nofilmschool » crowdfunding

Watch It Now: Crowdfunding Wonder 'The Cosmonaut' Goes Live

V Renée — Sat, 18 May 2013 23:30:51 +0000

About a month ago, we had the honor of talking with director Nicolás Alcalá about his crowdfunded and transmediatic film The Cosmonaut. Ever since then, we’ve been waiting with bated breath for the May 18th release of the film — and now, that day is here. After years of raising funds, traveling across Europe, and enlisting thousands of people to become co-creators of their project, the team of at Riot Cinema Collective are ready to unveil their newest creation. (more…)

Eugene's Bijou Indie-Friendly Art Cinema Uses Kickstarter to Go Digital

V Renée — Sat, 11 May 2013 20:18:43 +0000

In my town, if you’re a cinephile and a lover of all things local, The Bijou Art Cinema is a home away from home. This former Spanish Mission style church turned mortuary turned art-house cinema is nestled in the University District in Eugene, OR, and has a 30 year history of supporting independent, foreign, and local film. In mid-2010, a handful of longtime employees pitched in each of their life savings to save The Bijou from bankruptcy, and now are calling on the community to help them make the jump to digital. And if crowdfunding wasn’t already an endeavor and a half, a second location is being opened downtown, which will help cater to local independent filmmakers. (more…)

Kickstarter + Hollywood = Everyone Wins: Why Zach Braff and 'Veronica Mars' Are Good for Indies

Joe Marine — Fri, 10 May 2013 23:10:30 +0000

Hollywood likes Kickstarter now, and it was only a matter of time before we started seeing projects from some of our favorite filmmakers show up on the crowdfunding website. There have been many opinions thrown around about whether or not these projects should be on the site given that many of these filmmakers should be able to find money elsewhere, and poor indie filmmakers don’t really have much of a choice. Many have talked about Kickstarter being a zero sum game, that Hollywood stars are taking good money away from projects that really need it. Well, turns out the numbers don’t support that in any way, and both Zach Braff and Kickstarter have responded to explain the situation, and give some hard numbers. (more…)

Chain of Title Creator Jordan Clark Explains How His Website Could Save Your Film

V Renée — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 13:39:23 +0000

Last week we covered the new innovative website, Chain of Title, which at its launch will provide filmmakers with invaluable legal information, forms, and resources for the reasonable price of — totally free. Headed by independent filmmaker and producer, Jordan Clark, Chain of Title will feature, among other things, information described using both layman’s and legal terms accompanied by videos, accessible forms, and easy and creative navigation. We were lucky enough to sit down with Clark recently and ask about his project, its Indiegogo campaign, and how it intends to help independent filmmakers once it goes live. (more…)

HolyManta VND: Canon EF to NEX/MFT Lens Adapter With a Built-In Variable Neutral Density Filter

Joe Marine — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:53:28 +0000

Thanks to cameras being made with mounts very close to their sensors, we can adapt all sorts of older lenses that were made to be farther away from the sensor/film plane. The two most adaptable and supported so far, the Sony E-mount and the Micro 4/3 mount, have seen a wide range of adapters for lenses like Canon, Nikon, and PL, and we’ve even got adapters now that can make your lenses faster, wider, and sharper. If you’re shooting in brighter environments, and you want to keep your shutter speed and f-stop consistent, you need ND filters, so it was only a matter of time before someone decided to put a variable ND into a lens adapter. That’s exactly what Thomas Läräng did with the HolyManta internal ND lens adapter, and he’s running a crowdfunding campaign to try to get the project off the ground. (more…)

Don’t Blame Veronica Mars: How You May Be Sabotaging Your Film Through (Lack of) Marketing

Oakley Anderson-Moore — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 13:00:23 +0000

You’ve written the perfect breakout indie hit. First, the budget is small, which is great because you can easily raise it on Kickstarter from all those tastemakers who just can’t wait for a signed DVD. On top of that, you’ve got a story that is so universal, anybody and everybody would enjoy it. “FWACK!” That’s the sound of the cold brick of reality hitting you in the face. In the series of Film Courage interviews below, independent marketing strategist Sheri Candler breaks down how we screw up our films by unwittingly sabotaging our marketing, and just how little we have in common with Veronica Mars. (more…)

Indiegogo's Field Guide Breaks Down the Process of Crowdfunding to Help You Run a Successful Campaign

V Renée — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 18:33:29 +0000

Ready to get your project funded, but not exactly sure where to start? Well, you may want to check out Indiegogo‘s Field Guide for campaign owners, which contains almost everything you’d ever want to know about how to make your crowdfunding campaigns potentially more successful. It covers a large range of helpful topics that aren’t necessarily exclusive to Indiegogo: tips on how to write and film a pitch, generating buzz, essential social media sites, and marketing. However, the guide digs in and lays out the Indiegogo experience with helpful tools, like checklists, clickable links, and a clear and engaging design. As an added bonus, it’s really easy to understand! (more…)

Upcoming B&H Seminar: 'Making a Movie Without a Hollywood Budget and Big Crew'

Dave Kendricken — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 14:00:58 +0000

Beginning in the summer of 2010, filmmaker Gail Mooney and her daughter took a 99-day journey all over the world to create “a film about people who were making a positive difference.” Opening Our Eyes was the result. The partially Kickstarter-funded film follows eleven subjects across six continents, and went on to achieve accolades such as Best Documentary at the 2012 Orlando Film Festival. Considering the scope and scale of the project, and the budget at which it was accomplished, Opening Our Eyes is a startling achievement — and, through an upcoming B&H seminar with Mooney herself, other filmmakers can learn exactly how it was accomplished. (more…)

Independent Films Have Received $100 Millon on Kickstarter So Far, Are We Just Getting Started?

Joe Marine — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 01:36:09 +0000

Think about that for a second. Just a few years ago everyone was talking about how the bottom had fallen out of independent film funding. While that may be true to a certain extent, Kickstarter has completely changed the way smaller films are funded, and they’ve created a new golden age of film funding. Who knows if the funding on Kickstarter will ever dry up, but for now, it’s one of the best places to go if you’re trying to make a movie or web series. Check out some of the incredible statistics below: (more…)

Kickstarter is Now Official in the UK, Where Do They Go Next?

Joe Marine — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 20:19:46 +0000

So did anyone notice that some camera company just dropped prices? No? I think some of you just might have…Anyway, back to the rest of the world for a moment. The Kickstarter world to be exact. The crowdfunding site has been in talks to expand to the United Kingdom, and now it’s official. In fact, people have been setting up projects since the beginning of the month, so that they could go live immediately once the service officially launched. The first project to debut in the UK, Picade, an arcade cabinet kit for the Raspberry Pi computer, has already been successfully funded — so the service is off to a great start. Check below for more details about the UK launch and what makes it different from the U.S. version. (more…)

Selfstarter May Be a Trendsetter: Crowdfunding Goes Open Source

Dave Kendricken — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 20:04:53 +0000

Just because you attempt to launch something on Kickstarter, does not automatically mean the project will be approved. In response to this, the development team for the Lockitron project (whose original startup was indeed rejected by Kickstarter) has released a new donation-based funding system, called Selfstarter — and since then has raised $1 million in pre-order sales using it. Selfstarter is fully customizable, clearly effective (compare that $1 million to the team’s original $150,000 goal), and — most importantly — free for everyone to use for their own projects. More details after the jump. (more…)

Kickstarter Not Just for Indies Anymore, David Fincher Crowdfunding the Animated Film 'The Goon'

Joe Marine — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 00:34:37 +0000

David Fincher, who is often on the cutting edge when it comes to technology – even directing the first movie shot and projected in 4K and recently using a Monochrome RED EPIC-M – is now crowdfunding a new animated film called The Goon. It was only a matter of time before the big boys moseyed on down and got in on the Kickstarter action, but this isn’t the first Hollywood project to crowdfund it’s way into production. Bret Easton Ellis and Paul Schrader’s The Canyons was successful back in June to the tune of $159,000. The difference here, though, is that the money is not going to the actual film itself, but to a fully-realized Story Reel that includes vocal performances from Paul Giamatti and Clancy Brown. Click through for the Kickstarter launch video. (more…)

Kickstarter Launching in the UK October 31, Start Building Projects Today

Joe Marine — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 20:07:41 +0000

Back in July we talked about Kickstarter finally moving outside of the US this fall, and the company has now confirmed that they will be opening up shop in the United Kingdom on October 31. They’ve been criticized for their lack of international involvement (unlike IndieGoGo) — and they also recently changed their guidelines regarding hardware and product design — but they are beginning to put the former criticisms to rest with the launch of service in the UK. Here is a rundown of what this means for you (assuming you live in that area): (more…)

New Kickstarter Guidelines Could Drastically Affect the Crowdfunding Platform

Joe Marine — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 23:36:15 +0000

Kickstarter has become synonymous with crowdfunding, even though they aren’t the only game in town. If you’ve been following the site at all, you’ll know that Kickstarter is home not just to people trying to fund films, but a rapidly growing segment of the site that deals in physical products and designs. New guidelines for the Hardware and Product Design section, however, may derail plenty of these massively successful crowdfunding campaigns before they even get started. (more…)

David Branin & Karen Worden from Film Courage Release Feature 'Goodbye Promise' for $1 on IndieGoGo

Ryan Koo — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 17:15:20 +0000

Many of us have used crowdfunding platforms to get a project off the ground or at least to gauge interest in it — and many more of us have considered, or are planning, on doing so. But David Branin and Karen Worden from the indie film site Film Courage are utilizing a crowdfunding platform for another purpose: to distribute their finished film. Yesterday they released their DIY feature Goodbye Promise on Indiegogo — for just $1. David and Karen are seeking answers to the question we all face as filmmakers: how to best release our films to a changing world. I spoke to them via Skype about film festivals, online distribution, crowdfunding platforms, social media strategies, and more: (more…)

Kickstarter No Longer Just an American Service, Will Allow U.K. Projects Starting This Fall

Joe Marine — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 21:21:16 +0000

Kickstarter has grown considerably over the past few years, not just in the number and breadth of projects, but in the amounts raised. A few projects have now passed the million dollar mark, and very soon we’ll get the chance to see if any projects will pass the million pound mark. If you happen to be one of the many creative or entrepreneurial individuals living across the pond, there is good news just around the corner: Kickstarter will be accepting projects from the U.K. beginning this fall thanks to the expansion of Amazon payments. (more…)

Don't Hire Someone to Run Your Kickstarter Campaign: Or, Why Attitude is More Important than Aptitude

Ryan Koo — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 20:41:50 +0000

First of all, I want to start this post off by saying I have a tremendous amount of respect for Lucas McNelly. Not just because of the articles he’s written for numerous websites, but also his A Year Without Rent project in which he traveled to work on indie films for free for a year, as well his free VODO film Blanc de Blanc (I haven’t had a chance to see his other work yet). As someone who did my own year without rent, I feel an affinity for Lucas despite never having met him, and I think he’s great for the indie film community. Lucas, this is not a personal attack on you by any means, and I’d love to get a beer with you at some point should we ever find ourselves in the same city or at the same festival. HOWEVER, I want to take this opportunity to talk about Lucas’s criticisms of some Kickstarter campaigns — mine included — and how I believe attitude and criticism affects creativity and productivity. I’ll also talk about the rise of the professional crowdfunding consultant. This is going to be a long, rambling post with a high risk of TL;DR — don’t say I didn’t warn you. (more…)

Here's My Vimeo Panel on 'The Art of Getting Paid' (Bonus: the History of NoFilmSchool)

Ryan Koo — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 14:30:15 +0000

This year’s Vimeo Festival + Awards screened a bevy of award-winning awesome videos (many of which we featured here on NFS), and also featured a number of workshops, panels, and the like. I showed up on one panel as a sort-of surprise guest, joining Brian Newman (who recently guest-posted here) to talk about “the art of getting paid.” Whether it’s an art or not, in the independent film world getting paid at all can sometimes feel like a triumph, and so we talk about many different approaches, including web series, merchandising, Kickstarter, this web site, and more. The full panel is below. (more…)

Crowdinvesting is Now Legal in the U.S., but Kickstarter Isn't Interested in Equity Funding

Joe Marine — Wed, 23 May 2012 22:00:23 +0000

Earlier this year there was a back and forth between the U.S. House and Senate regarding a bill called the JOBS act, which among other economy-stimulating provisions, included a specific section that addressed a type of crowdsourcing that is referred to in many circles as crowdinvesting. The JOBS act ultimately passed, and the crowdinvesting provision stayed. Basically, it allows any person to invest a certain amount of money into a film and then receive equity without having to go through the SEC or be a qualified investor. This type of investing has already existed in the rest of the world, and one of the most successful examples is with the film Iron Sky. Many were hopeful that Kickstarter, with its large infrastructure for anything crowdsource-related, would help facilitate crowdinvesting. Unfortunately, that doesn’t look to be the case. (more…)

Indie Film Financing is About to Change Forever in America: Crowdinvesting Bill to Be Signed into Law

Joe Marine — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 02:48:46 +0000

While those numbers to the left are from Kickstarter donations, one day they could be Kickstarter investment funds. Earlier we reported that the House had passed the JOBS Act, but the Senate wanted some changes to help protect individuals from fraud. The Senate passed their version, and just today the House followed suit and passed the bill. All that’s left is a signature from President Obama (which is coming), and American independent film financing will never be the same. (more…)