Independent filmmakers
are experiencing a public interest not seen since the pre-studio beginnings
of the film industry. The enormous popularity over the last few years
of such independent features as Memento, Requiem for a Dream, Magnolia,
The Blair Witch Project, Reservoir Dogs, Clerks, and others, along
with the rise of the Independent Film Channel and numerous online indie-film
communities, signals a fresh trend in moviemaking. Film festivals celebrating
independent film, such as the Sundance Film Festival, are now being
paid close attention to by the public, and are beginning to dovetail
with the industry mainstream--a trend, curiously enough, celebrated
by some and resented by others.
Why is Moving important?
Our film, a full-length feature film adventure comedy, was shot for
less than $9,000, which is less than the price of a coffee break on
a Hollywood set, and a miniscule fraction of the budget of even most
independent feature films. The project, despite containing such difficult
technical elements as crane shots, special-effects shots, driving shots,
dolly shots, and an entire house being lifted from its foundations and
moved, was filmed with a full-time crew of only four. While most super-low-budget
films stick to a very few simple locations and small casts, Moving
has over 40 locations, night and day, interior and exterior, and a cast
of over 70. It features a soundtrack of exceptional quality and diversity,
from classical to bluegrass to rock, with contributions by both local
and national recording artists. It was a full-scale major motion picture
adventure comedy shot for the price of a community theater production
of "Our Town." What makes this project especially notable,
however, is the fact that it was successfully completed. Moving
opened to a sellout crowd in a 900-seat theater, sold out its first
shipment of videotapes, and has received critical praise, including
from FilmThreat, one of the largest independent film sites on
the Web, calling it "one of the funniest independent films of the
year."
The film was shot and edited entirely
on digital video, a developing technology long embraced by independent
filmmakers, and which fellow pioneer George Lucas is using for the last
two Star Wars installments. The website, meanwhile, has its own
concurrent storyline and is its own entertainment experience. On top
of the parts that are just for fun, the website and its associated mailing
list are a living documentary of the making and marketing of the film.
The Friedman brothers consider their movie the most grueling challenge
of their lives, and the most artistically satisfying. From script to
screen, their intention was to give the audience something unrelentingly
fun. The film and the website advance no social, political, or dramatic
agenda other than the pure joy of making movies.
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