A cheeky, literal title written in a hand-drawn font, surrounded by shaky animation, and soundtracked by the latest indie band– Must be an independent film, right? Not so fast! In the latest installment of Strong Bad E-mails, The Brothers Chaps identify the differences between modern day independent film and so-called indie movies.

Best known for their internet flash comic series Homestar Runner, the Chapman brothers often incorporate pop culture references into their cartoons. Which leads me to wonder, have indie movies become enough of a trend to warrant their own distinct sub-genre apart from the rest of independent film? Strong Bad seems to think so.

In his analysis, Strong Bad sites three major categories in which there are key disparities: soundtracking, casting, and premiere showings. All of these are for the most part determined by the amount of financial backing a production studio is willing to provide for a given film. The cartoon details a costly formula for creating a seemingly low budget indie film that grosses hundreds of millions at the box office. With the relative commercial success of Juno, a movie that reportedly cost $7.5 million to make and earned over $231 million worldwide, major film studio’s indie and arthouse subsidiaries seem to have jumped on the formula’s proverbial bandwagon.

The question then arises: Are modern indie movies any less genuine than their low budget independent counterparts? For the purpose of this website, I chose to limit my coverage of independent film to both types of movies, but with added discretion given to those released by distant subsidiaries of the Big Six. As a music enthusiastic, it is a personal pet peeve of mine when indie movies appear to revolve around the music they are soundtracked by, rather than focusing in deeper on the film’s plot. If I wanted to hear a bunch of pseudo-hipsters name-drop some obscure band the screenwriter thinks kids in the 18-24 age demographic would like, I’d go to a concert.

Watch The Brothers Chaps’ delightfully snarky review of independent film here, and please reply with your thoughts in the comments section below. Do you think there is a major difference between independent film and so-called indie movies? Are indie movies any less authentic than the independents? Do you think this new trend in film production is a good of bad thing? Keep it clean!

Volcano, I'm Still Excited!! - New Brad Volcano, I'm Still Excited!! - Joe Jaxon

Don’t let the plot synopsis deceive you: Yes, the movie as about two buddies who during a night of partying drunkenly commit themselves to participating in an amateur pornographic film contest. However, that is pretty much the only thing Lynn Shelton’s mumblecore film Humpday has in common with modern bromance comedies.

Starring mumblecore pioneer Mark Duplass, as well as Joshua Leonard and Alycia Delmore, the film stays true to the movement by employing the use of lo-fi filming equipment and techniques to provide a more authentic glimpse into the lives of today’s young adults. The script was even thrown out during some scenes, as actors opted to improvise dialog in order to make the film appear more realistic.

Having premiered at the Sundance film festival to high acclaim and winning the Special Jury Prize for the Spirit of Independence, Humpday was picked up by Magnolia Pictures and released nationwide. The movie is currently playing at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema in Atlanta.

Prior to becoming an actor and director, Duplass was in the Polyvinyl band Volcano, I’m Still Excited!! Yes, the two exclamation points are part of the band name. Though the group disbanded several years ago, fans of Volcano, I’m Still Excited!! have called upon Polyvinyl to reissue their lone eponymous release. The record label is currently raising the funds necessary to press a limited edition vinyl LP. If you enjoyed the tracks above, I highly suggest pre-ordering Volcano, I’m Still Excited!! through the Kickstarter fundraising website.

Humpday Trailer
Movie Website

The Weepies - Happiness

I have a confession to make: though I am an engineering student who started a blog, I am by no means a proper nerd. I do not run Linux on my laptop, play Dungeons & Dragons, nor read graphic novels. I do, however, possess the sappy heart of a 20-something indie girl. It is with that authority, that I can declare that Andy Runton’s lastest Owly installment is extremely adorable.

Released in conjunction with the 2009 San Diego Comic Con, Andy’s usual pen and ink drawings are brought to the silver screen courtesy Sprite Animation Studios. A former graphic designer who worked with computer icons, it’s no surprise that Runton’s signature pictographic “speech” bubbles come complete with computer notification sound effects in the animated short. The piece is also soundtracked by folk-pop duo The Weepies.

The animation, as well as original storyboard by Andy Runton, is available via the Sprite Animation Studios website. More information about Andy can be found on his personal site.