Darren Aronofsky: Director

Indie director Darren Aronofsky won a special directing award this year atthe Sundance Film Festival for his first film, (Pi), which he made on abudget of $60,000. He is currently in preproduction on his next project,Requiem for a Dream, which is based on a Hubert Selby Jr. novel.

Digital technology is changing everything and nothing when it comes to thecreation of low-budget, independent films, says indie director DarrenAronofsky.

"In a sense, no matter the tools, the essential core of any film is stillthe story and the performance of the actors on screen," says Aronofsky,whose recent low-budget project, Pi, was a critical hit. "New technologydoesn't change that truth at all. On the other hand, low-budget films cannow feature major visual effects, thanks to computers. That is a bigchange, because it means that cutting-edge tools are no longer exclusive tothe big studios and visual effects houses. They will still R&D such tools,but indie filmmakers now have a chance to re-invent themin more intelligentways to light up low-budget films. Eventually, I expect you will seebig-time effects in low-cost, indie films and possibly a greater fusionbetween traditional techniques and digital techniques than in the big,studio films."

In the black-and-white Pi, for instance, Aronofsky created "four or fiveminutes" worth of digital sequences in a film made for $60,000. "We didsome very funky titles using a simple Macintosh," he points out. "We cannow do extensive animation in these types of films, and that's veryexciting."

Aronofsky predicts that such developments, made possible by recenttechnological breakthroughs, will give indie directors a powerful, newweapon in the coming decades that will allow them to push new limits andtry new things. "I would not have been able to say that even a couple ofyears ago."