I recently saw J.J. Abrams talk on TED, and was literally woken up to a reality “of the future” which, ironically enough, is happening now.
At some point he mentions that film making is now open for anyone who wants to do it. It no longer has to be done in studios and wrapped up in tremendous budgets. Anyone can grab a camera and start shooting.
I remember years ago – but not that many – anyone who wanted to create a short home movie, would literally be limited to creating something very “cheap” in every aspect. Either it be the quality of the end result or the “special” effects, it was always a “home” movie…
This has changed. Dramatically.
On May 3d, a new breed of movies was unleashed to the public. Not to say that this hasn’t been done before, it’s just the first time it has been done with Hollywoods’ consent.
I’m talking about The Hunt for Gollum which is self described as a “Independent film inspired by Lord of the Rings” and is based on the characters by J.R.R. Tolkien.
The film itself came to existence with a mere £3000 since it was created with the love – and funding – of it’s makers, and a whole bunch of “Lord of the Rings” fans, which took part in this venture without any pay.
Normally this would only go so far due to copyright laws and lawsuits. But in this case, Hollywood just said do it. Tolkien Enterprises, Peter Jackson and anyone else legally bound to the “Lord of the Rings” brand just said… “OK, do it, so long as you don’t profit from it”.
And they did.
To say the least, the end result is stunning, and nowhere near the cheap stuff we used to do back in the day. And although this might not be exactly considered a home movie, I still see a few people doing “their thing”, with off the shelf equipment.
Think about it.
If Hollywood can open up to the public like this, just imagine how many more stories will be told, how many more movies will be made, and how many more people will be inspired. It’s tremendous, and it’s happening now.