Indiegogo
Sunday, November 6th, 2011
I’ve been meaning to post notice of the other big camera announcement this past week — RED’S unveiling of the SCARLET-X. Over at his No Film School, Koo has been all over this camera, writing that instead of the Scarlet being what we once thought the Scarlet would be (“a 3K for $3K camera), “It is very, very close to being the same camera as the $28,000 EPIC-X — it’s the same size and weight, has the same large sensor, takes the same accessories, and maxes out at the same 5K resolution — except the SCARLET-X starts at under $10K.”
Koo followed up with another post in which he wrote:
Camera specifications do not a good movie make, I know. But I’m sorry — if you’re not excited about this, you’re not into cinematography. RED’s Jim Jannard claimed this would be the most significant announcement in RED’s history, and he wasn’t kidding. And while I know the cameras will not ship with all features intact from day one (and RED says they’ll probably be back-ordered until February), this camera has at least 2/3 of the EPIC-X’s ability for less than 1/3 of the price. You can bet that the price of this made-in-USA camera was set more by Jim’s desire to win the fight with Canon (and everyone else) than it was by a calculation of maximum profitability. It helps that he has deep pockets from Oakley, but still: to me the SCARLET-X represents RED making good on their initial startup promise (if they haven’t already) of democratizing film production,1 and I’m excited to shoot Man-child [Koo's Kickstarter-backed debut feature] on a SCARLET-X.
After Koo noted that his order is in for the camera, his comments page blew up, with a few highly-vocal posters criticizing him for spending money on a new camera. One even posted a whole article on the EOSHD blog entitled “What Expensive Camera Obsessions are Doing to Filmmaking,” writing,
Before his successful Kickstarter campaign Koo was a DSLR shooter and he still is an aspiring filmmaker, and I wish him the best of luck. Of
… Read the rest
Monday, February 7th, 2011
Writer/director Jentri Chancey emailed to tell me about her and producer Lorrie Marsh’s approach to developing their independent film project, Lost in Sunshine.
She writes:
We’ve been continuously working to lift this project from its feet for the past two years. Our approach is to reach out to our (target) audience before the movie’s ever made. And creating an online prequel by expanding narratives, and enhancing audience participation via games, etc., is how we’re attempting to do it.
Instead of raising money for actual film production costs right now, we’re raising funds so that we can use fan input, digital storytelling & interactive games to present an “online prequel” for Lost in Sunshine, a comedy-drama movie-to-be.
They’re at the beginning of an Indiegogo campaign and trying to raise $10,000. Through the link below you can visit the Indiegogo page and watch Chancey and Marsh explain further their approach.… Read the rest
Friday, November 19th, 2010
As most of you know, I write a weekly newsletter that contains a letter that’s not usually posted on this blog. Sometimes it consists of thoughts that coalesce into an article or blog post down the line, and sometimes it consists of of-the-moment reactions to events just hitting the news. Often the newsletter poses questions that I’d like our readers to comment on. Yesterday I wrote about the newly announced Amazon Studios and solicited feedback. I hope to, in the next few days, write about the provocative new venture, which has good elements (a new financing source for independent filmmakers and an open, user-generated submission system) and bad (free options and crowdsourced development that will, I believe, obliterate all traces of the original creators’ voices). Here’s yesterday’s newsletter for those who didn’t receive it. And if you didn’t, why not subscribe? The newsletter is free, and it’s where you’ll hear about things like our Holiday Subscription Deal, which will launch December 1.
For much of the last year, the term “crowdsourcing” has been in vogue in the independent community. But it’s important to remember that just because something’s crowdsourced doesn’t mean it’s good, or that even the process of crowdsourcing is automatically a beneficial one when applied to a particular project or field. I’m a fan of crowdsourced funding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo because they connect film production to the passions of a community while sidestepping the competitive dealmaking that can sour small projects. But what of other types of crowdsourcing?
Take for example, Internet Eyes. From security expert Bruce Schneier’s monthly newsletter, Crypto-Gram: “Internet Eyes is a U.K. startup designed to crowdsource digital surveillance. People pay a small fee to become a ‘Viewer.’ Once they do, they can log onto the site and view live anonymous feeds from surveillance cameras at retail stores. If they notice someone shoplifting, they can alert the store owner. Viewers get rated on their ability to differentiate real shoplifting from false alarms, can win 1,000 pounds if they detect the most shoplifting in some time interval, and otherwise get paid a wage that … Read the rest
Tuesday, October 12th, 2010
Marketing and publicity specialist Sheri Candler has a post up on her blog entitled “Five Ways to Fail at Crowdfunding” that is a good read for those thinking of kickstarting of gogo’ing their indie feature. She opens:
I am prompted to write this post because I have been hit up many times lately about supporting, advising or donating to various crowdfunding initiatives. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t quite a complaint because I have been known to support many campaigns by doing any one of these things (ask anyone else offering their advice if they have done any of these things by the way, the answer could surprise you). I do get frustrated by the ones who contact me because they have embarked without thinking through the strategy or they are very close to the time limit and very far from their goal.
Like her, I’ve been hit up a lot to contribute or post about crowdfunding campaigns. I post about quite a few on the Filmmaker blog, and I’ve also contributed to a bunch. By and large, the ones I’ve contributed to have been by friends whose work I believe in — people I want to see do well and who I know will make something great. The ones I post about on the blog are ones that I think are of particular interest to our readers by virtue of their subject matter or the filmmakers. Lately, though, like her I’ve been frustrated by some of the appeals. I completely agree with her #1:
1) You do not already a have a support network online. This is a biggie. I know you’re thinking Sheri, how can I already have an audience and supporters of my work when I haven’t raised the money yet to do my work? Do you have a personal identity built up? Does anyone actually know who you are yet? There are many ways to do this, starting with sharing your knowledge and experiences with people and championing others as much or more than you do yourself. This identity building takes time and should be started
… Read the rest
Sunday, May 23rd, 2010
I discovered a couple of excellent posts at the Coffee and Celluloid blog that will help you if you are contemplating or in the process of a crowdsourced funding campaign through a site like Kickstarter or Indiegogo. Written by Joey Daoud, the posts chronicle his experience researching and enacting a campaign to raise $9,000 for his documentary on high-school combat robots, Bots High. The campaign was successful — he raised $9,100 — but, as always, the devil is in the details. In the first post, “How to Figure the True Cost of a Kickstarter Project,” he breaks down not only the cost of the commissions (5% to Kickstarter and about 3% to Amazon) but also the costs involved in manufacturing and distributing the various rewards he offered to his supporters. In the second post, “My Kickstarter Experience — the Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” he deconstructs his own success, revealing that he had to appeal to a relative for a loan in order to push himself over the $9,000 barrier and not lose all the money pledged so far. He’s also drawn conclusions from the experience, such as that he should have come up with a lower goal, like $5,000, and that it would have been easier if he had gotten on a high-profile blog. File Daoud’s account next to Miao Wang’s on her Kickstarter campaign and you’ve got a running start on most people launching projects there.
While I’m discussing Kickstarter I’m going to throw some attention on a project I’ve been hearing about for a while from trusted sources, Todd Chandler’s Flood Tide . Here’s how the filmmaker describes it:
It was the summer the gas stations closed. The summer they played music in the old mill. The summer they built a boat. The summer they left.
Flood Tide is a road movie on a river. It tells the story of four musicians who create extraordinary boats out of ordinary junk and set out for open water, fueled by dreams, desperation and a sense of adventure.
The film’s quiet narrative unfolds through fragments of memories, songs,
… Read the rest
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Category News | Tags: Bots High, Cafe du Diable, Coffee and Celluloid, crowdsourcing, documentary, financing, Indiegogo, Joey Daoud, Kickstarter, Maria Beatty,
Friday, March 26th, 2010
At his blog A VC, Fred Wilson examines a few provisions of the banking reform bill currently being debated in Congress and highlights a couple of provisions that could affect filmmakers.
From his blog:
1) Changing the definition of a “qualified investor” in angel and venture deals. Not just anyone can invest in a startup company. You have to be a qualified investor. A qualified investor is currently defined as anyone with a net worth of over $1mm or net income of over $250k. Dodd’s bill would increase that to $2.3mm and $450k respectively. And then index those numbers to inflation.
2) Eliminate the existing federal pre-emption over state regulation of “accredited offerings.” Angel and venture financings could be regulated state by state creating a fairly burdensome set of rules and regulations that each financing would need to be subject to. Currently there is a federal pre-emption that makes getting these kinds of deals done fairly easy.
I have no idea why either of these provisions ended up in a bill designed to regulate the banking industry. Entrepreneurs and startups don’t use banks to finance them. They get their initial capital from angel investors and then VCs as they grow. This system works well, did not blow up in 2008, and is not in need of reform of the type Dodd wants to throw at us.
In fact, what we need is to eliminate all accredited investor requirements for small investments of up to $25k. Why does someone have to be a millionaire to invest in a friend’s startup? I understand that we don’t want someone mortgaging their home, or betting their entire life’s savings on a startup. But for a small amount, like $25k, we should not be regulating angel investing.
Wilson’s second point here is interesting. As a film producer, I have never minded the accredited-investor rule. I know that film investment is highly risky, and this rule directs the siren call of glamorous film investing away from those who really shouldn’t be in the business. However, with the rise of microinvesting and new distribution and content platforms … Read the rest
