Two films recently screened at North Charleston Greater Park Circle Film Society show the directions changing technology is allowing small and in one case microscopically small independently produced film to go. These two films contrast vividly with things like "Cowboys and Aliens" which prove you can blow things up in computers.

Two weeks ago, the film society showed "Taken In," which tells the story of a father and teenage daughter locked in a weekend of conflict set at the South of the Border tourist resort. South Carolina filmmaker Chris White and a cast of four shot the entire film on a budget of $8,000, using a single, high resolution camera. Rendered in black and white, the father and daughter move from chilly distance to raging conflict. There is a dramatic break and a resolution.

People familiar with South of the Border will get a kick out of watching the background. The filmmaker needed a place he could get varied backgrounds, shoot nearly around the clock and get the evocative sense of alienation a place so utterly artificial and disconnected possesses.

The film is unrated, but I would peg it around a PG-13. It shows an informed and sympathetic grasp of the issues of coming of age, conflict and hope that every family with teenagers deals with. There is humor. "Taken In" avoids plunging into hopelessness and dodges charging for a big happy ending

"Taken In" is interesting enough to function as entertainment and meaty enough (if you can deal with some sexual content) to serve as the basis of a youth group discussion.

To see such a film made in South Carolina on such a budget is truly amazing. Chris White is currently working on his second film, with a budget of $12,000, soliciting support through a Kickstarter page on the internet.

Last Saturday, the film society showed "My Dog Tulip," an animated story of the relationship between a 50-year-old British man and his dog in the 1920's. Produced completely as hand drawn, computer animation, the film gains an honest pathos and humor with the audience.

Love, death, loneliness, hope and class conflict are all rendered here. Released about a year ago, this film has managed to gross $246,574. Last week it was the 70th rated film for box office receipts in America.

"My Dog Tulip" deals frankly and at length with the conflicted world of how the British bred their dogs between the World Wars, which apparently existed in marked contrast to their reserve about sexual matters elsewhere. Ultimately the film is about love and cleaning up after one another. "Cowboys and Aliens" had a production budget of $163 million and took in $89 million dollars the same week that "My Dog Tulip" took in $835, and Chris White scraped up another $1,000 on Kickstarter for his next film project, 1/12 of its total budget.

"Cowboys and Aliens" had stars like Harrison Ford and special effects like Star Wars. To its credit, the writers and directors included subplots which brought people together across racial and ethnic divides. Unfortunately the body count is high.

The emotional impact of each body hitting the ground declines as the film goes on. In the end something really enormous gets blown up in a computer and all the people watching survive the millions of pounds of debris which should be falling on them but don't. I'm beginning to wonder what percentage of big budget films resemble the old Death Race 2000 video game followed by a fireworks display.

When someone in "Taken In" slams a door after an argument, we care about it. When Tulip's owner rises from his bed to clean up socially embarrassing dog poop, we worry about the consequences. The limited emotional traumas of these two little films impacted me more than the countless limp bodies generated in "Cowboys and Aliens."

It is a safe bet that the total budget for "Taken In" wouldn't have funded the catering for morning coffee on the set of "Cowboys and Aliens."

However each is a functional feature film.

Editing on desktop computers and high resolution cameras available for a few thousand dollars make films like "Taken In" possible. Computer animation makes a film like "My Dog Tulip" possible.

Both can now be done in a home office if the director has time and patience enough.

However below the big noise many small films are beginning to appear, often distributed only online and at small screenings, which offer a real story and surprising quality.

Keep your eye out for small, local screenings and opportunities to download these films through services like Netflix. Some of these films are being made right here in South Carolina.

William Hamilton (www.wjhamilton.com) is an attorney who live in I'On Village. He also coordinates the East Cooper CARTA Riders www.eastsrider.com.)