Website: VideoFilmSchool.org
Some thoughts on movie making. Independent films have been around for years. Originally the concept was for movies made outside of the studio system. UA was founded by actors and film makers who didn't want to operate in the studio system. These projects took on a more artistic nature and many times became referred to as art films. As technology has progressed the process has now become common with no budget. The Guerrilla concept is away to make movies that cost less.
Independent film refers to a movie that is made outside the Hollywood studio system. The budgets can be very tiny to very big. These movies tend to not mean the typical commercial style in how they tell a story. Most of the time the label is thought of as an art house film. The kind of movie that the studios have no interst in touching. The film maker of an independent film usually tries to realize his/her vision in an artistic manor. From a business perspective it's not that studios have no interest in artistic films it's that they need to make movies that can generate massive amounts of revenue to cover their operating costs.
Guerrilla filmmaking is basically a label for low budget films that are independent. The film making style is dictated by the small budget. Because there is limited resources these film productions usually have very limited crews and film quickly often without film permits. The cliche of Guerrilla filmmaking is filming at a location without permission and trying to get out of there before getting caught. Bigger productions that have money would not use this tactic because the risk of getting sued can end up costing more than the money saved. These days almost all Guerrilla productions are done digitally because of the cost and amount of setup time saved.
No Budget Filmmaking takes the low cost concept even farther. With the quality of HD consumer cameras films can be made without spending money. Because it is filmed digitally the post production can be completed on a home computer. The concept of no budget filmmaking makes it possible for anyone with a vision and a passion to film a movie. These kinds of projects are filmed using the resources available that cost no money. Because the equipment to make the movie cost nothing there is no budget.
As the internet takes shape there will be a move towards more low cost product production. Just as the music industry has suffered the movie industry will follow behind. The advent of this type of low cost transmission will surely impact how studios operate. It will also offer a distribution channel to low budget films that never existed before. As technology advances the industry will have to adjust.
