Microfunding For Art Comes of Age – Part 1
DIY filmmakers have always inherently understood the idea of microfunding, because in some sense or another, raising a few hundred or thousand from friends and family IS essentially the same idea. And now, with social media providing the kind of community reach that would have been impossible even ten years ago, this model has become applicable and very valuable in funding for artists, activists and other creative types.
The powerful web-based platform that has emerged as the model to watch is Kickstarter, describes itself as “a new way to fund creative ideas and ambitious endeavors” hosts projects by “artists, filmmakers, musicians, designers, writers, athletes, adventurers, illustrators, explorers, curators, promoters, performers”
I love the idea, and the fact that as an artist, you have to justify why you should be funded, and exactly what the money will be used for. AND, your patrons only get charged if your project is fully funded within the set time frame. It’s brilliant. And I think it works for everything from those really crazy estoteric ideas to those creative social change ideas – because communities gather enthusiastically around the entire range. Here are two projects that are fully funded and worth taking a look at:
Stories for Changemakers, a documentary series showing organizations and individuals doing remarkable work all over the world. It is even more remarkable that the footage is also handed over to these “Changemakers” to use for their organizations’ media outreach.
A truly out-of-the-box story based board game called The Gentlemen of the South Sandwiche Islands
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[...] called DRIVEN. But at the time, I wasn’t aware of the details. Then a few weeks ago I wrote a post on Kickstarter and thought it might be useful to talk to a filmmaker on the frontlines of [...]
[...] Microfunding means you can do anything. If you want to make a movie, a board game, or go photograph the oldest living things on earth, well maybe, just maybe you, can get $10,000 for it. Or say, $25,000 in just 10 days. [...]