Crowdsourcing & corporate underwriting: the future of indie film

By Sarah Sluis

Whatever the title of this post, I'm not trying to be snarky. I think it's kind of cool what Ridley Scott, Kevin Macdonald and LG are doing: requesting videos (http://www.youtube.com/lifeinaday) that users film on July 24th, which they will edit into a movie that will premiere at Sundance. It's clever, fun, and even makes me want to compose an entry. But. The very theme of the movie is LG's new slogan: "Life's good when..." This

project has a pre-determined tone. It's not really a documentary: it's more of a persuasion piece, where only segments supporting the message will make their way into the movie.

What's good about this venture is that it feels authentic. It's about a putting together a company with a lot of resources and filmmakers with a lot of talent in order to channel the voices of many people. It may support a specific theme, but it's not doing so in a way that feels icky or disingenuous. It's not as if BP tried to make a film about its efforts to protect endangered species and wildlife.

But the scope of this project is pretty unprecedented. In another world, LG would be the brand of television set characters turn on in a sitcom. Now, LG has a whole movie in which to brand itself, however gently. The choice of Sundance as the venue for its premiere not only situates the movie among the hip and cool, it also speaks to the financial realities of filmmaking. The budget of an indie movie is often similar to the budget of a commercial. Is it possible that good movies can come out of projects that have corporate underwriting? Or are art and commerce mutually exclusive? Will this movie be a ramped-up version of the "gift suites" that pop up in Sundance, or a movie that's not afraid to embrace whatever depressing or unwelcome realities contrast with the pleasure of when "life's good?" Also--is this film going to screen out of competition? The Sundance selection process is tough; is corporate underwriting just another way to jump the line?

I'm curious to see what comes out of the "Life in a Day" project. Will the producers be able to get enough submissions and talent to edit into a 90-minute film? In a way, LG has a lot of chutzpah for doing such a project, though the talents of Scott and Macdonald (State of Play, Last King of Scotland) will surely help.

In January 2011, we'll find out.