Filmmakers Independents Independence

Change is a constant in life, but the rate of change sure is variable. In the last year changes seem to have reached a crescendo. Climate, Economic, Political, Technological and Social changes seem to be interacting in a kind of maelstrom. With no time to fully integrate new things into any system, a new kind of constant adaptability becomes the way situations are addressed and solved. Todays solution is only valid for today, tomorrow the context will be different.
One of the victims of this is the illusion of certainty.
The challenge for the independent filmmaker in extracting every drop of value from a budget is to make use of this changing landscape. Digital image / sound capture and post production are one of the most obvious areas for increased accessibility and cost saving. The path previously to a high quality image included film, processing, one light prints for editing, etc etc, all of which had high unit costs and specific hardware and arcane skills that were the domain of specialists. Digital democratisation means the computer you write the script on can in a pinch , be your edit station and post house. Relatively affordable cameras like the Red one with slr lenses are one of the main missing pieces in this puzzle.
It is finally feasible for an independent filmmaker to own all the machinery of production (Sounds like the beginning of a Marxist analysis), not just to make a film but a seamlessly high quality one. Owning the the tools doesn't make you an instant expert , but allows unbelievable flexibility in choosing options and a kind of unstoppable ability, with a small team, to get a project finished.
This is a new kind of immersive full contact filmmaking, its not perfect for every project but makes new kinds of projects possible. The upside is control and the ability to experiment and tweak, the downside is constant education and long long hours. ( incidentally not really downsides if you love what your doing, which is the only reason I can imagine for being a filmmaker.)
So its a kind of revolution, a revolution of possibilities in a world of uncertainties. In a world of change there are no shortage of interesting and relevant stories. And then there is the internet and the possible future of independent online distribution.
Bring it on.
Get to it.