The plan is to maximize everyone's chance of seeing a profit by cloning out resources in the initial stage, and thus generating many times the value of what we are actually spending. It's also worth noting that to computer animators value render farm time highly. In the instance of that purchase, every team member would have access to render time that would cost over 10,000 via something like render rocket. That is in comparison to handing out 20 5,000 dollar paychecks, and then not being able to produce the film. I'd think people would be glad to see a collective project where money was being spent directly on improving their chances of producing a well liked film. I'm not paying myself anything either, it's 100% reinvestment, till we all have a real, and equal chance at success.
The Secret to Crowd Funding
- Thread starter TheOpusFuller
- Start date
The plan is to maximize everyone's chance of seeing a profit by cloning out resources in the initial stage, and thus generating many times the value of what we are actually spending. It's also worth noting that to computer animators value render farm time highly. In the instance of that purchase, every team member would have access to render time that would cost over 10,000 via something like render rocket. That is in comparison to handing out 20 5,000 dollar paychecks, and then not being able to produce the film. I'd think people would be glad to see a collective project where money was being spent directly on improving their chances of producing a well liked film. I'm not paying myself anything either, it's 100% reinvestment, till we all have a real, and equal chance at success.
Back on track, here is someone's crowd sourcing video pitch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWfS1_ABqX8
They are going the "local" route of promotion, using local celebrities and the appeal is very niche targeting - "all Ohio companies", etc. This is an excellent example of how to do a pitch for a specific group of people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWfS1_ABqX8
They are going the "local" route of promotion, using local celebrities and the appeal is very niche targeting - "all Ohio companies", etc. This is an excellent example of how to do a pitch for a specific group of people.
Excellent post, OpusFuller.
I sat here trying to make more of a comment than that, but you nailed it.
I sat here trying to make more of a comment than that, but you nailed it.
Here is another KILLER example of a very original/unique way to reward the crowd sourcing sponsors.
http://vimeo.com/20415077
One of the sponsors paid enough to have a custom song performed by the composer and starts of the movie they backed. Now THAT is cool.
http://vimeo.com/20415077
One of the sponsors paid enough to have a custom song performed by the composer and starts of the movie they backed. Now THAT is cool.
Totally agree, the problem with the majority of Indie GO Go users is that if they set up a project they often say '' this is my project bla, bla bla... if you like it give us your money and we will give you something in return in the form of merchandising, final credits etc..'', but what I would like to get is a relationship with the project.
The main issue I guess is to offer content and ideally a ''relationship'' to the people that are willing to donate (often not invest) their money.
Hi- we have a pitch up on Indiegogo at present. We're trying to raise funds for a semi-improvised short about the psychology of robotics. I'd appreciate any feedback on the pitch, which is available at the link below.
http://www.indiegogo.com/uncanny-valley
I've been trying to do much of what's been discussed here, focusing on the experience we can give investors, rather than material things.
I think that it may be held back somewhat by it not having an emotive, heart-rending story behind it. I dare say I could come up with one if I tried hard enough, but I don't want to manipulate or lie to potential investors. Also, I'm opposed to the idea of selling credits. Nonetheless, I'm sure there are things that I should be doing to counter these effects. I've been trying to generate buzz/traffic (to some success), but this hasn't equated to much in terms of donations. I've been dealing with the almighty headache of trying to run the campaign without my home internet connection for the past nine days, but this is fixed now, so I'm trying to push hard to get it up to speed now that I can. As such, I'd greatly appreciate any help you guys can offer.
Thanks for your time,
Jules Garnett
http://www.indiegogo.com/uncanny-valley
I've been trying to do much of what's been discussed here, focusing on the experience we can give investors, rather than material things.
I think that it may be held back somewhat by it not having an emotive, heart-rending story behind it. I dare say I could come up with one if I tried hard enough, but I don't want to manipulate or lie to potential investors. Also, I'm opposed to the idea of selling credits. Nonetheless, I'm sure there are things that I should be doing to counter these effects. I've been trying to generate buzz/traffic (to some success), but this hasn't equated to much in terms of donations. I've been dealing with the almighty headache of trying to run the campaign without my home internet connection for the past nine days, but this is fixed now, so I'm trying to push hard to get it up to speed now that I can. As such, I'd greatly appreciate any help you guys can offer.
Thanks for your time,
Jules Garnett
@Jules: It's a pretty decent pitch but is unlikely to inspire casual investment simply because the rewards scheme isn't really there. The lowest donation you offer a reward for is $25 which pretty much rules out people who can/want to only donate $10 or so. I think you should put together a more comprehensive and original list of rewards.
Other than that it seems pretty together and I can't see any obvious reason why you can't make your target. Plus it's IndieGoGo so it doesn't really matter whether you do or don't.
Other than that it seems pretty together and I can't see any obvious reason why you can't make your target. Plus it's IndieGoGo so it doesn't really matter whether you do or don't.
@ Jules
I just looked at you project and here is what I think.
POSITIVE - 1)You tell your possible funders that you are going to use actors with a background in acting. Always good in a world full of amateurs.
2)I think the perks are fine, people will not give you money because you offer them something, but because you give them something to be entertained with or because you give them the possibility of establishing a dialogue with you. Create as much content as you can, and people will start following you. Another thing you could offer is the possibility to contribute to the movie or to have a small part in the film.
''NEGATIVE'' - 1) I feel the teaser doesn't make any good to the promotion. If you want to attract an audience that is into robotics, you should, especially in a teaser, include elements that give the feeling of future. May be even an aseptic background would work better then the set you used.
2) From the presentation of the project it is not clear to me what genre is your short going to be. Is is a black comedy, a comedy, a sci-fi short, a psychological drama or what? I would suggest you to try to help the possible funders by telling them in a clear way to what they would donate their money.
I just looked at you project and here is what I think.
POSITIVE - 1)You tell your possible funders that you are going to use actors with a background in acting. Always good in a world full of amateurs.
2)I think the perks are fine, people will not give you money because you offer them something, but because you give them something to be entertained with or because you give them the possibility of establishing a dialogue with you. Create as much content as you can, and people will start following you. Another thing you could offer is the possibility to contribute to the movie or to have a small part in the film.
''NEGATIVE'' - 1) I feel the teaser doesn't make any good to the promotion. If you want to attract an audience that is into robotics, you should, especially in a teaser, include elements that give the feeling of future. May be even an aseptic background would work better then the set you used.
2) From the presentation of the project it is not clear to me what genre is your short going to be. Is is a black comedy, a comedy, a sci-fi short, a psychological drama or what? I would suggest you to try to help the possible funders by telling them in a clear way to what they would donate their money.
Thanks for the feedback. It's very much appreciated. I have a lot to think about.
@NickClapper: I'm on the fence about adding a $10 reward. Tallying numbers from other campaigns, amounts raised by five or ten dollar donations never make a dent in the overall budget (whatever amount is raised, thy seem to be a tiny percentage). The main benefit would be to improve numbers for the page's statistics. I'd appreciate other perspectives on this.
@AlessandroN: I agree that the demo video isn't great, but the idea was really just to demonstrate the story. I've been working on some conceptual design sketches (things like blueprints of 'humans'), which I'm thinking of incorporating into the video (either way, I'll put them in the gallery). Hopefully I can integrate them into what's already there without interrupting the shot-flow. Do you think this would help?
I've found it quite difficult to categorize the film in terms of tone, but 'Psychological Drama' fits as well as anything. It's not sci-fi: It's a science-based scenario, but the idea is to tell the story in as naturalistic a way as possible, without leaning on too many sci-fi conventions.
Thanks again for the advice, any more would be greatly appreciated.
@NickClapper: I'm on the fence about adding a $10 reward. Tallying numbers from other campaigns, amounts raised by five or ten dollar donations never make a dent in the overall budget (whatever amount is raised, thy seem to be a tiny percentage). The main benefit would be to improve numbers for the page's statistics. I'd appreciate other perspectives on this.
@AlessandroN: I agree that the demo video isn't great, but the idea was really just to demonstrate the story. I've been working on some conceptual design sketches (things like blueprints of 'humans'), which I'm thinking of incorporating into the video (either way, I'll put them in the gallery). Hopefully I can integrate them into what's already there without interrupting the shot-flow. Do you think this would help?
I've found it quite difficult to categorize the film in terms of tone, but 'Psychological Drama' fits as well as anything. It's not sci-fi: It's a science-based scenario, but the idea is to tell the story in as naturalistic a way as possible, without leaning on too many sci-fi conventions.
Thanks again for the advice, any more would be greatly appreciated.
@ Jules
Hi Jules,
Yes, I think it would help.
I believe that to raise a good amount of money in Indiegogo you need a very strong teaser able to hook people to your idea. You could as well redirect them to your own website where you will upload lots of content with daily updates, but people won't go to it if the teaser is not strong enough.
In a funny way the teaser should be stronger then the short it self!
An example that I really admire is the one of a bounce of, at that time, Finnish students that in 2000 put together this teaser (today very dated) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts6NIxMIb5g to reach possible funders. It paid off, today they are much bigger and their second film IronSky has the biggest Finnish budget ever.
Good luck
Hi Jules,
Yes, I think it would help.
I believe that to raise a good amount of money in Indiegogo you need a very strong teaser able to hook people to your idea. You could as well redirect them to your own website where you will upload lots of content with daily updates, but people won't go to it if the teaser is not strong enough.
In a funny way the teaser should be stronger then the short it self!
An example that I really admire is the one of a bounce of, at that time, Finnish students that in 2000 put together this teaser (today very dated) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts6NIxMIb5g to reach possible funders. It paid off, today they are much bigger and their second film IronSky has the biggest Finnish budget ever.
Good luck
The issue with this, is very few people (even fellow filmmakers)
fully grasp it. They see a demo video that isn't great and they
jump to a conclusion that the final product might not be that
great. It's human nature.
I agree with Alessandro. The teaser/demo video needs to be your
very best. Not just something to demonstrate the story, but to
demonstrate you and your final product at its best.
Great post. Definitely something to take into consideration when doing a project.