Crowd Funding

       I'm sure anyone reading this blog is a filmmaker and I'm sure I am not the only one with a wide array of story ideas piling up within my thoughts. The problem for us is not that we lack ideas, but that we lack the funding. I don't know too many people I can call when I need to rent a steadicam or 4k Cinema Camera for a weekend. There is an exciting alternative solution to finding a producer (who can use their money as leverage to alter the story you intend to make.) Crowd Funding is becoming the best way for amateur filmmakers to produce their films.

Crowd Funding is the collective effort of individuals who network and pool their money in support of a singular cause. Kickstarter is crowd funding for

more specific projects: films, games, art, and much more. If you have a good idea and can pitch it to the masses, you have a good opportunity to make some money with Kickstarter.

Kickstarter has shown success recently through the Academy Awards. Inocente won the 2013 Oscar for Best Documentary Short and it is the first Kickstarter backed film to win an award. Recently, the Veronica Mars TV Show raised its goal, 2 million dollars, in just 11 hours, in order to produce a film for the cancelled show.

Zack Braff has enter the Kickstarter world and is trying to fund his next film, Wish I Was Here. He has resorted to crowd funding in order to keep creative control of his film. He hopes to raise 2 million dollars in 30 days. Check it out: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1869987317/wish-i-was-here-1?ref=search

Kickstarter Success: Game Changer for Big Studios?

Yesterday morning, Rob Thomas started a KickStarter campaign for a feature film version of "Veronica Mars", the cult, detective-noir TV show he created. After a few hours, fans raised an astounding $2 million dollars.

For many of us who launch similar campaigns on KickStarter or IndieGoGo for our own projects, we may view this as a positive thing as far as what can be achieved with these fund-raising campaigns. However, an article on First Showing makes note of what this can mean for big-time studios. Considering Veronica Mars is not your typical small, independent project (Mars is under Warner Brothers), there is concern that big-time studios might see this as an opportunity to let fans finance projects rather than shell out the money themselves. Although it might be too early to tell whether this will become a trend, studios will definitely be paying close attention.

What do you think about this? Do you think projects backed up by big studios and/or famous people should be allowed to use the same platform as smaller independent projects like Kickstarter? Or do you think this is a win-win situation for all?