Seeking Donations...

[H.Z.]

Holla! I am working on a no budget feature length project Called Sheila in the Modern World about a hippie who is seemingly shot in a 1970 student protest, but wakes up in 2008 and must contend with the modern world. I have to make some final financing choices in a few days, and I'm doing one last fundraising push before that. I am looking for micro-donations ($1 or $2) that will primarily go toward funding audio and media (tapes.)

I know y'all don't know me and if giving money to strangers isn't your thing, I completely understand. But if anyone has a buck or two and a few minutes they can spare, you can check me out here:
http://sheilainthemodernworld.blogspot.com/ Every little bit is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Hawk Z.

 

[directorik]

Here's the problem I have with requests like this.

$1 or $2 is nothing for me. I'm sure I have that on the
floor of my car. $5 or $10 isn't much. So the money -
or loss of it - isn't my issue.

You haven't been here long and you may just stop posting
in a week or a month. If I donate $2 and you never make
the movie, what becomes of my $2?

Sure, it's only $2 - money I can spare. But then I think of
20 generous people taking the time to donate $2. So now
you have $40. Can't make a movie on that. If in six or
eight months you decide you just can't raise the money for
your movie and you decide to hold off for a year or so, what
becomes of that $40?

Just something I'm curious about.

A few months ago I responded to a request and "bought" $15
worth of frames for a guys movie. $15 I could afford to just
throw away. He never responded with a thank you and he has
never responded to any of my questions about his project. I
could have given that $15 to the homeless guy I see a few
blocks from my house almost everyday. He could have gotten
a couple of nice meals with that money.

 

[H.Z.]

Hey Directorik, I truly do understand where you are coming from with this. You don't know me, and the internet is a big and anonymous place where people act sketchy all the time.

Personally, I can tell you that I am at the point where pre-production is almost completed, and our planned shooting begins in July. My budget is ghetto enough that $40 actually does make a difference (I can buy several hours worth of tapes on it) otherwise I probably wouldn't be going the asking for micro-donation route. I also really do make an effort to act the same way in an internet/forum context as I do in the rest of my life - i.e. like a human being.

But all that just in the spirit of explaining myself, as again I completely understand the reasons for your perspective

 

[directorik]

I'm sure that you (and that other filmmaker) are
sincere about making your movie and I know that
even a few bucks can help. It's just something I
always wonder about when I read these requests
for donations.

Let me know how it works out, okay? I'm curious
about how many people donate and how much you
make.

 

[indietalk]

Exaclty. The way to do it is with pledges, not dollars. In other words, people pledge money, and once you have enough to make the film, you collect the pledges. This way you don't pay the rent with $2500 because you couldn't raise $10,000. There also needs to be paperwork involved. Also the legalities of donations need to be checked out.

 

[H.Z.]

The pledges thing makes a lot of sense, that is definitely the route I will try to go down next time... and the paperwork/legalities thing is also an issue I hadn't considered, but will pay attention to and get in line in the future.

& I can def. let you know how it works out... so far in other mediums i've had slim luck which is much better than no luck. I also have to say anything I made couldn't compare to the amount of knowledge that is freely and generously given on this forum... Thanks to indietalk for a wonderful resource and to people like directorik for sharing their knowledge!!

Seriously, y'all hardcore rock.

 

[Blade_Jones]

I am accepting donations to help me withdraw 5 billion dollars from Nigeria. All I need is a buck or two in donations from everyone until I get $1,000. Please help.