The term “independent studio films” is actually oxymoronic because a
film produced by a studio is not truly independent. A film made by a
studio’s “independent” division is a studio film, in disguise.
You can find both advantages and disadvantages to making a studio picture
or an independent film. On an independent production, your film ends
up on the screen the way you envisioned it, but you don’t have much of a
budget. A studio picture has larger financial backing and can afford to pay
the astronomical salaries that actors demand, as well as pay for seamless
special effects and longer shooting schedules, but the film ends up the way
the studio envisions it — and in the most commercial way. The studio looks
at dollars first and creativity second. Many independent filmmakers discover
that, although having and making money is nice, being independent allows
them to tell a story in the most creative way.