Hey everyone. I'm new to the forum and excited to have found it. I'm an independent documentary producer currently working on an undertaking called the Filipino Street Art Project. Our project uses street art, an accessible and approachable medium, as a way to explore Filipino culture and connect the Filipino American community with the artistic community in the Philippines.
My team and I are planning a Kickstarter campaign for the fall and have run into some big questions because our project is better classified as a transmedia project than a straight-forward documentary. On one hand, the transmedia approach is a strength for us - our rewards are diverse, our audience is large, our work translates well to apps for phones and tablets, and we can engage people on many platforms. However, we're having trouble settling on an angle for the campaign itself that will at once both accurately represent the breadth of our work, but also not overwhelm or confuse potential donors. If anyone has any experience with crowdfunding a similar project, or know of someone who might, I'd love to hear feedback to the issues below or just tips in general.
+ While the basis for our project IS a feature length documentary film, we're also producing (or have already produced) the following: a series of interactive e-books, short videos, live art events, a college campus tour, blog, and an interactive website that acts as a hub for everything. Question - Because we have such a wide range of products/media we're working on, how can we narrow it down to make it simple to understand for your general Kickstarter audience? Do you think people would be turned off if we keep it broad and describe it as a "transmedia project," or might they role with it? What angle might we take to simplify and center our campaign?
+ Similarly, we'll use the funds primarily to finish the feature length film, but we'd also like to set aside a portion to polish our website, hire a content creator for our blog, outreach events, etc. I'm worried that potential donors might look at that range of uses and be less likely to donate, as opposed to a traditional documentary film. Thoughts?
+ At the end of the day, i guess what it boils down to is this: would we be better off positioning ourselves as a documentary-based transmedia project, or a documentary film with many outreach/engagement approaches?
Thanks for reading. Again, I'd really appreciate any input anyone might have. This is the first campaign I've run, and although I've studied and donated to many and am doing my due diligence before launching, I'm a little lost on this initial issue.
My team and I are planning a Kickstarter campaign for the fall and have run into some big questions because our project is better classified as a transmedia project than a straight-forward documentary. On one hand, the transmedia approach is a strength for us - our rewards are diverse, our audience is large, our work translates well to apps for phones and tablets, and we can engage people on many platforms. However, we're having trouble settling on an angle for the campaign itself that will at once both accurately represent the breadth of our work, but also not overwhelm or confuse potential donors. If anyone has any experience with crowdfunding a similar project, or know of someone who might, I'd love to hear feedback to the issues below or just tips in general.
+ While the basis for our project IS a feature length documentary film, we're also producing (or have already produced) the following: a series of interactive e-books, short videos, live art events, a college campus tour, blog, and an interactive website that acts as a hub for everything. Question - Because we have such a wide range of products/media we're working on, how can we narrow it down to make it simple to understand for your general Kickstarter audience? Do you think people would be turned off if we keep it broad and describe it as a "transmedia project," or might they role with it? What angle might we take to simplify and center our campaign?
+ Similarly, we'll use the funds primarily to finish the feature length film, but we'd also like to set aside a portion to polish our website, hire a content creator for our blog, outreach events, etc. I'm worried that potential donors might look at that range of uses and be less likely to donate, as opposed to a traditional documentary film. Thoughts?
+ At the end of the day, i guess what it boils down to is this: would we be better off positioning ourselves as a documentary-based transmedia project, or a documentary film with many outreach/engagement approaches?
Thanks for reading. Again, I'd really appreciate any input anyone might have. This is the first campaign I've run, and although I've studied and donated to many and am doing my due diligence before launching, I'm a little lost on this initial issue.