Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Funding Your Film Through Kickstarter



Have y'all been checking out Kickstarter.com?  If not, I request you give it a perusal.  It's a non-profit site that allows people to post a potential project (can be anything - art, music, film, technology, design, anything!)


They do an "all or nothing" funding model.  Which means, you either make your goal amount or bust.


Some of my friends have used it to fund projects before.  I think it's a really great idea, and I would love to get something going on there (I have a really great low-budget feature that I've been trying to get produced for a while now).

That said, I think it can be very dangerous for our industry.  Like funding an independant film the regular way - you should have a great story and do your research beforehand.  I think having amateurs flood the markets and festivals with sub-par work that was funded through this medium can have dangerous a effect.  Plus, the legal implications aren't completely solid.  Who owns the film?  I know they have disclaimers and levels of involvement and such, but how do you contractually work out a deal with someone who donates a large part of the funds so they don't get screwed in backend?  If someone gets a "producer" credit, does that mean they get to make creative or financial decisions?

Also, how successful can these films be?  My heart of hearts absolutely wants them to be successful, but when you work with such a low budget (relative to industry standards) the film will suffer.  I know for a fact it will.  Also, will others deem it invalid as a quality product and not purchase/view it?

Lots of stuff to think about I guess.  What do you think?  Worth a shot?

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