There was a really cool interview that Indie Film Hustle put up today on youtube with Richard Botto about the future of filmmaking in the age of Covid-19.
They talked about the private screenings of films they are showing to executives to help out filmmakers.
I'm wondering if they have ever thought about having something similar with the filmmakers that were planning on doing a crowdfunding campaign at this time but pulled out because of the crazy times?
Maybe there are executives that would be interested in watching the 3-5 minute proof of concept/campaign videos?
I was all set for an April campaign....but then the Apocalypse.
Anyone else in the same boat?
Yes, just listened to that podcast and it inspired me to join this site. I don't know if there is a real downside to trying a crowdfunding campaign in these times. Even if you fail to meet your goal, you are still generating an audience for your project, it is making you get your first pieces of the marketing puzzle into place, and it offers a kind of proof-of-concept poll on your project before you invest a lot of time and resources into it.
Hey Nathan, Yeah, Indie Film Hustle has a lot of great stuff. True, about the campaigns.A lot of people are looking for some dome escapism and have a lot of time on their hands. But of course it's a scary time, economically for a lot of people...so?? Maybe adapting numbers and rewards? I'm debating about doing it next month
Well, I generally disagree that there is no downside to crowdfunding, having tried it a couple of times. It is A LOT of work with no guarantee of any reward! For the hours I spent creating and managing the campaign, I could have deeply researched producers and execs, crafted a top-notch pitch and sent it to them. And ultimately, had better odds for an option/sale/working relationship than with the crowdfunding campaign.
I hear you John. I've heard people say for the work they put in to crowdfunding, they could have made more money flipping burgers in that time. But of course everyone's experience is different. I tried once 2 years ago and failed. I was asking for 20k and ended up with about 12k. I learned a lot though and I never even worked on a email list before then...so hoping things will be different with smarter prep this time around.
Hey Ian, yeah, that's very true..especially things that make people laugh at this time. Yeah, that part of the episode, where executives have a lot of time now, intrigued me as well. I thought about searching out executives to send the pitch video to. I put an ad up on craigslist and had a few people reach out so far in that way. Still thinking I might do a crowdfund campaign in a month since it could be done on such a microbudget and it all takes place in one room.
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Good luck, Brent Bokovoy!
Thanks a lot , John!!