Hollywood Independent

Esteban Valdez
Aug 8, 2017 · 3 min read

Steven Soderbergh has been making a lot of noise with “Lucky Logan.” Major media outlets like Business Insider, Hollywood Reporter and Variety keep saying how Soderbergh is revolutionizing the way films are made… And while I’m a Soderbergh fan, what he’s doing isn’t really anything new.

In fact, his “new model,” is based on a method of filmmaking independents have been doing for more than half a century.

Image source: Slash Film

In the late 1950s and early 1960s…

The Screen Directors Guild added a clause that producers needed to give Directors right to first cut — or first pass at an edit of the movie. It was more of a formality because studios needed to ensure they’d get most or all of their money back on a film within the domestic (American) market.

In order to secure their money back, studios and producers often cater to the lowest common denominator. Nothing’s really changed…

The problem many creators face is getting their show or film produced by a large studio and hoping the large studio or company will keep to the original idea as presented by said creator. It’s oxymoronic. The golden rule states: whoever has the gold makes the rules. So if you’re going to a big company in the hopes they make your dreams come true, then you’re going to have to play by their rules.

Plenty of other alternative places

If you want to have true authorship over your work, your vision, your dream… There are plenty of other alternative locations than Hollywood. Doubly so when it comes to animation.

Idaho comes to mind. Fresh air, low cost of living and a much more peaceful place to work. Sure you might not agree with the politics of the land, but you’re not there to run for office. You’re there to make a film. And there are plenty of skilled and talented people within the local area.

Arkansas is another where despite it being quiet; in my travels to the state, I’ve also seen a plethora of incredibly jaw dropping talent within the borders of the state.

Indiana. I met an amazing brilliant illustrator/animator duet living in a very charming town just west of Fort Wayne. They would get 4 to 5 freelance jobs from Los Angeles, Toronto or Manhattan and spend the rest of their year working on their own projects completely free the studio grips.

Stanley Kubrick was a complete auteur of his work. We hold his films with such high regard and esteem and set the gold standard for film directing. And all from outside the US.

Echo Bridge is in Florida. We’re away from all the politicking of Hollywood. Totally outside the system, 100% independent and because it’s Florida, our dollar goes farther, we get to enjoy the beach — studio is a 15 minute drive from Clearwater — and there’s amazing talent everywhere.

Having lived in New York, California, Canada and having worked with people in London, Toronto and Paris, what I’ve come to find is that people are from all over. Go to Los Angeles and I’m sure you’ll find someone who wasn’t originally from Los Angeles working there. Go to New York, same thing.

We move for the prestige of what Hollywood sells.

One could argue that it’s where the work is, but that’s incredibly short sighted. The bigger picture those individuals seem to miss is the whole fucking planet. And with tech being what it is now, it’s much simpler to work anywhere. In fact, you could move around every 3 months and if you’re structured and disciplined enough, never miss a deadline. You could roam the world for years, working as you go, creating your idea, your film, your show, wherever the hell you wanted too!

In recently years, we’ve seen how US sales in films have plummeted. We’ve seen how the US hasn’t really produced much merit when it comes to ideas. We’re no longer the standard bearer of what’s popular.

Not only that… But in the animation industry, the work might be coming out of LA, but the work doesn’t stay there due to outsourcing.

And that’s a good thing.

The whole world is waiting for you.

Script To Screen

“Script to Screen” (STS) is a monthly blog on the Art and Business of Animation, and general thoughts on the animation industry at large. Formerly the official blog of the animation studio, Echo Bridge, STS, is now its own independent platform.

Esteban Valdez

Written by

A 20-year practitioner of hand drawn animation, creating and producing 2D animated content for various media platforms. Founder of Echo Bridge.

Script To Screen

“Script to Screen” (STS) is a monthly blog on the Art and Business of Animation, and general thoughts on the animation industry at large. Formerly the official blog of the animation studio, Echo Bridge, STS, is now its own independent platform.

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