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[William Broom]

This is a thread to discuss and applaud those filled with the independent spirit in other mediums or industries than that of video games. I shall begin:

1. Robert Rodriguez
Oh, sure, you probably know him as the guy who did Sin City and Planet Terror. But back when he started he was just a poor Mexican with a handheld camera. Despite this, he made a ridiculously good action movie called El Mariachi, full of blood, violence and awesome stunts, and he made it for just $7,000. He explains all about it in the making-of documentary on the DVD. Some of his cost-saving measures included: Instead of using one of those big crane-cradles for a long panning shot, he used a wheelchair with a rope tied to it; he borrowed all his guns from the local police, except those that were actually water pistols; and he only had two portable lights for the entire film.

2. Makoto Shinkai
He wrote, planned and animated a 90-minute anime movie completely by himself. He did the voice acting for all the male characters, and his wife did the voice acting for all the female ones (This might sound a bit crap but bear in mind that there are really only two characters in the story and a few bit-parts). His mysterious friend known only as 'Tenmon' did all the music.

[shinygerbil]

Fuck yeah, Makoto Shinkai.

[postlogic]

Don't forget We Are The Strange by M dot Strange. Weeeeird stuff, but very cool.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

Unfortunately I'm not as knowledgeable about indie music, indie film, etc. as I'd like to be (maybe this thread will help change that?). I have noticed a rise in them in recent years, which is good.

I have a favorite indie documentary-maker (is there a term for one who creates documentaries?) though -- Adam Curtis. His work is fairly famous so he's not unknown, but he does do the majority of the work himself -- the research, the writing, editing, interviews, and narration.

[kyn]

19 year old Zach Condon, from the band Beirut single-handedly recorded his first Beirut album Gulag Orkestar, alone in his room with a variety of instruments such as horns, violins, cello, ukuleles, mandolins, glockenspiels, drums, tambourines, congas, organs, pianos, clarinets and accordions (no guitars on this album!).

The album is awesome, really one of my favorites.

I give you a

with a song from his album, and also the album cover:


^{God, I love those legs}

[muku]

Ooooohhh, nice thread. Let me post stuff one thing at a time so I don't get overwhelmed.

One great, cerebral low-budget film I enjoyed was Following by Christopher Nolan (they guy who went on to make Memento and The Dark Knight, among others). It has a nice black and white aesthetic that suits it very well. Plot-wise, it's a clever psychological thriller about a writer who follows other people secretly for inspiration; I don't want to say much more in order not to spoil it, besides it's been a while since I watched it. It shares the non-chronological narration with Memento; in fact, if you liked Memento, chances are good you'll like this too.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0154506/

[policedanceclub]

This is super-duper cool.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101420/

[Valter]

Salvador Dali is indie.
Considering, though, art is about the opposite of other mediums. People are highly encouraged to be indie when painting. It's a medium which specifically supports originality and "breaking from the norm".

Poetry is sort of similar, but I hate poetry.

[Lucaz]

The first that comes to mind is Robert Crumb, comic writer, author of Fritz the Cat, to name something. Then there's Sam Raimi, with Evil Dead, one of the best terror movies ever, with almost no budget. And a bunch of bands, mostly Guided by Voices, Yo la Tengo and Jonathan Richman.

[increpare]

Salvador Dali is indie.

Do most indie peeps turn into Avida Dollars when they get a few bucks in their pockets?

[Tanner]

Lemon Demon is one of my favorites, every time I listen to his music I feel happy inside.
I don't like The Ultimate Showdown, though.

[Biggerfish]

DJ Ninja Love Mistake sequences all his music on a gameboy, uses Audacity for the finishing touches and then distributes it all for free on the internet. Also pokemon.