How to get your film made using IndieGoGo Cheryl Binning
Industry Centre > Blogs > Articles > How to get your film made using IndieGoGo | Cheryl Binning
Posted by Cheryl Binning
on Tuesday, February 17, 2009.
Categories: Film, Finance, Articles
The traditional filmmaking model entails raising the money, making the movie and then finding your audience. But what if you turn this template on its head? Build your audience first; then raise the money?
This is the idea behind IndieGoGo, an online social marketplace that provides filmmakers with the tools to build an audience for their project, at the same time as they finance their films through crowd-funding - getting numerous micro-donations via the web to fund a venture.
IndieGoGo was created just over a year ago by three Californians - Slava Rubin, Danae Ringelmann and Eric Schnell - to address the fundraising challenges and market difficulties facing independent filmmaking today.
By taking an in-development movie project online, a film can attract a community of people who are interested in the subject matter before it is even made. And ultimately this fan base is not only a source of funding, but a marketing tool as they will promote the film among their own social networks.
“Filmmakers can go online to our site and find all the tools they need in one place with seamless functionality to connect with their audiences and raise money in the process,” says Rubin.
Here’s how it works: a filmmaker creates a free project profile on the site for their film, where they post synopses, info on the team, video clips, etc. They include a funding goal and offer perks to entice people to contribute money to their film, such as an end credit, party invites, extra roles, set visits, or characters named after contributors.
People can search the site’s list of projects - there are over 1,000 currently on IndigGoGo - based on their interests, favorite genres of film, issue, etc.
Fans interact with the filmmaking team by posting comments on the project profile page, asking questions, rating the concept on an endorsement wall, and contributing any amount of money they can afford online via PayPal. The donation is deposited directly into the project’s Merchant Account and IndieGoGo takes a 9% fee.
(IndieGoGo and the contributors do not take any ownership in the films nor do they have any equity rights. All IndieGoGo asks for is their logo in the end credits).
Once the project is funded, the filmmakers continue to share updates on the progress of their film with fans, by blogging and posting fresh content (clips, dailies, bloopers, any media interviews) throughout production and post.
The end result is that contributors and fans of a movie feel like they are part of the team as they have been involved with the project from concept through production. They have a vested interest in the film so when it hits theatres they want to go see it, and they publicize the film in their social circles.
“When someone gives you $50 in exchange for a credit in your film, they tell all their friends about it,” explains Rubin. “So these funders become great marketing tools for your project.”
Everyone from first-time filmmakers to Hollywood producers are using IndieGoGo, says Rubin. And filmmakers from 80 different countries are represented on the site.
Rubin also notes that some filmmakers are using IndieGogo to promote fully funded projects, raising awareness and publicizing their movie before its release, or in order to find a distributor.
“The industry is always looking for new talent so studios, distributors and festivals are checking our site,” says Rubin. “It gives them an awareness of the new projects and filmmakers out there.”
IndieGogo is only a year old, but it is already making waves.
“The site has raised over US$80,000 for film projects,” says Rubin. “And we get a lot of feedback from filmmakers saying that as a result of the awareness their project received on IndieGoGo, it helped them find additional money so really our site has helped raise over US$100,000.”
For example, Minna Packer’s The Lilliput, a movie based on the true story about a Jewish dwarf who survived the Holocaust by hiding in garbage cans, raised US$10,000 in just 45 days on the site.
You might not find your entire film budget through micro-financing on the Internet, but it can be used as a solid base to start with. Rubin says some filmmakers find it easier to access grants and other programs, and attract corporate investors, because they can show they have already raised a significant amount of money on IndieGoGo and can prove that their film has market potential via the online fan base already built for the project.
Packer used the online donations to shoot a “sneak peak” of The Lilliput to pique interest among other funders and potential investors. Several festival programmers learned about the film via IndieGoGo and have approached the filmmaker about showing the film when it is completed.
“IndieGoGo made the shoot for our sneak peek a reality,” Packer said in a press release. “Many people would not have heard of our film and now we have new fans we never thought we would reach. Our project is being shot in Poland, the production team is in the US, our actors and fans are from around the world. Now everyone has one home on IndieGoGo.”
Rubin also points to an in-development documentary on the Zimbabwean sex crisis called Tapestries of Hope. It has raised US$23,000 to date on IndieGogo and developed a niche fan base of people concerned with issues in that country.
“Another film, Gemini Rising, raised a few thousand dollars on IndieGoGo but the interesting thing about this project is that over 50% of the contributions came from people the filmmaker did not know -- so that is really taking advantage of social networking,” explains Rubin.
As well, two American films that utilized the site premiered at Sundance this past January: Ondi Timoner’s documentary We Live In Public, about a little-known internet pioneer, and Dirt! The Movie, an environmental film from directors Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow.
Another surprise success for IndieGoGo: the founders held a one-year anniversary party at the Sundance Film Festival and much to their delight festival founder Robert Redford turned up at their event.
“That gave us a nice little extra boost of credibility,” says Rubin. “It was nice of him to show up.”
Views expressed here are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).
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The views expressed here are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).