UPDATE: In response to some of the (heated! opinionated!) questions and comments on this post, we did a long video Q&A as well.

I wrote recently about finishing the screenplay for my feature MANCHILD (for now… ), but it’s been a while since I talked about what else is going on in the trenches of first-time feature filmmaking. The title of the post gives it away: we’re making a short. Why are we doing this? And why do I think this strategy makes a lot of sense for other first-time feature directors? Because there are millions of people with a screenplay, all trying to figure out how to get from here (words on a page) to there (actual finished movie). If your goal seems impossibly far off, that’s when it’s time to bite off a smaller chunk and show what you’re capable of. (more…)

I’ve learned a lot over the past 36 days of running a potentially record-breaking Kickstarter campaign for my film Man-child. The clock has switched from “days” to “hours” remaining and we may or may not make it! I’ve tried to share what I’ve learned about crowdfunding along the way, including a Ten Must-Read Posts Before Running Your Own Crowdfunding Campaign post. Here’s a second compilation of valuable posts.

One thing I learned after the first couple of weeks: I implemented an unsaid rule for my twitter account that I wouldn’t mention my film campaign (or retweet the mentions of others) unless I had talked about something else since my last mention of the campaign. There’s a balance between talking about yourself and remaining relevant. And while that might balance might have shifted over the past few days — there are only 2 days left, so my sense of urgency is overpowering the desire to show self-promotion restraint — this Twitter lesson is included in one post below.

As I say in the introduction to the first ten, “luck favors the prepared.” And in setting out to run this campaign, I read a whole lot more than ten posts. So here’s a second set of ten posts to read when preparing your own campaign. (more…)

I just launched a Kickstarter campaign for my first feature film (seen at left), and I hope if you’re reading this that you’ll help me turn my dream into reality. Seriously: my entire life has been leading up to this, and I can’t do it without you. However, this site has always been about helping others while I’m learning these things myself, so I kept track of all the valuable posts I found during my research. If you’re thinking running your own crowdfunding campaign — defined as asking for small amounts of money from a large number of people, as opposed to asking for large amounts of money from a small number of people — consider the following posts essential reading. I should note on my own campaign that there are some great rewards available — get the entire film for just $10, or get a producer credit for $120!

Louis Pasteur once said, “chance favors the prepared mind.” If you use an all-or-nothing platform like Kickstarter, as I am, you’re taking a huge chance: if you don’t make your goal, you get nothing. To prepare, then, I read everything I could get my hands on. Here are ten of the most helpful posts for anyone thinking about launching their own fundraising effort on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or any of the other crowdfunding sites: (more…)

• Behavior Patterns of Kickstarter Funders
• How to Figure the True Cost of a Kickstarter Project
• My Kickstarter Experience: The Good, Bad, and Ugly
• Miao Wang On The Secrets of Her Kickstarter Success
• David Branin’s Crowdfunding Cheat Sheet

(Thanks @grking for the fifth link)

[via Filmmaker Magazine]