I’ve run across a great way to help documentary filmmakers complete their documentary film projects. Kickstarter.com is a website for artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians, journalists, inventors, and explorers to seek and find funding for their projects.
Here’s how it works:
An artist posts a description of their project on Kickstarter.com. The description includes the amount of money that the artist is seeking for their project. In order to receive funding, the project must attract the requested “pledges” within a predetermined amount of time. If the project does not attract 10% or more of the requested funding, the pledges made are returned to the people who made the pledges. The artist only receives the funding if the Kickstarter community funds it 100% (or more).
Kickstarter is a really innovative way to build support for artistic projects and provide funding for artists. In an effort to build support for deserving documentary film projects, I am going to post information about three projects each month. Take a look at the three requests for funding and use the links provided to visit the projects on Kickstarter.com. If a request speaks to you, consider helping to fund the project. You can give as little as $1.00. Every little bit helps.
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Project: Remember Where You Are
Description: In the fall of 2008, Portland, Oregon based singer-songwriters, Catherine Feeny and Sebastian Rogers (aka The Challenge of Feral Green) took off on a 2 month long, 15,000 mile journey across the United States playing their music in the living rooms of fans, friends and strangers they met along the way.
The idea was simply to bring live music back to where it had begun… in the home. Using the internet to book their tour (sometimes the night before), the film follows these two artists as they experience the highs and lows of being on the road from playing for a packed room to an intimate show for a family of six, from recording in Sun Studio where Elvis made his name, to blown tires, traffic jams, and canceled gigs….all that makes a no-budget tour a true adventure.
Both artists having once been affiliated with major labels (EMI and Dreamworks), this film also explores the state of the music industry today, and looks to where it began and where it’s going now.
Pledge Goal: $5,000
Deadline: 2/7/2010
Website: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/faction/remember-where-you-are
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Project: For Thousands of Miles
Description: Our 1st round of initial post-production funding was a great success on Kickstarter! And because of the amazing 18 backers, which helped raise $1,105, I’ve been able to work full-time on FToM for the last three months.
Recently, I finished editing a huge chunk of this ambitious documentary, cutting down over 120+ hours of footage into a near 5 hour rough edit. Which brings us to our 2nd round of funding:
So what’s the next step? I have a long road of writing still ahead of me. The script, which mainly deals with several narratives blocks in the film are still rough at best, and in most cases detailed treatments and outlines.
The few connecting pieces of FToM that have yet to be filmed – that mainly deal with the experience of coming home from a long ride – need to be story-boarded and added into the editing sequences as place-holders for pacing and mood.
During the length of this KSR campaign, I’ll be hard at work writing / story-boarding. The goal is to be done writing when this campaign ends and use (if successful) the raised funds to carry out the following steps as quickly as possible:
Pick-up shots: it’s time for Amanda and I to travel to Northern California, where our main character in the documentary, Larry McKurtis, is currently living and working. FToM deals a lot with the hardest part of a long-distance experience… waking up one morning in your bedroom, and realizing it’s over.
That is to say, your entire experience on the road shifts when it begins to sink in that it’s over. Moments that, at the time, felt slow and uneventful, blur together and begin to represent something more. You try to move on with your life, your routine, but so much of your mind is still stuck on the road.
There is a very, very short list of needed equipment (mostly simple hardware-store lights, an SLR adapter, and a basic DIY dolly cart) that we’ll have to secure for the 1-2 weeks of controlled shooting.
From there, we’ll need to purchase additional hard-drive space (because I’m working on two completely maxed out Lacie drives as it is) to import the new footage (as well as inexpensive USB LaCie drives for redundant backups… can’t be too careful). Several more weeks of heavy editing will follow – which will mostly involve replacing all story-boarded sequences with the actual footage. Recording any temporary narration track (we have someone professional in mind for narration, but that’s a different adventure all together at this moment).
At this point – we should have a watchable edit in Final Cut. Amanda and I will begin to work closely on making adjustments, and doing small personal screenings to receive outside feedback on the project. Make more adjustments. Repeat.
From there we’ll need to ship off a locked edit to Belgium where Olivier will color correct the film. As well as hire a visual effects creator (for “I’m doing this because I love your film” wages) for a small number of simple and subtle layers to scenes dealing with imagination on the road.
I know this sounds like a lot – and it is, but all these overwhelming steps can be speed-up and more easily managed with a working budget and, more importantly, a supportive community.
DIY film-making can be a crushing, lonely, experience… but all things worth doing are difficult – and together we can be a part of something that I believe will beautiful, inspiring and unique.
Pledge Goal: $8,300
Deadline: 11/26/2009
Website: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mikea/for-thousands-of-miles
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Project: Sonicsgate
Description: SONICSGATE is a feature documentary film premiering free online October 12 at www.sonicsgate.org
The film focuses on the rich history of the SuperSonics and how the team was scandalously ripped away from fans after 41 years in Seattle. By exposing the truth and holding the responsible parties accountable, we hope to gain momentum for the issue and get the ball rolling for a new NBA team in Seattle.
Oh and did we mention we are giving the movie away online for FREE?!?!?!
Please help us secure the Sonics legacy in Seattle! Contribute to Sonicsgate now, and we’ll use your donation to license footage, print DVDs, press T-Shirts, cover travel costs and maintain our website!
No amount is too small! Please contribute early and often to help us reach our goal!
$6 – Sixth Man Level – Donor’s name appears on a personalized jersey in the Sonicsgate.org Virtual Wall of Fame.
$41 – Key Level – Donors receive a DVD copy of the film.
$79 – Green Level – Donors receive the above plus a special thanks in the credits.
$141 – Gold Level – Donors receive the above plus an official Sonicsgate T-shirt.
$440 – Kemp Level – Donors receive the above plus an Associate Producer credit in the film.
$920 – Payton Level – Donors receive the above plus two VIP tickets to the Sonicsgate screening of your choice, Dec. 11-17 at SIFF (for donations recieved before Nov. 30. Face value of ticket is $10 each).
$1,979 – Championship Level – Donors receive the above plus a VIP dinner in Seattle with the Sonicsgate production team.
Here’s how Kickstarter works: we only get your contributions if we hit our goal. So if we don’t hit $5K by the end of our 90-day Kickstart campaign, your generous contribution stays in your pocket and we get nothing! Spread the word and help us get there so we can hook you up with your free gifts, which will ship when our countdown to collect donations expires!
Thanks for your support! Seattle SuperSonics forever!
Pledge Goal: $5,000
Deadline: 11/30/2009
Website: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sonicsgate/sonicsgate-the-documentary-film