As an aspiring writer / director of fictional films, I believe my work focus falls under the higher informational density end of the spectrum, for a fairly broad audience. It’s very important for me to maintain creative control over my own films, though one major caveat is that funding is also a major driver in what makes these films possible. Creatively, there’s pressure to write and make films that cater to a broader audience for a better chance at making money for and/or from these projects. Independent Filmmaking in my experience is usually more labor intensive per crew member, since we typically run in smaller teams to perform the same level of informationally dense product.
Something that I think would make it easier to find success navigating the industry independently, would be to work for a larger production company in a capacity that would allow me to learn how a production business is run. I’ve worked with a few smaller companies and businesses for freelance work In the freelance world I’ve noticed that a lot of projects fell flat due to lack of funding or care.
Realistically, I see myself after just graduating, spending some time at a production company of some kind, in a position where I can get close to the director or the camera department. I think it would be critical to gaining an understanding of how the business is run, before I were to jump off and do my own thing. I also see myself starting a part-time freelance photography business that grew to full time, until I could afford to take breaks to write my own scripts and make my own films.