Filmmaking for Change is divided into three broad parts:  Development, Production, and Distribution.  Each part is further subdivided into three parts.  Development has “The Power of Film”, “Documentary Story Structure”, and “Narrative Story Structure”.  “The Power of Film” is frankly pretty redundant; we all know that film, both live-action and animation, is much more than just entertainment.  Disney’s 1943 Education for Death and other World War II propaganda animation still pack an emotional wallop. 

“Documentary Story Structure” and “Narrative Story Structure” are similar in that the independent filmmaker must first decide what story he (or she) wants to tell, and how to go about it. Fitzgerald points out that ‘[Martin] Scorsese had an interesting way of describing the integration of some of his more creative and psychological ideas into his movies, without the studio brass knowing about it.” (p. 40)  George Miller’s 2006 Happy Feet seems to be a film of pure fantasy entertainment, until the climax which becomes a message against commercial overfishing and the effect that this has on wildlife’s food supply.   But “Making an independent film, by definition, means the film will need to have a unique voice, an engaging storyline, to generate attention and find an audience.  Comedies can be tricky business in this space, and even tougher to create one that will inspire audiences to take action on a social issue.” (p. 38)  Pixar won critical praise for tackling such themes as overpopulation and obesity in WALL-E (2008) and old age in Up (2009), but these were factory projects and what audiences went away remembering was that these were fantasy-comedies.  Think rather of the 2011 Spanish animated film Arrugas (Wrinkles), about the bittersweet life of the elderly in a managed care facility – not at all a comedy, but it won attention and awards on the international film festival circuit.

Production includes “Pre-Production”, “Production”, and “Post-Production”.  You’ve decided what film to make; now how do you make it?  Independent animation production today is easier than it’s ever been, and it’s getting easier all the time.  At a convention this June, veteran animator Lenord Robinson described 2012 as a great time to become an animator, if not to find a job in the animation industry; what with all of the recent technological advances, it is almost possible for a lone animator to make an entire feature at home.  He could have been speaking to the independent animator.  Advice on getting funding is presented throughout the book, but it may have been written before the advent of Kickstarter, created in 2009 but not really prominent until 2011-12. 

“Distribution” has “Marketing”, “Playing the Film Festival Circuit”, and “Distribution”.  This is where the independent animator has it relatively easy today.  There are animation websites that will publicize an independent production; lists of film festivals that a production can be submitted to; YouTube and Vimeo that a trailer for your movie can be posted on.  Internet giants like Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, Hulu, and YouTube may be interested in pre-funding or distributing your movie.

Fitzgerald presents case studies of five socially relevant independent films.  Since these are all live-action, the independent animator will do better to pick five animation features close to what he or she wants to produce, then consider Fitzgerald’s advice according to how it applies to them.

Independent film production, whether live-action or animation, is not going to be easy.  Fitzgerald has produced such films, or shown them at his film festivals, for almost twenty years.  He has much valuable advice to offer.

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Fred Patten has been a fan of animation since the first theatrical rerelease of Pinocchio (1945).  He co-founded the first American fan club for Japanese anime in 1977, and was awarded the Comic-Con International's Inkpot Award in 1980 for introducing anime to American fandom.  He began writing about anime for Animation World Magazine since its #5, August 1996.  A major stroke in 2005 sidelined him for several years, but now he is back. He can be reached at fredpatten@earthlink.net.