> My Crowdfunding Experience

rayw

rayw

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.
 
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Nina said:
Our crowd funding just went live! please take the time to check it out :) http://www.indiegogo.com/ataleofdeath - ill post on here how everything goes!
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Fantsatic & Thank YOU very much.

Headzup, you probably should cursor select your text from your post here, CTRL C copy it, goto your thread @ http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=40861, click the lower right "EDIT" grey button, and CTRL V paste it in there so that people can goto the IGG page when they open that thread. :yes: :)

Looks like 45 views have missed that opportunity! :grumpy:

And I've added your campaign to post #14 list on this thread!


Good luck!
 
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oooh thankyou for telling me that! and thankyou for adding it to your list :) ill let you know how it goes! and if you happen to know any millionaires looking to give their money away, you know where to tell them to go! haha :)
 
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Hazard -
You're welcome! :yes:

Yep just a few more days left remaining for your campaign - and even fewer for a couple others.

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

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

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

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

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



Anyone from IT-land ought to take a fair looking over (again) of these projects.
(Hopefuly shake out a few extra widow's mites!)

Good Luck, everyone!
 
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Good luck, CamVader!

Fwiw, the first 3 minutes of your pitch was very compelling (aside from the very staged-looking "Oh hello! Totally didn't see you there..." moment), but I started glazing over during the last two minutes of tech & details.

Sounds liek an awesome project. :cool:
 
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Zensteve said:
Good luck, CamVader!

Fwiw, the first 3 minutes of your pitch was very compelling (aside from the very staged-looking "Oh hello! Totally didn't see you there..." moment), but I started glazing over during the last two minutes of tech & details.

Sounds liek an awesome project. :cool:
Click to expand...

My thoughts reflected. :) I'll have to see if I can change that.
 
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So great to see this thread, Rayw. More so that the community is responding to the platform in such a positive manner!

(p.s YES to the research!)

For those interested, I'm (for the next hour atleast) breaking down the latest Crowdfunding campaigns and pitches here:

www.twitter.com/PTPfilms

Plenty of talking points and discussion already.
 
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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.php?p=272200#post272200 :D

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! :yes:
 
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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!
 
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doovidooves said:
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.
Click to expand...

Thank you.

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



Anyone else have some insights to share?
 
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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.
 
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Kickstarter Opens Up

...for better or for worse. Data mining ahoy!
smiley_pirate.gif
 
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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.
 
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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.
 
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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. :lol:

Good luck, guys!
 
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