Have you ever wondered if filmmakers turn to crowdfunding to help pitch their film idea?
Before we begin some may ask what is Crowdfunding? Well Crowdfunding is used for obtaining project funding, by small contributions amounts from a large group of people from the online community. Crowdfunding makes it easier for accessibility of connecting to networks of people through social media.
What does Crowdfunding help with..
There are different websites to use crowdfunding such as Kickstarter which is best overall, Indiegogo- Runner up, Best for Creators would be Patreon, Best for personal Fundraising would be GoFundMe, best for Equity Crowdfunding would be CircleUp, Best for Business loans is LendingClub and finally the best for nonprofits would be Causes. Seed&Spark is for independent films. this site provides a place for aspiring filmmakers to raise money for their projects. It is also a place for lovers of independent films, web series, and film festivals to discover new films and filmmakers to watch and enjoy. Let me explain a few in a little more in detail what each one stand for.
Kickstarter: Is known for helping tech and creative entrepreneurs fund their projects, the potential funders have the ability to browse a variety of arts and films to publishing. Kickstarter ad of January 2021 has raised over $5.6 billion with about 197,425 projects that were funded since 2009. Kickstarter will let you create a pitch and set a goal and time period to have it competed.
Indiegogo: creates campaigns for tech innovations, creative works and community projects. This platform is very similar to Kickstarter only thing different is that it does not have exclusively all-or-nothing fundraising. You choose between two options fixed or flexible funding. Fixed is for projects that needs a certain amount of money and flexible is good for campaigns where you can benefit from the funding.
Patreon: is very popular to digital creatives like YouTubers, Podcasts, and blogger. Patreon is for you to collecting one-off campaign donations, you will have a subscription model where people will regularly contribute a set amount of money every month or per creation. The great thing about this website is that it allows artists to form relationships with their fans, and the creators can deliver exclusive contents to there Subscribers as an incentive to continue funding them.
GoFundMe: This is probably seen alot but that is a good thing because it is for social media for fundraisers or emergencies, charitable causes and small businesses. Now this site collects a 2.9% processing fee and 30 cents for every donation. GoFundME has had many successful campaigns, including Las Vegas Victims with $11.8 Million, Time's Up Legal Defense Fund $24.2 million and many more successful campaigns.
Has Crowdfunding helped artists bring their vision to life.
Crowdfunding has helped many filmmakers, and musicians with bringing just an idea, a vision they have in their mind and written on paper to life. Filmmakers start off by making short films which do not need much financing, but if it is something that can turn into something bigger like a feature then you should start a campaign with the short and since you have a smaller budget you will have a bigger chance of succeeding. There has been many feature films that had been accomplished by campaigns films such as..
Veronica Mars raised $5,702,153
Super Troopers 2 raised $4,557,150 (so far)
Lazer Team raised $2,480,334
Gosnell raised $2,330,439
Blue Mountain State raised $1,911,827
Road Hard raised $1,450,408
God Help The Girl raised $121,084
No NO: A Dockumentary raised $38,006
Inocente Raised $52,527
Check out these Websites with films that went thru crowdfunding:
Crowdfunding has helped many artists fund their project. If you your pitch it right and show the right visuals, you can catch the attention of billions of people. You have 5 seconds to catch their attention, that is the first 3 sentences they read to catch their interest. It is a game of chance and hopes to successfully fund your project by using a campaign.