Independent films are an increasingly important part of the American film culture. Many successful filmmakers have started off as independent filmmakers. The presence of high quality technological resources has made it easy for anyone to make indie film shorts, and broadcast them online for free. You can watch mainstream movies and independent films on the internet for free.
Film Shorts
The easiest place to find independent film shorts is on YouTube. The disadvantage to watching free indie films on YouTube is their video compression software has a tendency to distort the image quality. Savvy editors can manipulate the compression settings before their upload, to ensure that little quality is lost. The advantage to YouTube is that it's easily accessible, and has fast buffering, in case you're using a dial-up internet connection.
Independent Film Company
Independent Film Company is a directory site that displays several indie films and indie film shorts from other indie production companies all over the world. They have their films ordered, by category for easy searching. Viewers can rate full-length films with a star system, and industry professionals can post or respond to job listings. Films are available in several genres, including free educational videos, comedies, dramas and adult films.
Online Short Films
Independent Film Producers usually have their own website where they offer access to their films and film shorts. Travel Scene Investigator, for example, offers clips of their investigative reports on the Pacific northwest vacation destinations. These short clips can be used to boost enthusiasm for the project, in an effort to raise funds to finance distribution, or to market DVD purchases. Also available are films like Validation, a popular indie short by up-and-coming Los Angeles filmmaker Hugh Newman, on several blogs, embedded from YouTube.
Free Film Shorts
Sites like Fancast and Hulu offer indie short films, too. Check their directory listings for the independent film listings, and watch for short films. These sites, and others like them, often list the playtime as part of their film descriptions. There are several of these websites, it is likely that some have links on this very page.
When using the internet to watch free independent films online, viewers can see film shorts before they're widely available to the public. An independent filmmaker often uses their own finances to get to film festivals, and to get attention from larger production companies. Independent film companies have found that the internet is a great way to bring attention to their indie short films. Be sure to share favorite online short films with friends, and give an indie a hand!
Lisa Russell - Lisa Russell is a freelance writer and mom of six daughters. She blogs about their life at lisarussell.org
