I've been working on it for about 5 months now, maybe 6. Most of the time I spent working so far was in R&D. I came upon a program at the end of last year that I used to create some animations. This particular program was basic and not very powerful, but it was set up in a way that made it easier to see how the pipeline I needed could be created. I should mention that I'd had this idea for over a decade, with a very early attempt in 2008. It just wasn't possible. There are very serious problems with this idea. Until I learned animation, and investigated a significant number of interlinking software innovations and world states, I continued to think it was impossible.
As far as backing, it's a complicated thing, and right now we have no financial backing. I'm spending what money I have on it, but these days it's not a lot. The project is very free and open compared to most, and it gives us the opportunity to make this a nexus for creatives trying to take their first steps into the industry. Basically, it really takes a critical mass of money or effort to break into the film\television industry. Tens of thousands of indie filmmakers across the world don't have that money or opportunity, and are looking for a way to produce something competitive in the market. Save Point is a new kind of semi open system that allows a large number of creatives to work collaboratively on a single story of unprecedented scale. Though it will be seen by the public as one continuous story, the reality is that this is a platform designed to connect hundreds, if not thousands of individual films. It depends on how you define film. It's also designed to monetize on YouTube in a more effective way than conventional channels, encouraging repeat viewing and chain viewing natively. YouTube is a poor starting place for filmmakers in a lot of ways. They are basically paying 1c on the dollar vs the same job, same hours, at a studio project. So you find yourself working 1000 hours, and making 10 grand. You're trying to raise 4 million for your first "real" indie film. Meanwhile, some people already in the industry are getting paid that same 10 grand for 1 hour. It's the current world in microcosm. The more you need help, the less help you get.
I think a lot of us just want a position in film where we could climb the ladder. Work on the low end, get recognized for our work and talent, rise in the ranks until we've proven our skills to the level where we can finally make the film idea that initially inspired us. Save Point creates that ladder to some degree. It's not perfect, and that ladder doesn't extend all the way down to the floor, but for people that have already been working hard, it's a way to have something they desperately need, the experience of working as part of a team, and the synergy of resource sharing that exists commonly in large corporations.
The animated nature of production solves a number of major problems, such as the expense of props, locations, and actors on set. Also critical is the ability for every member to work from home on their own schedule. That's a pretty big deal in terms of the practicality. The infinite storyline has the unique characteristic of creating a situation where the possibility of directing your own episode is always available, with members who excel at the work being continually promoted to higher positions in the corporation over time.
To circle back to your question, the plan is to run a serious crowdfunding campaign in a year, perhaps longer. It needs to reach a critical mass before that campaign could raise the money this needs.
On the member end, it will function almost like a game. There will be all these filmmaking tasks, FX, cinematography, sound design, music, art, animation, etc, and each will have a point bounty attached. Members who score highest will get noticed, and increase their chance to reach the goal of the game. The final goal is to prove you have the skills to be a project director, and the reward is being given a fork. Once you own a fork, you take 90% profit share of that fork and all it's cells. 10% of all net from all forks is cycled back into the organization. Owning a fork would be a big deal, and would likely take a minimum of a year to accomplish. That fork comes with advertising and support that you don't pay for, it comes with all the collective subscribers from the entire project. It comes with tens of thousands of dollars in shared resources. likely much more within a few years. Most importantly, it would come with the privilege of posting jobs on save point. This would complete an employees journey, from unpaid intern to paid filmmaker with a crew and a support community. Mentorship within the team would be strongly encouraged, and applicants would always have a clear view of what they could do to progress.
Sorry about the extremely long answer, I need to get all this down on paper anyway, and when people ask me questions, it helps motivate me to just go ahead and formulate the wording for the answer.