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Kickstarter & Crowdfunding for
film production
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Kickstarter launched on April 28, 2009 in US.
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On October 31, 2012, Kickstarter opened to
projects based in the United Kingdom, followed by projects based in Canada on
September 9, 2013, Australia
and New Zealand on November 13, 2013, and Denmark, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden
on September 15, 2014. and in Spain on May 19, 2015.
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Crowdfunding model.
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Offers rewards in exchange for pledges.
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Kickstarter has reportedly received more than
$1.9 billion in pledges from 9.4 million backers to fund 257,000 creative
projects, such as films, music, stage shows, comics, journalism, video games,
technology and food-related projects.
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Veronica Mars (film) is Kickstarter’s 10th highest
funded crowdfunded project. Recieving $5,702,153 from 91,585 backers.
Key issues about
Crowdfunding:
Focus is on the impact crowdfunding is having on film
production.
Positives
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Negatives
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Can be viewed as democratic – users deciding what films get produced.
Echoing Tim Berners-Lee’s vision of the web.
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Very often once films get produced they have to go to one of the big
six to get distributed. The media gods can still then be considered
gatekeepers (Gauntlett) in terms of how producers get their films to
audiences.
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Illustrating a challenge of the control of media gods (Gauntlett).
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Potentially could allow lead to the cult of the amateur (Keen).
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Potential to see more niche products being made – The Long Tail
(Anderson).
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1. Veronica Mars
Film’s Kickstarter
Stats:
Number of backers on the film’s Kickstarter: 91,585 backers
How much money it pledged: $2,000,000
How much money it received: $5,702,153
If you pledged $1 or more you would receive exclusive backer
updates throughout the production of the film.
If you pledged $10 or more you would be sent a pdf of the
shooting script on the day of the movie’s release. You will also receive
regular updates and behind-the-scenes scoop throughout the fundraising process
and the movie production process.
If you pledged $25 or more you will be sent a
limited-edition Veronica Mars – The Movie t-shirt, you’ll be sent a pdf of the
shooting script and regular updates.
If you pledged $35 or more you would be sent a digital
version of the movie within a few days of the movie’s theatrical debut, plus
the t-shirt, regular updates and the pdf of the shooting script.
If you pledged $50 or more you will receive everything
already mentioned and a physical DVD of the movie which also includes a
documentary on the making of the movie.
Film release date: March 14th 2014
Budget: $6 million
How much it made at box office: $3.5 million
Directed by: Rob Thomas
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures is one of the big media gods which
have power over the film industry. The fact that the
film used one of the big 6 from the media conglomerates to get their film
distributed tells us that the big 6 have control of film distribution.
Distribution: Majority of its screenings were held by AMC
Theatres. The film also became available to rent and buy through video on
demand (streaming services such as Netflix) and online platforms. This film was
the first film distributed theatrically and for home viewing at the same time
in the United States by one of Hollywood’s six major studios (Warner Bros.
Pictures). The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray formats on May 6th
2014. The film had its first world premiere at the South by Southwest film festival
on March 9th 2014.
Student Revision Notes
Example: Veronica Mars
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Media Area
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The Past
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Example
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How the internet / technology facilitated this
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Impact on media area
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Key terminology
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Theory and relevant terminology
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The future
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Kickstarter
and production
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Media
producers would have to go to a media god such as 20th Century Fox
in order to have their film funded and market to audiences.
Media
producers might have also pitched their idea to possible investors in order
to gain funding
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Veronica Mars (2014)
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Web 2.0: due
to social media websites such as Facebook existing it has made it easier to
share these campaigns and get them seen by thousands of people.
This has
been made possible by…
Increased
connectivity (broadband, 3G, 4G, fibre optic, wifi)
Technological
convergence (you can have a kick starter app and due to mobile phones now
being able to connect to the internet, you can access this website anywhere)
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Media
producers can now gain funding without going through the media gods or
investors.
The film
maker offered rewards such as t-shirts, a copy of the shooting script and
even a short speaking role in the film was offered to donators in order to
get them to donate more money for funding. It made the audience feel like
they were getting involved with the production of the film.
One lucky
backer who donated $10,000 got a speaking role in the film and got a chance
to be on camera
Backers who
donated $35 or more got a copy of the shooting script, t-shirt, regular
updates, behind the scenes scoop and they also got a digital copy of the film
before it’s theatrical release
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Web 2.0
Technological convergence
Crowd funding
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David Gauntlett Bypassing media gods
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We will
defiantly see more kickstarter funded films in the future because it’s not
easy getting an investor or a media god to back your idea. So by people using
crowd funding – we might see more films.
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2. Blue Mountain
State: The Rise of Thadland
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What was it? The film idea came about after the
TV show (Blue Mountain State) was cancelled in 2012 after just three series.
One of the creators, Eric Falconer, felt the story wasn’t complete and so
decided to make a film to continue the story.
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2016 American comedy film
Kickstarter Facts:
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23,999 backers
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Pledge total $1,911,827
to help bring this project to life.
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$1,500,000 goal
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Offered a range of rewards:
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Pledge $10 or more- PDF OF THE SHOOTING SCRIPT
PLUS A THANK YOU TWEET AND FOLLOW FROM THE OFFICIAL 'BMS: THE MOVIE' TWITTER
ACCOUNT.
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Pledge $10,000 - A
SPEAKING ROLE IN THE MOVIE. You will speak at least one line in the movie.
As an added bonus, you will receive two tickets to the premiere of your choice
plus access to the exclusive after party with the cast and creators. You'll
also receive a signed BMS Jersey, a "Special Thanks", an autographed
poster, a personalized Vine, a T-shirt, a digital download of the movie,
Mascot's doorknob sign, a PDF of the script, a tweet/follow from the official
BMS: The Movie twitter.
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Distributed by
Lionsgate Entertainment Corporation
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As of November 2013, it is the most commercially
successful mini major film and television distribution company in North America
and the seventh most profitable movie studio.
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Lionsgate distributed The Hunger Games and The
Insurgent film franchises.
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Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland
was released on Netflix on March 1, 2016.
3.Anomalisa
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Project launched in 2012, July 11
Kickstarter Key
Facts:
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Raised $10,000 in less than 3 hours
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People who pledge $250 received an exclusive,
Mary Shelley Frankenhole season 2 crew sweatshirt, signed by Dino Stamatopoulos
(Exec. Producer)
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Pledge $50 or more, A DVD copy of the film once
it has been distributed and all of the above
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5,770 backers pledged $406,237
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Received $406,237, its goal was $200,000
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Anomalisa is a stop-motion animated film written
by Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Eternal Sunshine of
the Spotless Mind).
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The film is about a man crippled by the
mundanity of his life.
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The film is approximately 90 minutes in length.
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Anomalisa had its world premiere at the
Telluride Film Festival on September 4, 2015.
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The film went onto screen at the Venice Film
Festival on September 8, 2015, and the Toronto International Film Festival on
September 15, 2015.
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It was announced that Paramount Pictures (Parent
company, Media conglomerant-Viacom) had acquired worldwide distribution rights
to the film.
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The film was released in a limited release on
December 30, 2015. A wider release followed in January
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Released: 2015 ©2015 Paramount Pictures.
Paramount is one of the Big Six Studios. Clearly, Kickstarter facilitates
funding but in order to get to audiences this project had to go to one to a
major conglomerate.
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Anomalisa has grossed $3.1 million worldwide
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$8 million budget
4. Who the F*@% is
Frank Zappa
Who the F*@% is Frank Zappa is going to be a documentary
about Frank Zappa. This documentary will included exclusive interviews and
unseen footage and material by Frank Zappa. This unseen material will be taken
from Zappa’s private vault which the director will have access to with the
funding.
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The project is by Alex Winter (Director).
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Who the F*@% Is Frank Zappa will only be funded
if at least $500,000 is pledged by the 9th April 2016.
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The project has been up on Kickstarter for 24
days (todays date is the 15/03/16) and
has pledged $341,826 from 1,916 backers.
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The full goal is to raise $3mm.
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The creators will also share some of Frank’s
never-before-seen artwork, video stills and more in a hardcover companion book
if the money is raised.
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They have put together a bunch of rewards to
lure backers into donating their money for their project.
Why are people backing the project?
– The main people who are backing the
project are fans of Frank Zappa. These fans want to discover and learn more
about Frank Zappa and want to help this project happen.
5. Wish I was
Here
6. Incident in
New Bagdad
Created by;
Morninglight film
Directed/produced by;
James Spione – American writer director and producer of documentaries
Release Date;
April 24, 2011
Summary;
Incident in New Bagdad is a short documentary film (22
mins), about the 2007 Bagdad airstrikes.
The film features a first-person account from Ethan McCord,
one of the first soldiers to arrive at the scene of the airstrike that killed
between 12 to over 18 people and wounded 2 children in New Baghdad during the
Iraq War.
What the pledgers get
if they back a certain amount of money on the project:
If they pledge $5,000 or more: You will become the sole
Executive Producer of this movie. In addition, you will receive the signed DVD,
LA premiere tickets, plus a private dinner and conversation in Los Angeles with
director James Spione and the subject of the film, U.S. Army veteran Ethan
McCord.
Pledge of $5 or more: You will receive a heartfelt thank you
email from me, plus your name listed on a special "Thank You" page on
the "Incident in New Baghdad" website
Awards;
Featured at the 2011 Tribeca film festival where it won for
the best short documentry. It was the second Kickstarter-funded film to be nominated
for an Academy Award.
Pledges;
84 backers pledged $11,960
Distributors;
Commercially distributed this film, companies like Seventh
Art Releasing. Seventh Art releasing is a independent distributer that mostly
distributes award winning documentaries and short films.
