Post-Hollywood filmmaking -- can it become a long term viability? - Blu-ray Forum

TheSweetieMan · 09-01-2022, 10:05 PM

So I've decided to create this thread based on my own personal thoughts and opinions on the current state of Hollywood. Opinions that I feel has gradually killed my interest in filmmaking as a creative outlet. Thanks in large part to Disney basically swallowing the industry whole over the last ten years, especially when it came to purchasing both Star Wars as an IP, and 20th Century Studios as a sub-studio for themselves. As if the barrage of constant Marvel Studios film and series -- and Star Wars films and series -- wasn't bad enough. We now have such a high volume of content between the two of these properties, that it not only over-saturates the market that has become incapable of these titles from distinguishing themselves from one another both visually and narratively -- but it's also caused a massive regression in the quality of VFX (not to mention the poor work environments for the artists working on these projects in the first place) to the point that shows like 'She-Hulk' are becoming meme-worthy on a weekly basis.

Not to mention the recent cameo of Megan Thee Mare, and now a CGI-twerking She-Hulk, that produced one of the single worst segments in television history this week.

Combine all of this with what a lot of people throughout the West are getting sick of in terms of emphasis on identity politics and filling quotas, and for an industry that was once about producing good stories, memorable imagery, and cool characters -- it's now just vessel for making social and political statements, while simultaneously producing visually ugly films and series, with not a single iota of memorable dialogue, character interactions, or set pieces at all anymore.

And as if the diminishing quality in these types of films and shows wasn't enough, it has played a role in killing the mid-budget blockbuster. I can't help but feel that something like 'The Northman', which released earlier this year, was marketed as a tentpole film, yet was made with the heart and the intention of operating as a truly singular work of art, from a filmmaker with distinct intentions and idiosyncratic visual and narrative sensibilities -- yet it's underperformance at the box likely spells the death knell for the concept of an original mid-budget blockbuster.

Which brings me to the primary focus of what I want this thread to be about: The concept of alternative filmmaking from an industry that serves as an alternative to the Hollywood machine.

I'm talking about filmmakers self-producing and self-funding their own projects to give themselves more creative reign. I'm talking about crowd-funded material from projects you can find on Kickstarter.

I recently made another thread for a project such as that based on the video game world of 'STALKER', which you can go to HERE if you'd like. It didn't gain much traction, which honestly didn't surprise me considering it's a short film, it's something crowd-funded (which isn't often discussed on here) and is based on a fringe-popular video game franchise.

But the intent remains the same. It's a short being put together by young filmmakers (Stephen Hancock and Evan Royalty) that have more recently flexed their creative muscles with some really cool and inspired short films based on the SCP Foundation wiki. What makes those shorts interesting to me, is that even with such low budgets and limited run-times, they still show creative ingenuity by working around those limitations by finding like-minded individuals to help them realize their visions. They've been able to pair up with other young and hungry artists within the VFX world and sound design world, and the two main shorts they've produced to date, have been far more interesting in their collective one-hour of runtime than any MCU or Star Wars or DC film/series in the last five years.

I'll embed the two shorts below:

And what's also cool about these shorts and the content these guys create, from just a nerd perspective from me, is that they get real military advisors and gear sponsorships to help them out. These dudes are putting together kits, tactics, and gear that not even the best funded Hollywood blockbuster films are capable of doing. This is one small example of what differentiates a content creator from making something that they love, to a massive, conglomerate like studio from making stuff that feels as though it's shipped directly off of an assembly line.

As for another content creator that I can one day see becoming a major filmmaker at some point, is the YouTube sensation Kane Pixels. This guy has become a massive draw to people by taking something like 'The Backrooms', and building out an entirely deep and dense world around it. He does all of the visuals behind the shorts he creates, and this dude is only 17-years old. The shorts he has produced over the last year based around this lore, is yet another example of what it means to value creativity over monetary gains and appeasing social media parasites over self-manufactured social issues that aren't even real to begin with.

Here's some of Kane's content:

And the biggest name in recent years to potentially lead a charge to the alternative to Hollywood, is Neill Blomkamp and his creation of his own studio, Oats Studios. I'm sure a lot of you have seen these shorts, but if not I'll also embed below. While Neill is still working within the Hollywood parameters of still making feature films, what he's been able to accomplish visually with this studio he created entirely out of nowhere, is absolutely incredible.

While content like this remains limited, it's also still in its infant stages by virtually every metric. This is all still brand new, and when you consider that this was born out of all of these content creators sharing a like-minded feeling that what Hollywood is producing is now a constant barrage of one mind-numbingly boring CGI superhero fest after another, I do have to think it's just a matter of time before more and more filmmakers coming up through the ranks, decide to spend more of their time trying to create their own original content instead of just jumping into the studio machine.

Hopefully, with the creation of this thread, it can lead to other users contributing other filmmakers they've come across -- or potential crowd-funded films that may have interesting themes and concepts -- to be posted in here. Because even though I've grown jaded and bored with the current state of the film industry in recent years, it's still my favorite form of artistic expression, since it combines pretty much all artistic mediums into one format. You get the combination of writing, imagery, and sound -- and when done right, it can produce content that stays forever embedded within your subconscious, and even serves as a form of both stimulation and inspiration toward wanting to work on content of your own.

So, as the thread title asks, does this type of guerrilla style of filmmaking, ever truly grow into becoming a true alternative for filmmakers wanting to explore substantial funding for their projects outside of having to travel through the endless Hollywood maze of automated filmmaking?

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