It's a multi-tiered problem with each one with its own complexities. I don't want to write a long story now, but I want to emphasise one and one thing only. If you want to disrupt film and/or tv industry then you have to disrupt people, not technology (by much). It's a people problem. It takes a lot of people in a collaborative manner to work on a product like that, with each person being skilled and expensive. You n…
How much of this applies if the medium is pure CG/traditional animation?
Let me give you a little back of the envelope type of breakdown for a feature film (not animated). Average feature length is 90 minutes. Let's say you have all the expensive gear for free (including cameras, grip, lights). Let's also say you have all the locations and sets for free. 'Natural' locations for example - those are the ones that you use locations as-is, like friend's apartment that looks nice, local coffee shop, that kind of stuff. Locations where you can't get the lights exact as you want, but at least they don't need much of, if any set dressing.
Let's also say you are writing your own script (90 minutes / ~90 pages), and you will be doing your own editing, sound design, mixing and mastering, as well as color grading and a few cheap, but semi good-looking vfx shots that you've found tutorials on how to make them from videocopilot or whatever. You can do only a few since they take a lot of time to make. Your friend of a friend will take up distribution and marketing, and your mom will pay the bills and prep food for you during the first few months while you write your script and do location scouting, script lining/breakdown/storyboard and the other stuff needed for pre-production.
Now, you have everything for free - you 'just need to shoot the movie'. What does that entail?
Most optimistic projections for a 90 minute feature-length movies are around 30 days worth of shooting. That's three minutes per day, which might sound little, but is actually a lot. Between each setup (changing camera location), you have to move/change lights, get actors ready and shoot. That takes time.
Here's an optimistic skeleton crew for something decent. On the set you will have yourself as a director, cameraman/director of photography and his assistant (at least one for focus at least, since you're shooting with prime lenses). You will also have a sound mixer and a boom guy (the one with the fishing rod). You will also have two friends who move the lights around and two that will help with grip and set (one will move dolly around, one will arrange apple boxes and help decorate the set. He's a wonderful guy, he can do all of that by himself). You will also have your assistant that will take care of notes for your editing later (a script supervisor) and she will occasionally hit the slate and help the actors with their lines. One other friend will help with make-up and her friend with hair and wardrobe that you borrowed from somewhere too. You will also need your three actors. That's all your innovative script needs. Except those two scenes where you need people sitting near-by them in the coffee shop and that scene where extras are in the public transportation bus around them,, but we won't talk about that.
That's: 1 you, 1 your assistant/scriptie, 1 DP and 1 his assistant, 1 sound guy and 1 boom guy, 2 light guys that also run around with their cars if something needs to be fetched, 2 grip guys that have keen decorating sense to double for set design, 1 make-up girl/guy and 1 hairdresser / wardrobe, 3 actors. That's 15 people.
15 people that will work for 15+ hours for 30 days straight. Of those 15 people, 8 people will need to work two weeks ahead of shoot, also long hours. They will need to prep. Actors will need to read lines, learn them, you will need to block action with them, block action on set, rehearsals, rehearsals... DP and assistant will need to design lighting around locations you've found, scriptie will prep for her notes, make-up and wardrobe will need to prep what will be look of actors.
That's 15 people for 30 days straight, 8 people for 2 weeks straight. For 15+ hour days. You will need to move them around and feed them like babies. Because empty-stomached set is not a good set. And no, you can't eat pizza for 30 days straight. Crafty table also doesn't count as a full meal, which you need if you work for 15+ hours, mostly standing and/or pushing heavy objects.
That's the skeleton indie movie. On the borderline of possible.
Now, take animation. It's kind of the same, but your friends can't help because they can't draw / 3d model, and those that can can't animate. I'm helping a friend finish his ~5 minute animation just these days. With my help and a few others (not full-time, I took few shots from him as well as other's have.), his full-time, 10+ hour days accumulate to about three and a half years. That's on a whole other level of people bottleneck. I actually started out as an animator, then layout artist, then switched to VFX TD (I programmed for a long time, still do for fun) then from there to editing, script and then direction and creative. That's where I'm at today.
edit: you'll also have squabbles after the first week or two, when people are over-worked. You'll hear something like 'Fuck you and your stupid-ass movies. I'm out. Deduct from my pay. That's right, you're not paying, buddy!' and then you will make peace, and you will end the shoot for the day. And after a month+ of emotional rollercoaster you will be alone for a couple of more months in your mother's bedroom editing the movie. While at it, you will look at the shots and then you will have thoughts along the following: 'This scene looks like shit. Look at that damn acting. I shouldn't have listened to what people were suggesting to me on the set'. And you would be right. Along with all of the stress, you will be, due to in-experience, gullible to all of the advices on the set. Everyone has them, from dolly operator to actors. And you will, in your insecurity, listen to them and depart from your vision and settle for a compromise. One that will compromise your original vision and you can't go back once you're in the editing with crappy shots. All of the advisors will be doing other stuff by then, and you will have to take those shots and put your name first on that shit pie. Not theirs, yours. Yet, you weren't calling the shots, you were compromising because you thought you can't make people listen to your vision because you didn't pay them.