By Luke Taylor & Matthew Helderman
As every facet of the film industry has experienced, the digital era has drastically shifted the economics of how films are produced, marketed, and distributed. Camera technology has reached a level that provides filmmakers at any stage of their career the ability to produce content with the potential of landing a fruitful distribution deal as the world has witnessed with films such as Beast of The Southern Wild, Like Crazy, Another Earth, and Martha Marcy May Marlene – all produced at 1M or under and distributed theatrically through studios. The financial ease of production that has developed over the past decade has increased the volume of films produced on an annual basis from 2,000-8,000 – creating a financial ripple effect in the production industry as labor rates, rental rates, and talent salaries continue to decline.
