Financing / Crowdfunding : Crowdfunding by Marc Lee

Indiegogo. John Trigonis is the head film strategist. He even wrote a book. I met him at the 2015 Tribeca panel discussion on Crowd sourcing and crowd funding. But than again just my opinion. Good luck.

Crowdfunding is only as effective as the time you put into it. That means a pre-campaign of 3-6 months which includes networking and content creation. It's a full time investment that some are simply not willing to make. Handled correctly however, it's a huge tool for raising financing. And I second John T. Simply the best.

Anyone who has a real investment with tradeable securities (including completion bonds) and monetizable assets like pre-sales does not need to resort to panhandling for donations pretending that is film investment banking. Furthermore, crowd donations as much as it tries to be like DPO's (which is a tradeable security) is not. The JOBs Act has already be acknowledged by the national press as having a negative response by 75% of angel investors. And most important even when they eventually get it right on crowdfunding regulatory procedures will still require you to solicit only accredited investors. And DPO's luckily do not have that requirement. Oh, and there is still that financial marketing cost and timeframe issue.

From personal experience of crowdfunding for two very different projects, one being a community outreach project in which I had direct involvement as a lead coordinator, and the other being a short film that I wrote the screenplay for, crowdfunding needs to have a lot of planning done well in advance of the beginning of your campaign. You need to be active on social media - Facebook and Twitter, and G+ to a lesser extent. You need to get a following and a platform to reach potential backers before the campaign starts. If you're a filmmaker and/or have access to equipment, get some sort of footage before your campaign starts, it possible. You'll need it for your campaign's page, and for your social media platforms. Essential - get a team of people to help run the campaign. You can't run your campaign alone, and even with one other person, you'll struggle and things will become a struggle. Your family and friends are going to be your initial backers, and you can make a good estimate that if you have 400 followers on your FB page, only 10% of them will back your campaign. That's not to put you off, it's just to give you a realistic setting for engagement. And if possible, try and get a few people to agree to back your campaign prior to it launching, and do your best to drum up at least one person who will make a serious pledge, i.e. exec producer level. It might not happen but at least you're putting the work in prior to your launch. Launch event - start thinking of ways to promote your crowdfunding campaign. A launch event is a great way to gain publicity and to get some vital initial backers on board. Do a film screening night with additional entertainment, etc. Read around the net for advice - Indiegogo is the better site from what I seen for creative projects but you can also check your own local area for a homegrown crowdfunding company. They might help you tap into the local market for backers. I'll end here before I draft a novella - this is a link that may help you see some of the pitfalls for after your campaign, especially if you're planning to be the producer for your project - http://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/5018 Best of luck and don't let the amount of work needed put you off. If you believe in your project, back it, and put your all into it.

I raised 52k on Indiegogo on my last project so it was a success.....

I raised all my money for my project on Indiegogo

I am on Indiegogo now with (2) campaigns: one a feature length comedy based on a true story. The other a comedy short that is a parody on exploration. I met John Trigonis from Indiegogo at Tribeca in 2015. And I will agree 100% with BENSONHURST as well. If you put in the hard work to write a great script, you must put in the same amount of hard work in crowd funding. The best description of crowdfunding is it is more about building the crowd, than getting the funds. Engaging with your audience. Make an effort to update everyday on all social media. My campaigns have videos one for each. I am confident that if I engage with my audience and keep at it. 2017 will see my scripts come to the screen. Thank you for letting me share CANARSIE OUT!

First: Panhandling for donations from the 3F's is not film investment banking no matter how much spin you put on it to the gullible. Second: It costs money to lend money. How much profit did you think lenders would make on a piddly $50K? Third: Assuming financial service providers all worked solely on commission; how much commission would one hope to make on a $50K transaction... especially after deducting operational costs?

Well done to everyone who ran a successful CF campaign - it's a difficult road to get projects from script to production, and funding and investors aren't always easy to find.

Look into Seed&Spark as well. Some great features.

FAQ: Does Seed&Spark support international projects? Well, sort of. Your project can be based anywhere, but it is currently required that you or someone on your team have a US bank account and SSN/EIN to receive the funds after a successful campaign. We're hoping to expand internationally within the next year or so!