> My Crowdfunding Experience

Crowdfunding: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowdfunding

I thought it might be a good idea to have a thread dedicated to discussing our individual KickStarter & IndieGoGo crowdfunding experiences (in as much excruciating depth as bearable) so that we may all better understand the resource's limitations.





(Click on images to goto sites)

Anyone care to share their stories?

- Overall expectations going into the "Yes/Pursue" decision
- Pre planning
- What you received advice and were warned about before or during the campaign
- Campaign architecture
- What you were trying to (and not to) convey in the campaign?
- Nuances in the donor premium/reward structure
- Financial and attitude observations of family, immediate friends, long distance extended e-friends, strangers
- Donation expectations and observations
- Take aways
- How did X-input correlate with Y-response?
- What did people seem to "miss"?
- Surprises, good and bad
- Next time what would you repeat and what would you do differently?
- Would you try crowdfunding again?
- Alternatives


Thank you.
 
Shiva Rodriguez -

WOW! What a fantastic report!
And doubly so since the campaign received a fair bit less than its goal.
Very classy.
thumbs2.gif



Fave quote:
- Next time what would you repeat and what would you do differently?
Differently: Get more of a buzz going about the film before launching a campaign and make the pitch more exciting and less technical.
We just gotta pound this through everyone's heads.

Crowdfunding isn't cold-calling panhandling.

It IS a lot of work.

Sometimes I wonder if it would just be easier to get a part time job to raise what most of these campaigns are asking for. :lol:

Thank you very much for sharing your crowdfunding experience.
 
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Sometimes I wonder if it would just be easier to get a part time job to raise what most of these campaigns are asking for. :lol:

Thank you very much for sharing your crowdfunding experience.

That was Plan B, until some outside supporters rescued us.

The first feature that my tiny company did was pretty much financed out-of-pocket. I raised my share by taking a work-at-home job as an advice line operator so I could take calls while I working on the F/X gags for the film.

That was fun... Talking to people about their relationship issues while slapping coats of latex on a spiked tree log prop. :)
 
Excellent report, how did you accumulate the addresses?

I believe that the team behind that spent about three weeks on the internet looking through genre-related blogs and websites for contact information.

I had a mailing list of about 70 "fans" from a long-running pet project of mine that I threw into the contact list too. (That took years to accumulate, but I never actively went looking for people to add. Probably not coincidence that some of those people donated.)
 
I know some team members were surprsied that we didn't get more financial support from women.

Shiva - as a woman who wrote & produced a feature that was directed by a woman and starred strong women and has had 0 success getting into women-run film festivals, all I can say is that I'm coming to believe: (1) don't expect any particular support from other women and (2) festivals and groups oriented towards women tend to look for projects that fit into certain niches.

I will certainly look for you & your project on facebook, and keep an eye on your next round.

Good luck, and as everyone said - great post.
 
Shiva - as a woman who wrote & produced a feature that was directed by a woman and starred strong women and has had 0 success getting into women-run film festivals, all I can say is that I'm coming to believe: (1) don't expect any particular support from other women and (2) festivals and groups oriented towards women tend to look for projects that fit into certain niches.

I will certainly look for you & your project on facebook, and keep an eye on your next round.

Good luck, and as everyone said - great post.

Thank you!

Strangely enough, the ones who expressed being surprised about that were all men.

I'm used to being in this very weird position as a woman... I'm female, but I generally work in F/X (that is very male-dominated) and seem to be viewed as being "one of the guys" on a set. I don't get invited to go out for coffee with the girls after we wrap for the day, but frequently get dragged out for a beer with the male crew members. (And then get teased because I don't drink beer.)

I did get some promotional support by a few female-run websites and blogs, but most of them were specifically geared toward women in the horror genre. I know that press releases were sent out to a lot of women-film places, but most completely ignored it.
 
Hey guys thought id add my kickstarter project here.. im in talks with an investor to pledge to this project so im hoping it will cover all the fees at once.


So this fundraiser is for my first short film as you may or may not already know Entitled Seishin.

http://kck.st/Vvgi2X

Funding target £600

Ending date 6th February

What is Seishin about?

In this film, we are introduced to the main characters, where we are brought to the middle of an ongoing chase between Furah and Kibo.

Furah is an evil mercenary who seeks total power and has recognised that Kibo possesses a powerful Seishin (spirit/soul), the Seishin are powerful fallen angels who roam the earth searching for their destined host (humans are the host) to return them to heaven.

SYNOPSIS

when the powerful Seishin fall from heaven to earth they are brought by fate to possess their destined human who will release them back to heaven by sacrificing themselves, but as time has passed humans have learned to utilise the Seishins power for their own use... fate has chosen the path of Kibo as the saviour of the Seishin but the almighty Furah plans to destroy him and capture the Seishin for his own use to rule the world especially Kibo's own Seishin from which he has been possessed.

Can Kibo stop him or will Furahs might and evil tricks put an end to the saviours quest..

Facebook Page/Twitter

www.facebook.com/seishinmovie

@seishinmovie

Thanks to everyone who takes their time to look at this.
 
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Just released the 2nd crowdfunding help video based on our experience of raising 120% - $19,200

3 more videos to come!

Good luck to those starting a campaign this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwcVowABr-g
 
Just seven (7) days left of the IndieGoGo drive for "Normal" and we're just shy of the halfway mark on a $5K campaign (yes, we'd like to use those swing/shift lenses and also be able to eat!). Any amount will help (the cost of a cup of coffee!) as we have a Patron of the Arts who will MATCH any amount pledged!! Or show us support by posting our campaign via FB, Twitter etc.

"Normal" is a very cool psychological horror/thriller with an exceptionally original script by award winning playright Lenny Schwartz. It will be directed by award winning director Richard Marr-Griffin (with 13 feature films behind him) and filmed by me (an award winning cinematographer). BTW, awards don't really get you anything... you still have to work any way possible to fund you're next project!! We also have a stellar cast including the wonderfully talented and beautiful Sara Nicklin (Nun of That) and the wonderfully talented and good-looking Michael Reed (The Disco Excorcist). Our films actually get made so please consider helping us reach our goal. I promise you'll love the film!
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/289679?c=home
 
Man I wish I'd seen this thread before I started my campaign, but I'll definitely write my response to this stuff when it's all over (hopefully successfully). Shamelessly going to plug it here in case anyone is interested.

"Bid For My Life" is a feature length documentary about a social experiment I am going to be doing in April, where I will be literally putting my life up for auction. Essentially, I'm going to put an online auction up for days of my life, where I will attempt any (legal) work, task or challenge given to me. I will be exploring the sense of value inherent in paying for someone's time. What will people ask me to do? Will their requests reflect the amount of money paid? In a sense, the documentary is more about the people that bid, rather than what I end up doing.

I'm crowd funding for the budget (most of which will go on crew expenses - no-one is being paid, but I can't expect them to work for nothing and fund their own way through whatever ridiculous journeys we undertake for the month) and would appreciate any support, whether it's just £1 to see the final documentary, if you're interested in the concept, or sharing the link to the project in whatever social networks you enjoy using.

www.indiegogo.com/bidformylife

To promote the campaign, and give a kind of teaser to the final documentary, I've been giving donators of £100 or more '5 Minutes of My Life', where they can instantly challenge me to do anything for five minutes. I've had a few funny tasks, but my favourite is when I was asked to serenade shoppers at Waitrose, so I brought my guitar along and started singing to random people. That feature is here, and might entertain, even if you're not interested in the campaign itself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RsNYmCUbvQ
 
Whoops! I let one page get away from me. LOL

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



Branching Out
seeks $800
by Friday Mar 1
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46152
Raised $565
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1277633858/branching-out-a-romantic-short-film


BlackHollywood.TV
seeks $7,000
for their Flexible Funding campaign by Sat 02 Mar
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46077
Raised $0
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/327529


Hunter X
seeks $3,000
by Wednesday Mar 6
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46238
Raised $3,000
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1807788097/hunter-x-the-movie?ref=live


Scenes from a Room
seeks C$10,000
for their Flexible Funding campaign by Wed 06 Mar
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46639
Raised & received C$1,225
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/scenes-from-a-room


* * * * * * * * * * * C R U N C H - T I M E ! ! * * * * * * * * * * *


HUNTER
seeks $50,000
by Thursday Mar 7
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46251

Tides of Time
seeks $5,000
for their Flexible Funding campaign by Fri 15 Mar
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46772


The Owl in Echo Park
seeks $1,500
for their Flexible Funding campaign by Sat 16 Mar
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46318


The Tendency
seeks £600
by Sat 16 Mar
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46287


Without You
seeks £2,000
by Sunday Mar 17
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46301


Ups & Downs of Human Being
seeks 5,950€
for their Fixed Funding campaign by Wed 20 Mar
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46356


DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR
seeks $2,000
for their Flexible Funding campaign by Thu 21 Mar
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46270


* * * * * * * * * * * U P C O M I N G * * * * * * * * * * *

why teach? &MORE!
seeks $2,000 for their Flexible Funding campaign by Fri 22 Mar
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46528

The Campground
seeks $2,000 by Thursday Mar 28
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=45958

MONSTEROUS MURDERS
seeks £1,500 by Thursday Mar 28
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46763

Delura: a 3d animated fantasy sci-fi series
seeks $6,500 by Thursday Apr 4
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46724

Pilgrim Series seeks $1,000 by Thursday Apr 4
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46751

"The Princess Knight" seeks $4,000 by Saturday Apr 13
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46753

THE FIRST STORY seeks $14,600 for their Flexible Funding campaign by Mon 15 Apr
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46780

Wasp
seeks $150,000 by Fri Jul 05, 2013
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=41474



Anyone else care to share their experiences?
(Please note the NEW links to thread contributors!! Karma, folks. Karma.)



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

>> TRUNCATED LIST <<
ARCHIVED CAMPAIGNS
HERE


Chloe - a short film seeks $500 in their Flexible Funding campaign by Sat Dec 01: Received $10 in Partial Funding
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=43926
http://www.indiegogo.com/chloethefilm

You Should Be So Lucky seeks $15,000 in their Flexible Funding campaign by Fri Dec 07
The page you are looking for is currently in "DRAFT" mode and hidden from the public.

http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=43925
http://www.indiegogo.com/youshouldbesolucky

EVER AFTER Resurrection seeks $9,300 in their Flexible Funding campaign by Thu Dec 13
Raised $9,601 of $9,300 Goal

http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=44215
http://www.indiegogo.com/EverAfterMovies

MindStudios Short Film - Untitled Forest Story seeks $500 in their Flexible Funding campaign by Tue Dec 18
Raised $503 of $500 Goal

http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=44629
http://www.indiegogo.com/forest-story

Save Our Souls seeks $3,000 in their Flexible Funding campaign by Tue Dec 25
Received $189 of $3,000 Goal
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=291276#post291276
http://www.indiegogo.com/505MOV

Chic: You Know It When You See It seeks $5,000 by Friday Dec 28
Raises $5,475 of $5,000 goal
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=44428
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1683058875/chic-you-know-it-when-you-see-it

Traveling in History seeks $300,000 by Mon Dec 31
The page you are looking for is currently in "DRAFT" mode and hidden from the public.

http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=44649
http://www.indiegogo.com/travel-in-history

Predatory Moon seeks $7,476 in their Flexible Funding campaign by Wed 02 Jan
Raised $1,510 of $7,476 Goal
http://www.indiegogo.com/predatorymoon?c=home
>Report>> http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=303816#post303816

Speed Bump seeks $5,000 in their Flexible Funding campaign by Sat Jan 19
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=44145
Raised $20
http://www.indiegogo.com/speedbumpmovie

Cartel Hustlers seeks $12,000 by Thursday Jan 24
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=44615
Raised $60.00
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1302351065/cartel-hustlers?ref=live

NORMAL Seeks $5,000 for their Flexible Funding campaign by Sat Feb 02
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=45865
Raised $3,766, & received all of the funds contributed
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/289679?c=home

SEISHIN seeks £600 by Tuesday Feb 5
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=305159#post305159
Raised £40.00
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/salacious/seishin-fantasy-sci-fi-re-anime-short-film

Bid For My Life seeks £6,000 by Thu 14 Feb
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=307874#post307874
Raised £6,001
http://www.indiegogo.com/bidformylife
>Report>> http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=310721#post310721

Ruthless Seeks $3,500 for their Flexible Funding campaign by Sun Feb 17
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=45759
This campaign received all $1,300 of the funds contributed.
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ruthless

THUS SPOKE JUDAS seeks $35,000 by Wednesday Feb 20
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=45739
Raised $215
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/omarsalaszamora/thus-spoke-judas-old-school-horror-feature

Branching Out seeks $800 by Friday Mar 1
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46152
Raised $565
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1277633858/branching-out-a-romantic-short-film

BlackHollywood.TV seeks $7,000 for their Flexible Funding campaign by Sat 02 Mar
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46077
Raised $0
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/327529

Hunter X seeks $3,000 by Wednesday Mar 6
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46238
Raised $3,000
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1807788097/hunter-x-the-movie?ref=live

Scenes from a Room seeks C$10,000 for their Flexible Funding campaign by Wed 06 Mar
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46639
Raised & received C$1,225
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/scenes-from-a-room


* * * * * * * * * * E X P I R A T I O N - P E N D I N G * * * * * * * * * **


HUNTER seeks $50,000 by Thursday Mar 7
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46251

Tides of Time seeks $5,000 for their Flexible Funding campaign by Fri 15 Mar
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46772

The Owl in Echo Park seeks $1,500 for their Flexible Funding campaign by Sat 16 Mar
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46318

The Tendency seeks £600 by Sat 16 Mar
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46287

Without You seeks £2,000 by Sunday Mar 17
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46301

Ups & Downs of Human Being seeks 5,950€ for their Fixed Funding campaign by Wed 20 Mar
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46356

DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR seeks $2,000 for their Flexible Funding campaign by Thu 21 Mar
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46270

why teach? &MORE! seeks $2,000 for their Flexible Funding campaign by Fri 22 Mar
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46528

The Campground seeks $2,000 by Thursday Mar 28
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=45958

MONSTEROUS MURDERS seeks £1,500 by Thursday Mar 28
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46763

Delura: a 3d animated fantasy sci-fi series seeks $6,500 by Thursday Apr 4
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46724

Pilgrim Series seeks $1,000 by Thursday Apr 4
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46751

"The Princess Knight" seeks $4,000 by Saturday Apr 13
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46753

THE FIRST STORY seeks $14,600 for their Flexible Funding campaign by Mon 15 Apr
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=46780

Wasp seeks $150,000 by Fri Jul 05
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=41474

01/27 12,929
02/01 13,166
02/08 13,551
02/11 13,645
02/18 13,963
03/04 14,549
 
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Just an update from "Normal. The campaign is over. We raised $4766, just shy of the $5K goal, which means Indiegogo will take a bigger bite of what was raised. We did however have an angel who agreed to match any amount raised, so in the end we are close to $10K which will help production greatly. Many thanks to those that believe in and support indie filmmaking.
To keep tabs on how things progress with "Normal", check the FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/NORMALTHEMOVIE?fref=ts
There will be contnuous updates. Production begins on May 1 2013!
 
Alternatives

The thought did cross our minds to dress up as werewolves and knock over some convenience stores.

Actually, if you filmed that happening - and put that in your pitch video - "We really hope you can help us raise the money otherwise, we may have to resort to plan B" - then show the werewolfs robbing skit...

Seriously, the more entertaining the pitches, the better the campaigns seem to go.

As far as FB ads goes, if you set up the campaigns yourself you can specify demographics of your target market - and even narrow it down by city, or people who like werewolves or people who like crowdfunding, etc.
 
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I've started my own thread, but am also hoping the kind people of this one will allow me to promote here as well.

I've got a fun little short here that I've written, directed, and am finishing producing.

We just need a final little push to finish and polish our project. Everything is lined up, we just need to reach our 800 dollar funding goal in order to hire an awesome soundtracker, who we already know and have interested in our short!

Check out our kickstarter here, http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...tic-short-film

And our facebook page here, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Branch...38178919680574

If you can please donate, share, tweet, like, and email!

Thanks a billion,
Sam Wagner

Oh, I must've missed it, but I see you've beat me to the punch and I am on the list!

Thank you so much!
 
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EXPIRED CROWDFUNDING LIST

I figured eventually this'd happen.

Seems the previous ongoing page has run into its character limit, so I shortened it and archived it into this post which I'll update periodically.


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

Art of the Bag - A Speed Bag Story - sought $5,000 by May 31: Unfunded http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zazacast/art-of-the-bag-a-speed-bag-story
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=39908

Buck Shot - sought $2,200 by Jun 01: Funded http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/895354198/buck-shot
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40075
>Report>> http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=272818#post272818

save BBOY for LIFE (the movie) - sought $20,000 by Saturday Jun 2: Funded http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/84723185/save-bboy-for-life-the-movie
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40157

INSPIRED: The Movie - seeking $75,000 by Saturday Jun 16: Unfunded http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1564946265/inspired-the-movie
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40595

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

SUPEZ: BOOM OF YOUTH - seeking $5,500 by Tuesday Jun 19: Unfunded http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1657317425/supez-boom-of-youth
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40567
>Report>> http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=275374#post275374

Shake The Lake Movie - seeking $12,500 by Wednesday Jun 20: Unfunded http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1439379955/shake-the-lake-movie
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=39970

To Survive - Post Apocalyptic Thriller - seeking $7,500 by Wednesday Jun 20: Funded http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/stephenfolker/to-survive-post-apocalyptic-thriller
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40409

'Hollywood: A People's History' - seeking $10,000 by Friday Jun 22: Unfunded http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1282298668/appear-in-a-movie-poster-in-hollywood-a-peoples-hi
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40542

Flamingo Close - seeking by Fri Jun 22: Funded http://www.indiegogo.com/flamingoclose
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.kickstarter.com/projects/lyndrick/lyncredible
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40659
>Report>> http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=274614#post274614

The Flight of the Flamingo - seeking $7,000 by Mon Jul 02: Funded http://www.indiegogo.com/flamingomovie
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40186
>Report>> http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=275381#post275381

The Crucible - seeking $15,000 by FRIDAY JUL 6: Unfunded http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/159844980/the-crucible-film?ref=email
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40849

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

Five Stages Of Michael - seeking $8,000 by Mon Jul 16: Unfunded http://www.indiegogo.com/FSOM
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=272200#post272200

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

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

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

Kindred Spirits - seeking $2,200 by Sun Jul 29: Unfunded http://www.indiegogo.com/kindredspirits
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=41589

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

This Is Why We Fight - seeking $30,000 by Tue Jul 31: Unfunded http://www.indiegogo.com/thisiswhywefight
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=41389

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

Basement Bugs - seeking $31,000 by Thursday Aug 2: Unfunded http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/barnabybarrilla/basement-bugs?ref=search
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=41843

King seeking $20,000 by Monday Aug 13: Unfunded http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/279069984/king-feature-length-film
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=42032

My Dad is a Time Traveller - seeking $3,000 by Mon Aug 20: Unfunded http://www.indiegogo.com/mydadisatimetraveller
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=41582

Untitled Christmas Project - seeking $7,500 by Monday Aug 27 (Self Cancelled) http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1475211802/untitled-christmas-project
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=278897#post278897

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

The Amber Project - $110,000 by Monday Sep 3: Unfunded http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lakestreetfilms/the-amber-project
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=42062

Clyde - The Webseries - seeking $8,000 by Thu Sep 06: In "draft" mode. ?? Presumably unfunded
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=41859

Brain Eaters - seeking $850 by Friday Sep 7: Unfunded http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lovelydeadfilms/brain-eaters
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=42346

ODD - seeking $4,000 by Sat Sep 08: Received Partial Funding http://www.indiegogo.com/odd?c=home
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=42736

Trapped in Time 3D! - seeking $10,000 by Wednesday Sep 19 Unfunded http://www.kickstarter.com/projects...-a-time-travel-adventure-film-in?ref=category
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=283437#post283437

Blew - seeking $4,000 by Saturday Sep 29 Unfunded http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/703639991/blew
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=42785

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

The Dark Master: Battle in the Courtyard - seeking $250 by Saturday Oct 6 Self Cancelled
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=42886

Sam's Story - is seeking $20,000 by Sunday Oct 7: Funded http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1759777461/sams-story-a-film-by-mae-catt
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=288808#post288808

The Anachronist | A Steampunk Short Film - seeking $17,000 Sunday Oct 7: Unfunded http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/timdan/the-anachronist-a-steampunk-short-film
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=43154

A LESSON IN TORTURE - seeking $20,000 by Thu Oct 11: Unfunded http://www.indiegogo.com/alitmovie?c=home
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=43076

The Cornfield Massacre - seeking $7,000 by Sat Oct 13 Received Partial Funding http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/238347
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=43563

Club Vamporama Website and Promotion - seeking $1,000 by Fri Oct 19: Received Partial Funding http://www.indiegogo.com/vamporama-promo
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=43082

OZONE - is seeking $8,000 by Friday Oct 26: Funded http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ozonproduction/ozone
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=43486
>Report>> http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=293374#post293374

Wasp seeks $150,000 by Mon 29 Oct
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=41474
$350 Raised of $175,000 Goal
http://www3.indiegogo.com/projects/wasp-the-film--7?website_name=Wasp-Thefilm

Women Under The Influence - is seeking $55,000 by Tuesday Oct 30: Unfunded http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/272894683/women-under-the-influence-feature-film
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=43582

Who's There? - is seeking $500 by Friday Nov 2: Unfunded http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/677021775/whos-there-a-short-film-about-a-feeling-we-all-get
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=289498#post289498

Paul and the Hooker - seeking $10,000 by Nov 4: SELF CANCELED http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/59092787/paul-and-the-hooker-feature-length-romantic-comedy
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=43323

Verona - seeking $7,000 in their Flexible Funding campaign by Tue Nov 06: Received Partial Funding http://www.indiegogo.com/verona-shortfilm
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=43617

Finding Me - is seeking $50,000 in their Flexible Funding campaign by Mon Nov 12 >> Lowered goal to $20,000 << : Received Partial Funding http://www.indiegogo.com/finding-me
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=43376

DRAG HIM OUT! seeking $10,000 by Wed Nov 14: Funded http://www.indiegogo.com/DragHimOut
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=43709

Blood Brothers seeks $4,000 by Mon Nov 26: Received $1,540 in Partial Funding
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=43550
http://www.indiegogo.com/bloodbrotherscollaboration

Word, the feature film seeks $35,000 by Tue Nov 27: Received $10 in Partial Funding
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=43615
http://www.indiegogo.com/word

Chloe - a short film seeks $500 in their Flexible Funding campaign by Sat Dec 01: Received $10 in Partial Funding
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=43926
http://www.indiegogo.com/chloethefilm

You Should Be So Lucky seeks $15,000 in their Flexible Funding campaign by Fri Dec 07
The page you are looking for is currently in "DRAFT" mode and hidden from the public.

http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=43925
http://www.indiegogo.com/youshouldbesolucky

EVER AFTER Resurrection seeks $9,300 in their Flexible Funding campaign by Thu Dec 13
Raised $9,601 of $9,300 Goal

http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=44215
http://www.indiegogo.com/EverAfterMovies

MindStudios Short Film - Untitled Forest Story seeks $500 in their Flexible Funding campaign by Tue Dec 18
Raised $503 of $500 Goal

http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=44629
http://www.indiegogo.com/forest-story

Save Our Souls seeks $3,000 in their Flexible Funding campaign by Tue Dec 25
Received $189 of $3,000 Goal
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=291276#post291276
http://www.indiegogo.com/505MOV

Chic: You Know It When You See It seeks $5,000 by Friday Dec 28
Raises $5,475 of $5,000 goal
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=44428
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1683058875/chic-you-know-it-when-you-see-it

Traveling in History seeks $300,000 by Mon Dec 31
The page you are looking for is currently in "DRAFT" mode and hidden from the public.

http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=44649
http://www.indiegogo.com/travel-in-history

Predatory Moon seeks $7,476 in their Flexible Funding campaign by Wed 02 Jan
Raised $1,510 of $7,476 Goal
http://www.indiegogo.com/predatorymoon?c=home
>Report>> http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=303816#post303816

Speed Bump seeks $5,000 in their Flexible Funding campaign by Sat Jan 19
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=44145
Raised $20
http://www.indiegogo.com/speedbumpmovie

Cartel Hustlers seeks $12,000 by Thursday Jan 24
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=44615
Raised $60.00
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1302351065/cartel-hustlers?ref=live

NORMAL Seeks $5,000 for their Flexible Funding campaign by Sat Feb 02
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=45865
Raised $3,766, & received all of the funds contributed
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/289679?c=home

SEISHIN seeks £600 by Tuesday Feb 5
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?p=305159#post305159
Raised £40.00
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/salacious/seishin-fantasy-sci-fi-re-anime-short-film
 
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Man I wish I'd seen this thread before I started my campaign, but I'll definitely write my response to this stuff when it's all over (hopefully successfully). Shamelessly going to plug it here in case anyone is interested.

"Bid For My Life" is a feature length documentary about a social experiment I am going to be doing in April, where I will be literally putting my life up for auction. Essentially, I'm going to put an online auction up for days of my life, where I will attempt any (legal) work, task or challenge given to me. I will be exploring the sense of value inherent in paying for someone's time. What will people ask me to do? Will their requests reflect the amount of money paid? In a sense, the documentary is more about the people that bid, rather than what I end up doing.

I'm crowd funding for the budget (most of which will go on crew expenses - no-one is being paid, but I can't expect them to work for nothing and fund their own way through whatever ridiculous journeys we undertake for the month) and would appreciate any support, whether it's just £1 to see the final documentary, if you're interested in the concept, or sharing the link to the project in whatever social networks you enjoy using.

www.indiegogo.com/bidformylife

To promote the campaign, and give a kind of teaser to the final documentary, I've been giving donators of £100 or more '5 Minutes of My Life', where they can instantly challenge me to do anything for five minutes. I've had a few funny tasks, but my favourite is when I was asked to serenade shoppers at Waitrose, so I brought my guitar along and started singing to random people. That feature is here, and might entertain, even if you're not interested in the campaign itself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RsNYmCUbvQ

I've been following this campaign for a week or so, and I'm very impressed with how well it's doing. With only 34 hours to go (at the time of this posting) this campaign is over 80% funded and is listed on both the final countdown and most popular in the browse section of Indiegogo. Clearly James and his team have done a ton of work to keep interest in this campaign high. Good luck. I've contributed a small amount, and I hope other Indietalker's consider doing the same - so we add another success story in our ranks. But not much time left.... http://igg.me/at/bidformylife

DreamLarge

P.S. - this is an example a youtube video made about midway through the campaign. very funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr-WeOLKK24
 
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I can finally reply to this threat with my experience... WE MADE IT! A big chunk of that was from support from this forum too, so I want to start this post by thanking you all! Part of the final film will be for you guys. Now, on to the questions:

Project: Bid For My Life (Feature Comedy Documentary)
Campaign goal: £6,000
Success (Yes or No?): Yes
Link to Campaign: (Indiegogo) -- http://www.indiegogo.com/bidformylife
Date: February 2013

- Overall expectations going into the "Yes/Pursue" decision

Stupidly, that we could succeed on the strength of the idea, and the low price point (we offered the entire final film digitally for £1/$1.60), through the discovery of the project. I didn't think it would take as much time as it did, or that it would be so hard to get people to give even £1.

- Pre planning

Again, stupidly, not enough. I planned the project itself fully, but the campaign was very simple, in my eyes. I'd made my campaign page, and thought I could drum up support through an ever growing web of people excited by the project. Not so. Getting your friends to share the info was easy. Getting the friends of friends to was incredibly difficult.

Now that it's over, I see how many opportunities I missed. I offered a T-Shirt as a reward, and only now when the campaign is over have I got round to designing it. It's come out a lot better than I was hoping, and now I have a lot more people saying they want one of the T-Shirts. If I'd designed it beforehand and put it on the campaign page, arguably we would have gained higher donations. Even visualising the DVD with an image would have helped us.

- What you received advice and were warned about before or during the campaign

I didn't get a lot of advice beforehand. I knew the producers of 'The Fitzroy' who were running a campaign themselves just beforehand, and watched what they had done, and thought I could wing it. About a week in, our contributions dried up and I started panicing. I contacted one of 'The Fitzroy' crew about it and they did an amazing job of reassuring me and explaining their own campaign (a little like this). Apparently the middle couple of weeks are normally very difficult, as the people that act early have acted, and the people that act late haven't acted yet. Having a period of complete discouragement is apparently quite normal, and knowing that helped me realise that I had to keep up the momentum and enthusiasm, otherwise anyone that was on the fence about supporting, or 'waiting to see' what would happen, wouldn't.

- Campaign architecture

I decided that the strength of the concept would encourage lots of small contributors, who just wanted to see what would happen when I undertook the social experiment, hence offering a digital copy of the final feature documentary film for just £1. Bargain. Then there was the upsell of the weblog, a daily video update about the progress of the month, as it happened. A way of finding out what I was actually asked to do each day, capitalising on people's desire to see what would actually happen, rather than just the end film. Producer credits as you went higher up, and I even offered a 'day of my life' to the highest level contributors, which no-one took me up on. It turns out though that the medium level contribution was the most usual one. People not just looking to buy a dvd at retail price, but 'help out' a project, even if the amount asked for was above what they would normally pay.

- What you were trying to (and not to) convey in the campaign?

The documentary itself was originally meant to be about all of the different types of work that I might be asked to do, and whether the amount I was being paid for each one affected my attitude towards the worst and best of them. Then the campaign not only changed the way I was expecting to spend the 30 days, but it has altered the way the final project will be perceived. I figured that a good way of keeping the content and updates coming, and encouraging my friends to keep sharing was to provide regular content that they would WANT to share. I offered my high contributors (£100 and over) the chance to have '5 Minutes of My Life'. They could request me to do anything, and I would do it for 5 mins, film it and release it. Someone suggested I serenade shoppers at a supermarket. I did it. That video was shared far and wide. Every new video convinced more of my friends to contribute, purely on the strength of enjoying the most recent short video. Every new video also pushed the project towards the climax which was a 17 hour live stream (highlights here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80GUHk3YYDk ) where I could be controlled live, and basically asked to do more and more ridiculous and embarrassing things. Now I reckon my biggest bidders will not end up hiring me to do their gardening, or work in a bakery, to get the bakery some extra publicity, but simply to do crazy stuff, and see how far they can push me.

- Nuances in the donor premium/reward structure

Oops, kind of covered that above!

- Financial and attitude observations of family, immediate friends, long distance extended e-friends, strangers

Probably down to the fact that getting strangers to watch all of my videos and get to know 'me' was very difficult, I received very few donations from people completely unconnected to me. Those that spent the time to watch these videos, and even get involved in the Live Stream that saw more of my personality become great contributors, and evangelists for the project and campaign. My friends and family were incredibly generous. More so than I was expecting, and it was basically down to them showing their friends specific videos and content that made other people interested in it. Sharing on facebook, tweeting the link to hundreds of thousands of people all did very little. The vast VAST majority of contributors were people I had interacted in some form over the course of the campaign. The others put in perhaps £1.

- Donation expectations and observations

I was expecting lots and lots of people who thought 'this is a cool idea, I want to see what will happen, especially for just £1'. I did not get many. My biggest surprise was the repeat donations. I had a few £1 donators who after watching the update videos massively increased their pledges. The live stream also seemed to drain the people watching of their own funds, which I still feel quite guilty about. '£50 and I'll put on women's clothes'. £50 turned up. It was an extroordinary experience. Watch the highlights video (above) if you're intrigued, it shows the surprise of the whole thing.

- Take aways

Crowd funding is brilliant. I thought that yesterday when I wasn't sure we'd even make our goal - we made it very much last minute. The low price point rewards are NOT a waste of time. They give you more followers and more people interested in your final product, and willing to evangelise for you. The more people that feel like they are a part of your project, the better. That said, if you run a good campaign, and your project is worthwhile, with a lot of hard work, people will be drawn to it. Just do a lot more planning than I did. I got lucky!

- What did people seem to "miss"?

The concept of the project was complicated, and originally I submitted it to Kickstarter, who rejected it (and rejected my appeal) because they didn't understand that I was making a documentary. They thought it was a 'fund my life' model. I'm sure many others were confused at the concept, and that may have turned them off.

- Surprises, good and bad

The communities, and projects I discovered by getting stuck in to trying to get my message out to as many people as possible. So many awesome projects going on that I wouldn't have had any clue about had I not throw myself in to it all. There are so many people out there that are just happy to help because they are generous with their time and their influence. Some people genuinely believe in the model so much that they support you and make you feel worthwhile, even if you're not entirely sure about it yourself. I like to think that I played my part too. Happened across a completely unknown band, who I loved the music of. Made them a new campaign video, because theirs was absolutely shocking beforehand. Hopefully I helped. With the exception of one person I met, it's a phenomenally supportive community.

Also, maybe this is just me, but when it's someone I didn't know, and they put in a large donation, I assumed they could afford it, and felt great. When it's someone I know, I felt so guilty that they were giving so much. I'm very confident that the end product will be something everyone can be proud of, but when people you know don't have much money put so much trust in you, it's both humbling and scary. When people were just paying £1 to see the final film, it wasn't a big deal ;)

- Next time what would you repeat and what would you do differently?

Having things going on throughout the campaign really helped propel the sharing forward, and to more people. I would however have a lot more preparation. If I'm honest, I launched into the campaign far too fast because I wanted to see what happened. A little more planning, pre production, and content for people to see from the get go would have made the whole thing successful quicker, I believe.

- Would you try crowdfunding again?

Definitely. I believe that as creators, we are always growing our audience, and they are the biggest supporters of us. They will pay to be a part of something they are sure they are going to love, and so, I think each campaign will get a little bit easier for us. I strongly believe in this funding method as a genuinely exciting alternative for the indie community, and I also believe that the amount of time you'll spend analysing your project during the campaign, combined with the response that putting your pre production in front of the public gains, allows you to have a much better judgement of whether or not there is value to your project and whether or not it is worth pursuing, whether or not it reaches funding.

- Alternatives

To crowd funding? For me it was making this project at a much lower quality, with no knowledge of whether or not there would be an audience at the end. Even faced with the possibility of campaign failure, I'd take crowd funding any day.
 
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