BoF #37 Crowdfunding Tips for Filmmakers

Welcome back to Business of Film, episode 37. This week we have a special presentation of our exclusive hangout with Kickstarter, Indiegogo and Seed&Spark. I’m thrilled to be sharing this particular audio version of the Hangout on our podcast. It was such fun to bring these big three platforms in the crowdfunding space together for our Hangout. This audio presentation is the live stream from the Crowdfunding Tips for Filmmakers Google Hangout that we co-hosted with Indiewire. Below is a written version of the audio cast for reference. And if you liked this, please leave us a comment at the bottom. We’d love to hear from you. Any feedback you have is appreciated. And kindly leaves us a note on iTunes. Reviews help. * written by Emily Buder, Indiewire Excerpted from Crowdfunding Tips fro Filmmakers Google Hangout With the democratization of filmmaking in the digital age comes an over-saturated virtual marketplace; everyone (and probably their mom) is asking for your money to fund their project. So how do you circumvent a “Portlandia” parody and build a meaningful —and successful— crowdfunding campaign? We asked the experts. Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and Seed&Spark have hosted hundreds of thousands of campaigns, from million-dollar successes to unfunded failures. While crowdfunding is not an exact science, there are fundamental variables that will bolster your ability to get your project funded. Last week, Indiewire and Craft Truck co-hosted a Q&A Google Hangout featuring representatives from these seasoned crowdfunding platforms. At the end of the Q&A, we opened up the discussion to the filmmaking community. Here are the essential highlights from the conversation. Follow these guidelines and you’ll have a statistical advantage in funding your film. THE PITCH VIDEO Emily Best (Seed&Spark): Have a script. Get feedback on your video. You have fifteen seconds before people are going to decide whether or not to stop watching. That fifteen seconds should be spent reaching your audience, not your mom or your friend. We see a huge number of people who sit down and say, “Hi. My name is John. I am making a thriller.” Already, the audience for thriller is gone. I was just working with a campaign for a thriller-based series, and I watched their pitch video, and the first fifteen seconds were shot like a thriller. I told them, “Good job, guys!” Your first fifteen seconds should match the tone of your film. MORE FROM EMILY BEST Craig Engler (Kickstarter): Have a pitch video. You’re doing a film project. Campaigns with videos succeed far more often than campaigns without videos. Have fun with it. The people who do great videos are going to do great projects. We recommend you keep it to around two minutes. Most importantly, share your enthusiasm. You’re not going out and asking for money — you’re going out and telling them what they’re getting, why they should be backing you. Your enthusiasm will come through. There was one video where the first try was a bit dry, so we told them it was a bit dry, then they came back with a second video and it was awesome. We were like, “What did you do between the first and second video?” And the person was like,