Points of Interest

My favorite genre as well as one that I would like to work in is the Indie genre. An indie movie i.e. independent movie is a short movie that is made outside the big film studio system. But Indie movies are different by their style and content, and also by the way in which the personal artistic vision of the filmmaker is realized. I plan to work in the genre because it is easy to create a dramatic storyline while simultaneously creating a tranquil mood.

They are my favorites because when I finish watching them, I always ask myself "what?". Like when a film lingers in your mind for the next week, that's the process I go through when I finish some Indie films. They are so far off the line of normal but how is normal defined. Normal is an action film with the heroes defeating the villains and saving the day in the end. Blockbusters have made this storyline normal to people when in reality the hero should have died like 15 times already. Also, films produced by major companies end up being similar in some way to each other but with Indie films there is no control. The maker is free to put real, raw thoughts into their film. And that's why I like them- they show the other side of things. 

One example of a film in the Indie genre is Moonlight.

Moonlight follows Chiron, an African American living in a rough neighborhood of Miami. Bullied at an early age and seemingly outcast, Chiron knows he doesn’t fit in because of his sexuality. He hardly speaks to anyone, has no group of friends, and has a deteriorating home life when his mother descends into drug use. Chiron finds refuge in a drug dealer named Juan, who has profound and lasting effects on the trajectory of this young boy’s life.

The cinematography in the scene above places the audience at water level and the camera follows the movement of the waves, drifting under the water at times. The camera work makes us feel the tension of staying afloat just as Chiron is feeling. A major detail in this scene is the mise-en-scene and use of the setting. Chiron is learning how to swim to save him from drowning, literally and symbolically. He is learning how to keep his head above the water. Another element that conveys the meaning of the film is sound. There is powerful non-diagetic music playing in the background as Chiron takes his first steps into the water. The music enhances this moment of security and intimacy that Chiron has with Juan which he never had with a father. Lastly, editing choices expand the notion of the African-American image in film. Colors are vibrantly hot and bright, and facial and skin details are extraordinary.