There is More Than One Way to Crowdfund Your Film.

Crowdfunding rode a big wave almost a decade ago, and over time it seems to have slowed down. That can actually be beneficial for filmmakers, because less and less films are using crowdfunding to raise money for their film.

As with anything, there are many variables to explain why crowdfunding has slowed as a way to raise money to make a film. One of those ways is what I want to dive into today in this newsletter article - and how & why you should get into crowdfunding.

I think many filmmakers see crowdfunding in one specific way, and that is to raise money to make the WHOLE film - and only using crowdfunding to do it.

Not only can you use crowdfunding multiple times for the same film, but also, you should see it as an additional source of funding to help you get private financing.

Even if you are not interested in private financing, you can still use crowdfunding in various ways and at various times in developing, making, finishing, and distributing your film.

Development Crowdfunding

“One aspect that I’m contending with for doing it early is that if you are striving for a goal, you don’t have a guaranteed delivery because you are raising money effectively for development”

That sentence is what got me thinking deep about crowdfunding. That filmmaker was right - it’s hard to crowdfund development when there is no guarantee you will have a finished film, because you are raising money for development. Who will want to back a film if there is not guarantee there will be a film - which means you can’t offer a finished film as one of the “rewards” for backing the project.

So it go me thinking outside of the box, that is one of the things I love about filmmaking, the challenge of thinking differently to get your film made. How do you be bold and defiant to get your project made?

You need to figure out what you need development funds for, usually its one of two things, if not both. You have some cast you are interested in and the only way to interest them is by having some money to offer.

Or you are interested in some private financing, but your financiers have no interest unless you have some money already in, and/or some cast interested as well.

So when you establish how much you need for development then you can begin to design your crowdfunding campaign for that. Let’s say its only $15,000. You can convince a smaller but kind of known actor, to give you 15 days of filming for $15,000.

In your campaign, you be 100% honest about what it is you need the money for. It is development funds to get other investors involved and interest from a specific cast member or a couple of them. State who it is you are interested in. You never know if the crowdfunding project will get passed on to that actor by chance.

So what do you offer to backs if you can’t offer the film?

I like to keep things simple especially early on.

It’s very common to see up to a dozen different rewards for backers or a dozen tiers of rewards. Stick with 3-5.

First reward: $5 you are a lover of cinema

Second reward: $45. Printed and signed screenplay

Third reward: $100. A single tear in a glass vial. If the campaign is successful, it will be a tear of joy. If the campaign fails, I will still send out this reward, but it will be a tear of disappointment.

Fourth Tier: $250. One on one workshop and conversation with me the writer/producer/director.

You can of course choose whatever you want. If you see the third tier is a bit unexpected, and those are the things the stand out, plus it s bit humorous. It also feels real and human.

None of those tiers are offering a finished film. Think outside of the box. What is it you can offer that is also interesting and engaging for backers. These backers will also be your most devoted audience, because they are coming in even at the development stage.

As you raise money in this way, it is easier to convince a private investors to invest in your film because you have already raise some money and you have shown that there is audience interest in your film as well.

Production

I actually won’t go into this part of crowdfunding because this is the area that most films focus on, in raising their funds. At this stage you probably already have the main crew attached like the director, and cinematographer, maybe even editor. You may also already have a couple actors attached.

At this stage you have a lot to show your backers to get them interested in donating funds to now actually make the film. The main reward you give them, is the finished film, that is usually right in the first or second tier.

Again, at this stage, if you raise funds through crowdfunding, you can also use that funding as a way to attract private investors, if you need more financing.

Post Production/Finishing

Post Production or Finishing funds is the next common way filmmakers use crowdfunding. This is the stage where it is most likely the easiest to raise funds. One, you don’t need as much money as you did for production, so usually you are not trying to raise massive sums. Also, you already shot the movie, so you have actual footage you can use in your campaign to create interest and intrigue.

Post production can include the whole pipeline or a very specific aspect, like VFX.

With this campaign, it could be a good time to see if you can find some private investors to help with the distribution and marketing side of your film. Soon after this campaign ends, the film will also be finished. It is important to get that finished film into film festivals or straight to audiences - both of those things cost money, usually more money then you think or budget for.

Distribution & Marketing

It is not common to see a crowdfunding campaign for this element. However, if you are in post production and you are looking at your budget, you may see that you don’t have enough to submit to film festivals and actually attend those festivals.

Perhaps you want to go straight to streaming but you want to make sure more than just your friends and family know the film exists, then you may need some marketing money to build awareness around your film.

This could be an interesting stage where you offer a Q&A with the crew or cast as a tier. Using the cast again in this stage also helps as its own form of marketing. That to me is the most interesting aspect of crowdfunding for marketing and distribution, because the crowdfunding campaign its self is its own form of marketing the film.

One, Some, or All Campaigns

You may think you can only use crowdfunding at one point during the process. You may think you have to CHOOSE one of the above to do a crowdfunding campaign with. That’s just not true, you can choose to create a new crowdfunding campaign for EACH of the above.

Not only will you continuously raise money during the entire process of your films journey, but also along the way you will find new backers which in essence just means adding on to your audience. You will continue to grow your audience each time you launch a new campaign at each stage of the film.

This also means a lot more strategy and planning.

From the beginning you will want to strategize about which stage you want to crowdfund, when you will want to do it, and the different types of rewards you want to offer along the way. You don’t want the rewards of the Production campaign, Post Production Campaign, and Distribution/Marketing campaign to be exactly the same.

Some items will stay the same, like the finished film, but you will need at least half of the tiers to be unique in each campaign. This will help build better trust, it will also help it feel fresh each time you launch a new campaign.

Final Thoughts

All along the way, you have been building and growing an audience. Especially if you start during the development phase. It could take a whole year from the development crowdfunding to finally releasing your film. That is a year worth of growing and building an audience.

You may think, the backers who supported you during development might be against you doing a new campaign during production or post post production. However, it could very well be the exact opposite. If they backed you in development they may also back you in production, post production, and distribution, because they want to see you and your film succeed.

As long as it doesn’t feel like you are just asking for money, but are truly trying to build something with your audience and getting them involved, people are likely to help and support your film along your crowdfunding journey’s.

Knowing your budget is KEY!

Only ask for what you need in each stage of the crowdfunding campaign. If the amounts seem reasonable and logical, then it will make complete sense to your backers why you are introducing various campaigns at different times for various amounts.

Pro Tip: Always share in your campaign what those specific funds will be used for. Take a screenshot of your budget to show what it looks like laid out in line items.

Remember, crowdfunding is one strategy in the puzzle of raising money. It isn’t “should I do crowdfunding OR get private investment” it SHOULD be, “I am going to do crowdfunding to also help me get private investment"“.

The crowdfunding shows investors that people are already interesting in supporting your film even before its been released. That is a powerful audience.

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