Blu

With the aide of net research, it seems that one can almost constantly find new interesting things in the new media world. One type of independent film that we haven't touched upon is art film. Granted, film is art -- but "art film," as I call it, combines other forms of art with film. Anyway, I've come across one of the most amazing pieces of art film I've ever seen. It is called "Muto," and it is by an artist that calls himself Blu. You can find it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuGaqLT-gO4

Muto is a combination of independent film, graffiti art and stop-motion film. Shapes, characters, robots and figures make their way through the walls of a busy city. Blu makes his characters interact with each other, their working space, and the objects around them. For example, during one part of the film, a character kicks over a log that is physically leaning against the wall.
Blu does not stop at the walls -- his characters can be seen running across the sidewalks, on ceilings and even crawling around indoors.

Blu brings a new element to the table with his work. He steps outside the box by weaving stop motion film with graffiti art, and also by using the world as his canvas. The soundtrack is strange and very fitting to the rest of the animation. Blu's film would go into the most basic category of indie film - the amateur, no-budgets. Muto shows us that even with the most limited resources, a person with enough drive and hard work can create something that is more interesting to some than a feature film. But enough of my chatter, check out the film for yourself!

For more info. on Blu, go to http://www.blublu.org.

West Neston Cinema Film Screening

Today we attended the West Newton Cinema for a screening of Bentley student films. The films came from students in two courses at Bentley: Introduction to Video Production and Social Issue Documentary. There were a total of eight films that covered topics from serious documentaries to light hearted comedic skits. We were impressed by the quality of the films that were produced by students who do not focus their primary studies on film making.

One of the particular films that we found interesting was "Don't put a label on me," a film about the underground music scene. We found this movie engaging because we are both musicians and fans of Ben Kweller, one of the interviewees in the film. The interviewees had much to say about how the music industry is run, and how the record companies can often be very controlling of the artists. They elaborated on how the music industry is making a major shift with the emergence of the digital age. With increased availability to download music, record companies are seeking ways to maintain a profit on their investments.

We liked how some of the films touched important social issues such as homelessness and segregation in school systems. It was rewarding to see students using their classes to promote important social issues. By taking a course project and fusing it with important current social issues, the students created a powerful message in the form of a well edited, shot and produced movie. While these movies lacked some "fun" and "vibrance" that were evident in some of the other films, the message behind the films more than made up for it.

In conclusion, the screening at the West Newton Cinema was an interesting and entertaining experience. While the media program at Bentley is still in its early stages, the program is delivering insightful and entertaining media pieces and the program will surely reach new heights in the years to come.

We Need Girlfriends!

I was dabbling on AIM the other day when a good friend of mine informed me of an online webseries called, "We Need Girlfriends." I decided I'd take a look at one episode to see what it was all about. One episode turned into about eight or nine, and I can't wait to finish the rest of the series. If you have not seen any of the episodes, check out the first one and I'm sure you will find it intriguing. Although not a brand new concept, I think webseries are awesome.

This series shows that independent film can be big - with a little help from the internet. Just because indie film makers are generally low budgeted and low resourced does not mean that they cannot share in some success. It is obvious that there was a ton of time and resources put into making the episodes, but the effort has paid off by the publicity they have recieved.

We've decided that this type of film is mid-range in the independent world. It is not so amateur that it is underproduced, or up to the likes of feature films made by Greg Anderson, for example.

The Bentley Film Festival

This past Tuesday (April 22nd 2008) Bentley hosted its 3rd annual film festival. The Bentley Film festival exclusively featured films that were made and submitted by Bentley students. The genres of the films ranged from short animated films all the way up to social commentary.
While certain films we’re more authentic and more smoothly edited, the overall quality of the student produced films was largely impressive. It was clear that the students put incredible amounts of time and effort into their works. It was refreshing to see students from a business school interested in the art of film making. One of the films submitted to the film festival was a documentary covering the conflict and genocide that has been taking place in Sudan. The film revolved around a Bentley Student whose village was destroyed by Sudanese militants. His story was incredibly moving and inspirational and was the first film in the festival that made me realize this film festival was going to be more than amateur films without any meaning.
The Bentley Film Festival was especially important for me because I actually had a film submitted. My film “The Squirrely Man” was a mock-documentary that was meant to spoof films such as “The Grizzly Man” and television shows such as “The Crocodile Hunter”. The film revolved around an eccentric squirrel researcher who goes mad studying squirrels in the wild. This film took me and my group members a vast amount of time and work and I was very pleased with its reception at the film festival.
My favorite film of the night was a unique suspense thriller called “Fortune”. The film’s plot revolved around a man who orders Chinese food and receives a fortune cookie that contains mysterious assignments that he must accomplish. The film had excellent writing, acting and production values. In my opinion it was head and shoulders above the rest of the films which was an impressive feat.
The night concluded with an award ceremony where various awards were given out. These awards included, Audience Award for Best Film, Best Animation, Best Art Design, Best Cinematography and various others. My favorite film of the night, “Fortune” took home the Audience Award for Best Film, much to my delight. All in all the Bentley Film Festival exceeded my expectations and I will certainly be attending their 4th Annual Film Festival next year.

The Coolidge Corner Open Screen

One of the film screenings we attended was at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. This event consisted of several local film makers in the area presetenting their short movies to other attendees. In terms of our project, these types of film were as local as they get. Anyone who had made a short film had permission to enter their film into the screening. The most noteable film we saw was titled "Joe's Journey" by Smooth Feather Films. You can watch it at http://www.joedamon.com. This film was about a patient's recovery from brain trauma. The film maker and stars of the film were available after the film screening, which we noted was a big difference between very independent film and commercial film. Another thing to note is that indie film is that it can be used for purposes other than financial gain. "Joe's Journey," as stated by thr film maker, serves as a free movie for everyone in order to benefit the community. Smooth Feather Films dedicates a ton of time to helping others and revealing inspirational messages to people who might otherwise not receive them. We think that this is one of the most powerful tools in the indie film business.

The IFFA

The Independent Film Finance Alliance (IFFA) is an organization dedicated to providing funding for independent film makers. The organization is made up of finance-savvy individuals who are into making, producing and distributing indie film. On the website, you can sign up for a multiple subsciptions - they have various prices and contracts. Your membership to the IFFA places you in a community of like-minded creative individuals. Being in this community allows for a larger and quicker flow of information and service sharing.

Organizations like this are important because independent films need to be funded somehow. Indie films can bring out new ideas and new topics that could allow for a better society.

The Greg Anderson Presentation

Gregory Anderson is an Independent Film producer. He gave a presentation at MIT that we attended, describing the issues and struggles around being and indie film producer. First, he told us his background story:

Greg's first movie was called "Chocolate City." He and a few friends wrote and produced this movie; but as an independent, they found it challenging to distribute their film. They did not want to have anyone else's hands in this movie. The way they distributed their film was by traveling city to city across the US, creating a hype for "Chocolate City." When there was finally enough buzz about it, everyone wanted to see it. Greg received a call from a distribution company that wanted to work with his film - he agreed, but only if they would send out the film 'as is.' For a first movie, "Chocolate City" proved to be successful for the crew.


Mr. Anderson is willing to do whatever possible to keep art into film. Recently before the meeting, he turned down a $5 million offer to produce a movie because it was altered to fit the Hollywood corporate structure. Money alone is not enough for Greg to lose his independent reputation and to give up his personal goals and beliefs for film making.

Greg's ultimate goal is to combine art and pop culture, or rather, bring art into pop culture. He refuses to let Hollywood block the art out of his movies.

The hardest struggle for an independent film maker is to have the final director's cut on their movies. The Hollywood business of film making is closing in on the independents, making it very difficult for them to release completely original films. Successful indie film makers often get sucked into the Hollywood business, which no longer makes them independent. Houses that used to help indie film makers have also moved corporate.

I think that it is important to have people like Greg in this world to help our society progress past greed. He has proved to make a successful living with film and does not need to become a billionaire because of it. He proved that film does not have to fall into a typical, repetitive structure in order for everyone to watch and enjoy it.