Independent Filmmaking

                                           (500) Days of Summer--Dir. Marc Webb--
                                                                                      Dist. by Fox Searchlight Pictures


What does it mean to be an independent filmmaker? Does it mean that I have little to no budget, or that I work with no name actors, or that I have no chance of making money? Not really, as many independent films these days have budgets in the millions, work with actors such as Joseph Gordon-Levitt and George Clooney, and have at times made large amounts of money. So, moving past the superficial aspects of the independent system, we can now look into what it means, at least to me.

Production Logo

This is our "in the works" production logo. Comment and let us know what you think!

HTTProjects Update!

HTTProductions was not created so a group of college students could just blog about film topics, as interesting and enjoyable as that is. We do not spend our time just writing blogs. We are also actively planning and brainstorming for projects to work on from short films to music videos, and occasionally will provide updates to those projects for everyone to keep up with (with the eventual posting of the results). We set for ourselves in March goals of what we hope to accomplish during our four month summer of May through August (all of us are college students, so things get shaky after that).

The Definitions and Differences of the Terms Film and Movie.

For my inaugural post I would like to define, in my own terms, the definitions and differences between what makes a film a film and what makes a movie a movie. For the context of modern day cinema the terms film and movie are used interchangeably when discussing single or multiple motion pictures. Because of my elitist outlook on life I see an exceptional problem with not using different terms to categorize different types of motion pictures. For the next few paragraphs I will explain the criteria of both terms along with why it is important to have two distinct terms for motion pictures as a whole.

Rescue Sequence Video

Here is one of our first videos that was done over winter break 2010. Enjoy!





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The Necessity of Dialogue

Before I start, lets get something straight:

I think dialogue is very important to films. It explains plot, creates character development, and allows the audience to have form a bond with the characters (which is possibly the most important thing a film can do, but that is a later post). However, what I disagree with is the necessity of dialogue.

Battle: LA and Originality

When I'm with friends talking about various films or television shows that have been released or are upcoming, or when talking about projects that we could be working on, possibly the most common question and debate to arise is that of originality. One person pitches a story and another responds with how similar it is to something that came out two months ago, and the idea is dropped. As students deeply interested in not only making movies but enjoying them, the concept of being original is a very strong one. It's somewhat ironic, really, considering how weak of a idea it seems to be in the actual Hollywood industry (but we'll save Hollywood vs. Indie for another time).

I was once reading a list of writing tips from an author and the only one of them I now remember is: Don't worry about being original; if it comes from your mind that makes it original. It's a great piece of advice that I find myself using a lot when defending recent Hollywood blockbusters like James Cameron's Avatar. Take, for a more recent example, the film Battle: Los Angeles, which I thoroughly enjoyed but has received from critics largely negative reviews, seen most in its, biased, Rotten Tomatoes review. It seemed to me that many of the reviews were bashing the movie because it was unoriginal, just another cliche alien invasion action-movie filled with explosions.

Introduction to HTTP

Welcome to the homepage of HTTProductions. We are a group of four people, working together to create interesting films as well as thought provoking discussions. We are Hunter Bishop, Hunter Furnish, David Kent, and Tyler Bishop. Within the group, we have our various strengths: writing, acting, technical, organizational; and our weaknesses: finances and inexperience. However, the point of us coming together to create this film production company is to eliminate those weaknesses and create films that establish the standard for what film artistry should be. We realize that is a long way off; however, its only as far off as we allow it to be. I invite you to take a look at some of the videos that we will be posting shortly. They are a good representation of our starting point. I speak for all of us when I say that our ultimate goal is light years from our starting point. Saying that the sky is the limit is a tad too cliché for me to stomach, but it might be the most appropriate metaphor for our potential.

I hope that our films inspire you to make some of your own, because only the greatest of films do. Thank you.