Differences Between Mainstream and Independent Films

On first glance of a film you can tell whether it is a mainstream or a independent by firstly the look of the film. An independent film will have more of a grainy look to it through the camera because it is shot in a low quality camera or on reel due to the low budget the film companies have. On the other hand we see mainstream be shot in many different new media platforms such as being shot in 3D or for IMAX cinema and nearly all mainstream films are shot in the best HD quality cameras for the best on screen look. Also by the use of shots used in independent movies are much different than shots used for a mainstream, for example independent will use much longer and unusual shots like at the start of reservoir dogs where they use a kind of high angle above everyone until a character stands up which becomes a mid for him unlike in the girl with the dragon tattoo which uses generic mid and close up shots. One thing that stands out in these opening credits is the titles look a lot more sharp in the mainstream and are integrated around the scene unlike for independent where it is integrated directly in front of the camera. A weakness to mainstream films like these are that it creates cultural imperialism meaning the limited audience awareness of other cinema, although an active audience are able to see outside this and view all kinds of niche films as well.



Another difference is in the editing in an independent we see shots held for a lot longer than usual such as in the middle in reservoir dogs whereas we see shots for mainstream held for mostly 4 seconds to make the audience stay connected to the film. Also in editing we see a difference in smoothness and CGI, for mainstream we see CGI being used in a smooth manner and great on screen visual effects and for independent we see no CGI used and how that when the clip is slowed down in editing we notice the difference from a mainstream slow due to the software being used makes the clip seem jumper and not smooth unlike in mainstream where it would be smooth.