot of remarkable films being made,
[00:00:55.116]like CLOULD OF SILS MARIA, was a fantastic film.
[00:00:58.791]There are numerous movies that I can mention right now that are really interesting,
[00:01:04.598]but are never going to get a mainstream release.
[00:01:06.635]So, the question is, if you're an independent filmmaker now, what is your audience?
[00:01:12.095]Who are you aiming for? How are you going to get out there?
[00:01:15.093]DVD has collapsed. Video on demand is the new way to see films,
[00:01:19.619]or streaming via Netflix or Amazon, which is taking over.
[00:01:22.988]So, the question for independent filmmakers is not only getting the money,
[00:01:27.878]but also how are you going to get it our there, and the other question is too...
[00:01:32.512]It used to be that you could sell individual international rights for an independent film
[00:01:38.006]on a country by country basis, but that's going away.
[00:01:41.501]Now Netflix is making global deals. They're taking in the entire world.
[00:01:46.695]So, therefore the idea of selling off your film in each independent country, as an independent filmmaker,
[00:01:52.784]is no longer viable.
[00:01:54.439]Netflix calls the shots. You give it to Netflix, and they stream it to all the different countries around the world.
[00:01:59.815]So, this makes films more homogenized, in a way,
[00:02:02.520]and kind of concentrates the power... makes it even tougher for independent filmmakers to get out there.
[00:02:07.806]But they still are making the films because they believe in what they're doing
[00:02:11.566]So, in addition to going to mainstream movies, which you should see, support independent cinema.
[00:02:17.398]Support the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater.
[00:02:20.093]Support films that have an individual vision, and they will certainly enrich your life.
[00:02:25.139]I'm Wheeler Winston Dixon, and this is Frame By Frame.

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Frame By Frame: Independent Filmmaking in the 21st Century

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