I launched a crowdfunding campaign just under 2 months back, and I realise now how much preparation you need to really hit the ground running. I have, like many others, found the audience building and work quite overwhelming, instead of having that work done in advance. As I'm also writing/directing and producing, so much of the time I've spent has had to be sliced up amongst all the roles. I am learning loads, and if I ever go down this route again, I will be able to tackle this in a much different, practical way. A good learning experience. If I can't raise the full amount, I will dip into my own pocket, but it would be great to have it financed separately. I also have a bunch of Uk based finance routes mapped out for my next project, which have strict guidelines.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-writ-short-film/x/1070232?utm_sou...
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personally, I would finance the short movie with my own money. Use credit cards, sell something. Have enough $$$ to film the production. use the dailies and seek investors to fund the post-production/festival circuit.
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Thanks for the feedback Dan, noted. Something to think about for next time. I will be covering the shortfall, if any, given we can't meet the target. My budget plan included post and some festival submissions and marketing. So if we can meet the goal, all the better. Appreciate the feedback and all the wisdom on all the threads there. I am soaking a lot of it in and learning from it all. Cheers guys.
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Ketan Majmudar good Luck! Just treat movie making as a hobby and if you can make a living doing it, that's the best job in the world!
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Hi Ketan. You are correct. It is a TON of work. The biggest mistake indie filmmakers make is doing it all on your own. Find a small team (2-3) people that can be specific producer roles on the project so that you guys can all split the workload. Not only will everything get done faster, but the ideas and execution are often better when you're not doing it by yourself. The "self" is what kills indie filmmakers and disempowers us
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In an ideal world, I would find collaborators before I started, but this film came out of nowhere and ballooned by into something so much bigger than I expected very fast. I was not under any illusion that it would be simple. I have a very personal film and script which I’m treating as a learning exercise and training ground for future projects. Next time around, I’m not going to do it all, and I was let down by a few people in this process, which meant I took on production duties to ensure it stayed on track. I am lucky to have a crew that is helping on the sidelines. Not to mention tons of help with my editor who contributed lots of time, but next time around a 2-3 production team is something I’ll explore. Great advice. Thanks!
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I've been there and completely understand.
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Had a bit of a boost this past week, I posted a personal email to a curated personal list - probably about 60-90ppl and I had a nice response from friends I had not been in contact with for a while, but unexpectedly after a few, very welcome, donations, a couple of random strangers contributed, taking me to 20% funded. This, followed by a massive Indiegogo-driven contribution last night for the highest tier perk, takes us to 55% funded. It's a lot of constant hard work daily to keep this moving and feel, fluid. Feeling blessed and a little relieved, I think most of my principal shoot, locations and camera could be covered moving ahead.
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All the best, Ketan Majmudar! Learning as you go is one way to do it, and by setting a modest goal (which I hope you reach) you've allowed yourself what other crowdfunding filmmakers who have delusions of grandeur and set exorbitant goals for their first campaigns do not.
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Thank you John T. Trigonis. I appreciate your feedback and comment. If I were to go down this road again, I would probably also ask for less and work on a deeper level with the campaign prep and launch. I'm hoping we can get a little further in this campaign. I actually budgeted for promo material beyond post-production, including some festival submissions, so currently, we are in a good place. So many great resources to learn from today. Wishing everyone the best on their current goals/projects too.
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Thank you all. I posted a video update this morning through my Indiegogo page. Since last week we have had 200 more visits to the page. It would be nice to see how many had subscribed to the project. Well, this morning I was shocked to not only have a repeat contributor donating a substantial amount. 30 minutes later another contributor topped off the remaining balance and took me to 100%, with just 3 days left of the campaign, I was worried I wouldn't make it over the finishing line. I was in shock and went back to bed. I really didn't know if I should laugh with joy or cry. I can't fathom it, I can't explain it. But am very humbled. Stage32, thank you all for your wisdom and support. I will still be pushing for the next 3 days, but the main crowdfunding pressure is off. Pre-production pressure is on the rise.
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I did a crowdfunding campaign for my film and it was successful. However... it took A LOT of work to get there. Preparation is key.
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Paulo Leite , I totally agree and well done, it is all-consuming. We ended our campaign at 108%. This now also means we are "infunding" on indiegogo and can continue to receive funds.
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I see John T. popped into this thread, so let me take a second to highly recommend his book, Crowdfunding for Filmmakers. It's outstanding. Also, for those looking to build their audience, brand and support through SOURCING a crowd, my book, CrowdSOURCING for Filmmakers: Indie Film and the Power of the Crowd is now available as an audiobook for free through Audible here:
https://www.audible.com/pd/B07N6LH733/?source_code=AUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-...
If you'd rather have a hard copy or e-book, they're available on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/Crowdsourcing-Filmmakers-Indie-Power-Crowd-dp-B07...
Cheers.
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Congrats Ketan on the successful campaign and the tough journey, gives me hope as I prepare for my first crowdfund campaign as well. Here’s another resource that I’m about to consume you may want to add to your tool kit. Look it up online or if you want to DM me your email address I’ll just forward you the PDF
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Well, principal photography wrapped last week and it was mad, intense and great. It came with so many stresses, fires to put out and crazy schedules. I think we captured a nice/interesting film. We may need some pickups. I've just about recovered. As my campaign is In Funding, I am still going to push the campaign forward to help pay with upcoming costs. Now I have to deal with perk fulfilments and all the physical stuff.