Crowdfunding for filmmakers? It reminds me of something I heard once. Nobody drives in New York. There’s too much traffic.
Is there any better way to describe the built in conflict when it comes to crowdfunding in general, and Kickstarter in particular? The only reason not to engage in crowdfunding for filmmakers is that everyone is doing it. I recently saw a crowdfunding blog post about how this sourcing model can work in the real estate market. Oversaturation anyone?
However, the lure of quick funding by amassing large amounts of small donations via social mmedia is the siren song of the solo artist… and it is nothing new. In fact, it predates the modern internet by almost a decade Those of us calling California home should be aware that the only reason our governor, Jerry Brown, was able to mount an extended challenge to then candidate Bill Clinton in the spring of 1992 was because he eschewed large donors in favor of individual $10 contributions which of course had to be mailed to his campaign, there being no online infrastructure for online processing at the time. This political crowdfunding kept his campaign going for months Beyond the usual “sell by” date.
However, crowdfunding, let alone crowdfunding for filmmakers is no longer a novelty or shortcut to funding… if it had ever been that in the first place. As with any endeavor, when it comes to crowdfunding for filmmakers, I like to keep this phrase front and center – if it were easy, everybody would be doing it. And the fact is, crowdfunding (or at least throwing out a crowdfunding campaign) is easy… and everybody is doing it. That’s why it stands a lesser chance of working for you. Too many players on the field.
That leads to the biggest challenge for crowdfunding for filmmakers. How do you make it work? I’ve funded successful Kickstarter campaigns as well s successful indiegogo campaigns and am currently researching a relatively new (as of this writing) startup crowdfunding model, Tubestart, and can safely say that there are real advantages and disadvantages to all three. While in the next post, I’ll offer some tips from my experience running successful crowdfunding campaigns, I want to go over these three platforms, and add some observations that you should keep in mind, both as you plan, run and monitor the results of what I hope will be successful campaigns for you too.
And while there are of course many other crowdfunding platforms besides the three which I’m highlighting here, I think the general capabilities and underpinnings of these three crowdfunding platforms in particular sum up the landscape for when it comes to crowdfunding for filmmakers today. I also want to add that while these three models have subtle options that make them more flexible for your strategy then the broad brush I’m painting them with, they are also the best examples of what I’m trying to describe.
Kickstarter: the 800 pound crowdfunding for filmmakers gorilla
When we leave the dual entertainment poles of New York and Los Angeles, it can be easy to notice that the rest of the world does not revolve around startups, the sharing economy and “the industry.” “How can you not have heard of rockethub/gofundme/insert new crowdfunding site here? I can hear you saying to your Facebook friends in Minneapolis or Akron. The fact of the matter is that most people don’t have Final Draft installed on their laptops, don’t associate the word “campaign” with the Oscars, and if they are aware of crowdfunding at all, it’s very likely via Kickstarter, and only Kickstarter. And the very fact that this is the platform with the highest amount of name recognition is the reason why you should at least consider it for your crowdfunding campaign. Even though it is by far the most difficult platform to stand out in, weigh your options, especially if you intend to do a large amount of your fundraising in “flyover country.” If your potential backers are wary of the security of their pledge, unfounded or not, they will hesitate to back your campaign. The sheer name recognition of Kickstarter alone is an argument in its favor, and the hoops you have to go through… from setting up an Amazon Payments account to getting clearance for your idea to some of the evenmore frustrating aspects of the post campaign process(a future post in and of itself)have to be weighed against the comfort level your potential funders have about how and where they are spending their money.
The biggest advantage of Kickstarter is, for some, it’s biggest disadvantage. Let’s face it, Kickstarter makes you do the work. The all or nothing approach to its funding model means that if you are going to set a goal, you’d better be prepared to reach it. Yes, if you are asking for 20,000 dollars and you only reach 19,999, your campaign did not reach its goal and you don’t get a penny.
How unfair, right?
I respectfully disagree. What Kickstarter is doing by requiring you to accept the all or nothing approach is twofold and in the world of crowdfunding for filmmakers, it can be a useful requirement..First, it makes you create a responsible budget, and really makes you think about how much you need to bring your vision to life. This is a very big deal, and is as crucial to the success of your film as any part of the creative process itself. Second, it gives your backers a certain level of security about what they’re funding. Face it, if you only get half your funding, you can only make half of a movie. That’s not what your backers signed on for. One hundred percent funding means you should never have to worry about creating ill will by not being able to deliver what you promised… While still taking people’s money.Kickstarter has a built in level of responsiblilty that helps make what could be a very questionable concept more respectable.
Kickstarter does have problems, though., Because it’s the largesse means if you are counting on standing out in the Kickstarter crowd, you are living in a fantasy world, the likes of which your project will never match. There is no consistentway to game the system to be a staff favorite, you can’t access the lists of other successful campaigns to solicit people who have a history of contributing and there is no category so obscure that you can push it to the top of your SEO efforts. Kickstarter is a crowdfunding home for your project and that, my friends, is it. Yes, you can get your product on the shelf at Wal-Mart, but don’t expect anyone to notice it.
So what about…
Indiegogo: the Avis Rental Cars of crowdfunding for filmmakers
When it comes to indiegogo, this crowdfunding platform is approaching the name recognition of Kickstarter, but it’s not there yet. I had to reassure a lot of people that this is a legitimate platform, but it was worth it. I found the experience fairly painless, and the fact that I could handle backers outside of the Amazon ecosystem was both a pleasure and sometimes a pain. The fact that backers did not have to have an Amazon account (yes, there are some of those folk still out there) made it easier to handle some backers, but again, Amazon lends a patina of credibility to a project (and don’t forget that Kickstarter is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Amazon empire).
Although this should not be a concern for filmmakers, the major selling point of indiegogo is that pretty much anything goes as far as project ideas. Want to raise money for a family left homeless by a fire? Go ahead. Got a classic car you want to renovate? Give it a shot. Heck, want money to buy potato salad? Welcome to the last 50K campaign. It’s kind of the Wild West of crowdfunding, and as a site that is not specifically designed to address crowdfunding for filmmakers, you should keep that in mind.
For filmmakers, the lure of indiegogo is that you do not have to adopt the all or nothing approach… and I’ve already discussed the reasons why this can be a good idea for you and your backers. There is no way around the fact that the main reason for choosing indiegogo is that you want money and you don’t care how much you get. Everything else I can say about the platform is varnish.
Like I said, I funded a successful indiegogo campaign. Would I do it again? Probably not. I’ve just got to be honest about this. While I had no problem with the platform itself, The pressure of delivering on my creative promise with less than what I knew it would take to complete production is a pretty heavy lift. I would consider it if it were part of an integrated strategy with other non crowdfunding sources and the indiegogo helped covered, say, contingency funs or additionalproduction that was not strictly essential to the completition of the film or its marketing, but not as the sole source of funding.
With all that in mind, we’ve seen the obvious problems. Standing out in a crowd, finding backers in and beyond your social media circle, funding beyond crowdsourcing itself. While Kickstarter began life as a haven for indie filmmakers, it’s hardly that haven anymore. Not when Veronica Mars and the star of an NBC sitcom can leverage their base – and all the oxygen in the room – to fund projects. Keeping in mind that there is not now and will never be a crowdfunding site that you can set up, sit back and watch the dollars roll in, is there a third option? I’m hoping so, and that’s why, as of this writing, I’m looking at…
Tubestart: checking into the boutique hotel instead of the Holiday Inn
Tubestart is a little bit like time travel. As a video professional, you get to wade into a pretty small virtual swimming pool (for now), a time when not everyone was using crowdfunding and you stand a chance of being noticed. But you also get to avoid the learning curve offered by the last ten years of crowdfunding. Tubestart exists soley for filmmakers and video professionals. It coordinates with the YouTube platform (although there is no professional partnership) so that you can use your own channel to hook into the crowdfunding platform, nad it offers both crowdfunding models… All or nothing as well as flexible goals… Along with a much needed additional option, recurring payments. Since my current project is based in a documentary as well as a continuing webisode series distribution model, this may be an enticing option for many. My impression as of this writing is that as the project evolves, the crowdfunding campaign can become an integral part of the overall funding strategy. Tubestart also claims to have a vested interest in the success of your reward levels (and I can tell you from experience that reward fulfillment can be one of the hardest parts of post-project management.) Integrating crowdfunding in-house with sites like cafepress is a great idea, and it speaks to the knowledge that Tubestart’s founders brings to the table from their own past campaigns. Tubestart alsoclaims to match campaigns with brands that are interested in your project area, although it’s a bit difficult at this point to really nail down whether this holy grail of crowdfunding… Corporate sponsorship… Is working or not.
Tthe above summary of Tubestart is a work in progress, but as my productin continues, I’m looking forward to keeping you informed on the experience. Combined with the tax deductible contribution option I’ve already set up for The Palette Project, it may be a very useful piece of the puzzle for donors who are as interested in the backer rewards as the project itself, not to mention getting the film on screen, of course). So as the project continues, so will my experience with the next wave of crowdfunding.
By the way, here’s an interesting book on crowdfunding for filmmakers. No, I didn’t write it, but it has some interesting takes.
What are your experiences with crowdfunding? I invite you to comment below.
