> My Crowdfunding Experience

[rayw]

Just moving the list of current crowdfunding projects, arranged by maturity date, to the top of what I believe should be the third page:


Art of the Bag - A Speed Bag Story - sought $5,000 by May 31: Unfunded
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=39908

Buck Shot - sought $2,200 by Jun 01: Funded
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40075

save BBOY for LIFE (the movie) - sought $20,000 by Saturday Jun 2: Funded
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40157

INSPIRED: The Movie - seeking $75,000 by Saturday Jun 16: Unfunded
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40595

cockroaches - seeking $80,000 by Sunday Jun 17: Funded
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40525

SUPEZ: BOOM OF YOUTH - seeking $5,500 by Tuesday Jun 19: Unfunded
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40567

Shake The Lake Movie - seeking $12,500 by Wednesday Jun 20: Unfunded
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=39970

To Survive - Post Apocalyptic Thriller - seeking $7,500 by Wednesday Jun 20: Funded
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40409

'Hollywood: A People's History' - seeking $10,000 by Friday Jun 22: Unfunded
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40542

Flamingo Close - seeking by Fri Jun 22: Funded
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40808

Lyncredible - seeking $3,500 by Friday JUN 29 - PROJECT MODIFIED to $500 by SUNDAY JUL 1: Funded
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40659

The Flight of the Flamingo - seeking $7,000 by Mon Jul 02: Funded
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40186

* * * * * * * * E X P I R E D * * * * * * * * * *


The Crucible - seeking $15,000 by FRIDAY JUL 6
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40849

The Suicide Theory - seeking $30,000 by Fri Jul 13
http://www.indiegogo.com/thesuicidetheory

* * * * * * * * A T - R I S K * * * * * * * * * *


Five Stages Of Michael - seeking $8,000 by Mon Jul 16
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread....200#post272200

Pterodactyl Surprise - seeking $2,500 by Wednesday Jul 18
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40643

Gild the Lily - seeking $1,500 by Fri Jul 20
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40708

Grim: A Tale of Death - seeking $16,000 by Mon Jul 23
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40861

The Elder Scrolls Short Film Series - seeking $3,800 by Tue Jul 31
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40901

Premier Bundle - seeking $2,500 by Wed Aug 01
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40943

Crawford and Oates - seeking $8,000 by Fri Aug 31
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=41187

Bimbo Zombie Killers - seeking $6,000 by Tue Oct 02
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40686



A few of those have concluded or are about to.
Anyone care to share their experiences?

For those of you still running I hope this post brings another round of attention to your projects! GL!

[rayw]

.... double post...

Uhh... I'll think of something semi-intelligent to put here.
Eventually.

[doovidooves]

Hi There,

Rayw asked me a while ago to share my crowdsourcing experience from my Kickstarter page for 'Buck Shot', and I suppose I'll share it with you guys (sorry Rayw for the delay).

Ultimately, i found the whole Kickstarter experience to be a positive one (due to the fact that I DID reach my goal), but, it was also quite enlightening. This was the first time I sought to raise a substantial amount of money for a film and had high hopes going in that I could succeed. I figured Kickstarter is where people with extra money lying around went so they could throw it at things that seem cool. While this may or may not be the case, my film was not something your average Joe was chomping at the bit to donate to. My high hopes of reaching the goal way ahead of schedule were squashed; however, I didn't fully expect the process to be THAT easy.

At first the money was coming from close friends that I knew I could count on for the project, and I was receiving lots of promises for donations in the future. As time went by, the money seemed to dry up and I was beginning to lose hope. A couple of big number donations in the middle of the month helped keep the project afloat, but in the end, about a 1/3 of the total donations were given in the final week.

Would I use Kickstarter for projects in the future? Yes, I would, but I believe I would have to rethink my strategy and try to reach out towards people that are not in my circle of friends. Kickstarter may have been a great way to gain exposure and get some money for your art in the past, as more and more people utilize this wonderful crowdsourcing tool, the harder it becomes to stand out from the flock.

I suppose the best word of advice I could give to anyone trying to raise money through crowdsourcing is to not give up. WHile you may be near the end and only have half of your goal (or less), getting discouraged will not help. Keep going out there and telling friends and family about your project. Don't beg, just try to get them interested. Maybe they aren't the ones to donate, but perhaps someone they know is. A lot of people may look down their noses at you because you are asking for money, but they don't understand just how tough it is making movies. As far as I'm concerned, money is the biggest enemy of any struggling filmmaker. It is the most expensive art form after architecture, after all.

I wish everyone out there trying to crowdsource the best of luck! I hope you reach your goals and make awesome movies!

[rayw]

Originally Posted by doovidooves

I suppose the best word of advice I could give to anyone trying to raise money through crowdsourcing is to not give up. WHile you may be near the end and only have half of your goal (or less), getting discouraged will not help. Keep going out there and telling friends and family about your project. Don't beg, just try to get them interested. Maybe they aren't the ones to donate, but perhaps someone they know is. A lot of people may look down their noses at you because you are asking for money, but they don't understand just how tough it is making movies. As far as I'm concerned, money is the biggest enemy of any struggling filmmaker. It is the most expensive art form after architecture, after all.

Thank you.

(Sorry for being a little late myself for getting back to you! Life happens )



Anyone else have some insights to share?

[rayw]

Congratulations to Stephen Levi & Noodle on getting 'To Survive' and 'Flamingo Close' respectively successfully funded!
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40409
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40808

Care to share your crowdfunding experience?

Jianjian and Zblock, even though your campaigns did not achieve their goals IT members are still interested in your crowdfunding experiences, as well.
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40542
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=39970

Thank you.

[Zensteve]

Kickstarter Opens Up

...for better or for worse. Data mining ahoy!

[rayw]

Originally Posted by Zensteve

...for better or for worse. Data mining ahoy!

Time to get on it!


Thank you, ZS!

[Squishystudios]

With out project, Season 2 of Voyage Trekkers, we set our goal not for what we actually need for the second season, but how much we thought we could actually raise given our fan base. That guess was pretty dead on because we raised almost exactly what we set out, which was $4000.

http://www.indiegogo.com/Voyage-Trekkers-Season-2

Knowing that we were only raising a portion of our web series' budget we decided to give the audience a goal, which was building a starship bridge for our crew (the show is a comedy about the worst crew in the galaxy). Having that image in mind I feel helped a lot and really gave our campaign a goal that we could work towards.

[mckinise]

My project is still running ($465 out of $500 with 32 Hours Remaining), but I realize that I made many mistakes. I misunderstood the true nature of Kickstarter and its relationship with artists and patrons. I also didn't understand that a video, especially for a film maker, is the most important part of setting up a project for success.

http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40659

While there is a great chance that my project will succeed, I feel it is very important to help others avoid my mistakes. Without further ado, here are my 4 steps to a successful crowd funding campaign.

#1- Be Reasonable with your Goal:

Put Succeed before Need, and Need before Greed. It is easy to look at the money collected on Kickstarter and develop fantasies of unlimited financial gain. The reality of Kickstarter is that most projects fail.

Before you begin any project you should develop solid figures detailing what you need, and what similar projects have been getting. You should also consider what you are truly bringing to to table.

If you are a new director you are not usually going to receive the same level of consideration of a well known director. As such, you should allow your relative anonymity to factor into your crowd funding strategy.

#2- Steal, Steal, Steal

Good artists borrow. Great artists steal. Now, by stealing I don't mean you plagiarize someone's project. Plagiarism is bad. I mean you need to look at successful projects, see what they have in common, and include those common factors within your own project.

#3- Be a Video Vanguard

Your video is your first and, sometimes, last impression. If your video fails to initially get the attention of your viewer, you may have lost a backer. Likewise, if you create a stunning, but lengthy video, you run the risk of losing the interest of your potential backer.
Your best best is to create a short, informative, and entertaining video that allows the viewer to understand the importance of your project without lulling them to sleep.

#4- Keep Everyone Involved

Your Backers are your newly discovered extended family. Them backing you is just the beginning. Keep them involved with updates, comments, and challenges. Let them know that you appreciate them and all they have brought to the project.

[rayw]

Congratulations Lyn and Nick & Phil on your successful crowdfunding projects!
I think we can all see what a hard slog it is as you guys have been by far the most active at IT getting the word out.

Lyn, thank you for sharing your experience. We look forward to seeing both how the actual film production process goes for you as well as the final product.

Nick & Phil, you fellas have oh so much street cred around here - you know all of IT is waiting for your harrowing tales of struggles through this tribulation.

Congratulations - one step behind you. More to come.

Good luck, guys!

[The Hazard Company]

All in all, I don't regret trying out the kickstarter campaign. Though during the process we got more high fives, good jobs, and pats on the back than donations. I see that you truly need to have a fanbase and be some street cred before you can expect to get a huge following on kickstarter and have people jumping up and down to help you out.

I think it's a good idea to rethink my strategy, maybe finish a couple episodes or work on another project and then come back to do the kickstarter again or even just work more on other things and finish it with my own cash.

Thanks for the interest!

[NickClapper]

Ok, so I drew up a little 'Crowdfunding report' and uploaded it as a PDF. Hopefully it might be interesting and/or useful to anyone considering running a crowdfunding campaign.

The Flight of the Flamingo Crowdfunding Report!

[Cracker Funk]

Originally Posted by NickClapper

Ok, so I drew up a little 'Crowdfunding report' and uploaded it as a PDF. Hopefully it might be interesting and/or useful to anyone considering running a crowdfunding campaign.

The Flight of the Flamingo Crowdfunding Report!

Excellent. Looking forward to reading it.

[rayw]

Originally Posted by NickClapper

Ok, so I drew up a little 'Crowdfunding report' and uploaded it as a PDF. Hopefully it might be interesting and/or useful to anyone considering running a crowdfunding campaign.

The Flight of the Flamingo Crowdfunding Report!

Ah, wow, Nick.
That was... FANTASTIC!!!

Very thorough and insightful.
And wildly considerate of your fellow filmmakers.
Good karma comes your way.

With this caliber of attention given to 'The Flight of the Flamingo's production it's sure to be a festival contender.

Thank you and good luck.

[rayw]

Whoops! Did it again!