From the course: Crowdfunding Campaigns for Independent Film

Campaign transparency and building trust - Kickstarter Tutorial

From the course: Crowdfunding Campaigns for Independent Film

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Campaign transparency and building trust

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- One of the most important things you can do in crowdfunding your film is work to reassure backers that their money will be well spent and that if the campaign is successful, or if you raise enough supplemental funds, that your film will actually be made. To instill confidence in your backers, you need to be transparent about your film's costs, share how long it will take to make and distribute it, and if there are any risks associated with contributing funds. A simple way to convey the cost of your film is with a pie chart, or other graphic, that breaks down your cost by category, including the elements of your budget, pre-production, production, post-production, reward fulfillment and distribution. Next, you want to share a realistic production timeline, when you will conduct your casting call, when you will begin filming, how long the shoot will last, when you can expect to begin post-production, and when you're expecting to begin the festival circuit. Take advantage of verification features that show your social network presence and online identity. For example, Indiegogo offers the ability to have verification badges that include verifying your email, your number of Facebook friends, and that you have an active LinkedIn account. Also, include external links to your personal and project websites. Kickstarter includes a section that is required when creating a project. It's called risks and challenges. The purpose of this section is to make your potential backers aware of any challenges you might face in making your movie and how you might overcome them. I advise adding this to your campaign page regardless if the platform calls for it or not. This is an opportunity to reassure your backers of your experience and dedication to the film, and solving any problems that might arise. For example, when we ran our second campaign for The Broken Continent we were forthcoming in the risks and challenges section with the fact that we had underestimated the costs involved in making the pilot through to post-production, and that we were committed to finishing the project. The biggest takeaway here is be honest, period.

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