The Differences Between A Mainstream And Independent Film

Production

Independent films tend to have unknown actors and unknown directors with the locations being in a small town or city. The films are mostly produced outside of a major film studio. In addition to having it be produced by an independent company, these independent films are often produced or distributed by various, other, major studios. Independent films are set apart from mainstream films mostly because of their style or by their content, and the way in which the maker of the films, personal vision is realized. Special effects and lighting would be kept to a minimum and it wouldn’t any big CGI moments or big lighting as the budget for the film is usually smaller then a mainstream film. However, because of this, the plot would be different and would make the film interesting, it would set it apart from a mainstream film and be very different to an average plot from a mainstream film. What would make a mainstream film popular would be the a-list actors that would be in it or the popular genre at the time and could reflect the mood of the moment. The plot could be an adaptation from a novel, but this can have consequences as it could be made differently to how it is told in the novel, and people turning away from it. A mainstream film would have big special effects, and the director would spend a lot of the money on special effects, as they would have a bigger budget then an independent film would. This would make the film more entertaining for viewers to watch.

Marketing

The marketing of an independent film can is usually word of mouth and would usually be limitedly realised to reach a small specific audience based on the films genre. Their marketing can be very different, as they are advertised in different ways. Mainstream films here their trailers advertised all over the Internet and on TV. It can also be advertised on billboards and posters (these posters can be on buses or just around cities or towns.)

Independent films are advertised a little differently. A big way it is advertised is through film festivals such as the London Film Festival and the New York Film Festival. These festivals can generate publicity for the films and awards can come out of them, which would make the film more popular and make the films gross, a lot bigger. Some cinemas are independent film only cinemas, so the films that are shown there, can be advertised through the cinema company.

A month or so, after the films are released, DVD and TV releases will be advertised for the mainstream film and would gross in more money from the DVD sales. Independent films will realise their films through DVD and TV sales, but wouldn’t have as much publicity then a mainstream would, for the certain attributes that the mainstream film had, such as an award winning director or popular actor.

Distribution

Big companies such as Warner Bros. Sony, and Buena Vista would distribute mainstream films and would realise the film for home viewing (DVD, Video-On-Demand, Download or Television.) This could also be a theatrical release and this would usually happen when the distributor works with the theatrical exhibitor to make it happen. The distributor must also ensure that a full line of film advertising material is available on each film that’s been distributed. This will help the exhibitor attract a big audience for the film.

Independent Films would have film distributors as well, but the film distributor companies would be small and underrated.  Examples of these companies are Republic Pictures, Monogram Pictures and Grand National.

Exhibition

On my findings and comments on the different listings at the cinemas, I found that they would show certain films according to times that they would put them out. For example in the summer, the cinemas institutions would distribute more family and children’s films. They would put them out at this time as children would be taking there annual summer holidays, so more families would come to watch these films, at around these times and they would gross in more money. However, more horror films were shown at night. This is a sensible idea as most family films are shown during the day, and it wouldn’t be a good idea to show horror movies during the day. Plus, showing horror films during the day would be strange as it couldn’t capture the moment and the emotion that you could with showing them in the evening.