Crowdsourcing Indie Film : Fandom Experience Case Study

Fandom is an interesting indie film project that is using crowdsourcing to build and interact with an audience from pre-production stage onwards. The film itself is already privately financed, but what they are selling is a paid membership “experience” that allows intimate real-time access to the filmmaking process, from script development and location selection to casting and post production, with opportunity to vote, interact with the filmmakers, contribute, and potentially even have a walk on role.

Crowdfunding Indie Film Case Study : My Million Dollar Movie

Another indie feature film project to use a crowdfunding business model is Free For All But You (Working Title), also known as My Million Dollar Movie. This project is still in funding stage, but it is notable that it has so far raised $942,520 towards the goal.
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Why Indie Filmmakers Give It Away For Free

I just found out about another couple examples of the freemium model at play, where indie filmmakers published their content for free online, and then profited through secondary merchandising.

Indie filmmaker Timo Vuorensola crowdsourced the making of his parody film Star Wreck through a Finnish social networking site and released it in 2005 for free. 700,000 copies were downloaded in the first week, and now the total has reached 9,000,000. Online sales of the DVD and t-shirt merchandising have generated $430,000 on when the film only cost $21,000 to make. They have now secured a proper distribution deal with Revolver Entertainment in the US and UK, and gone on to make a sequel.

Influence : the psychology of people

I recently read a book that completely blew my mind – I only wish I’d read it years ago. On the outset it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with indie filmmaking or business, but it does apply to anyone with a pulse.

“Influence: the psychology of persuasion,” is for anyone who has ever walked away from a dubious personal, professional or social situation going “how on earth did I get myself into that?”

The author, Robert B. Cialdini, is a self-confessed patsy: an experimental social psychologist who became interested in why he often agreed to things that went against his better judgement. He started with social experiments involving students ( who presumably also didn’t know how to say ‘no’!) before going undercover in the real world of compliance professionals - sales operators, fund-raisers, recruiters, advertisers - to learn the techniques that persuade people to disregard their intellect in favour of compliance.

His results are enlightening.

Insubstantial Youtube video lands director $30million Hollywood deal

This amazing success story has been reported all around the world, generating a lot of heat in just a few days. Fede Alvarez - from Uruguay of all places - uploaded a 5 minute video clip to Youtube on a Thursday, and by the following Monday he’d received numerous emails from Hollywood agencies wanting to do business with him. He signed with CAA who brokered a $30million deal with the production company Ghost House.

If you haven’t already seen his Youtube video, you’re probably wondering what was so amazing to get this response.

In fact, even if you have seen the video, you may still be wondering! But I have a few ideas.

Crowd sourcing to fund, produce, promote, and monetise indie film

Crowd sourcing is an innovative business model being applied to several indie filmmaker projects.

Perhaps the most publicised and obviously successful case is that of The Age of Stupid. This documentary project on global warming has raised over $1.2 million via crowd funding, and also used crowd sourcing to distribute and exhibit it around the world.

Digital Distribution: Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog Case Study

If you think that it's just little indie filmmakers who are into digital distribution and the freemium model, think again.

During the WGA writer’s strike Joss Whedon (creator of the cult hits Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel) decided to write and finance a show for the web in a manner that would circumvent the issues that were being protested during the strike. He created a three-part series, with a budget of $200,000, and released the show online.

Greatest risk in filmmaking? Team dynamics.

In some industries people who don’t click can still work side by side, tied together out of mutual greed or simple desperation, but in the indie film industry - where so much comes down to favours and good will - team dynamics make or break a project.Once upon a time, way back during my undergrad degree, a lecturer gave my business management class a social experiment to prove to us that civilisation is based on the fact that people work best in teams.

Freemium Content: Red Vs Blue Case Study

Red Vs Blue is another example of entertainment using the freemium or “T-shirt economy” model.

Red Vs Blue is a short comedy machinima series that began in 2003. The pilot episode attracted 20,000 views within the first day, and Rooster Teeth quickly realised ways to monetise the series through sales of T-shirts and other merchandise.

Rooster Teeth went on to create five series of the show, totalling over 100 episodes.

No cost or risk merchandising as a revenue stream

When someone says "merchandise" the first thing that usually springs to mind is a bunch of branded one-size-fits-all crap that nobody wants - forced upon us by some clueless marketing exec who works at a company that has more dollars than sense.

On the other hand, when we're a fan of a film or tv show, we are more than happy to buy branded products with our own hard earned cash.
The key difference is that one item is a product in itself, with added value due to the branding, while the other is a cold blooded marketing tool.

If you want to create a merchandising revenue stream, the first thing you have to understand is this fundamentally different attitude. If the t-shirt, mug, or apron is a product that meets the needs of your audience, then it will be valued as such, and they will be more than happy to pay.

I know, I know - you're wondering what the hell this has to do with you: You're an artist, not some corporation.

Making money from free content: Beached Whale Case Study

It may sound like an oxymoron to try making money by giving away your content for free, but the freemium model, also sometimes called the t-shirt economy, has proved very effective for some filmmakers.

You might give something away for free, such as a short film, an ebook, or game, but you have additional extras that do cost money. Because the first bit is given for free, it is likely to reach a larger number of people than if you charged, and you only need a small proportion of these to convert to payers for you to turn a profit.

In Australia one of the most obvious and recent examples is that of the Beached Whale Youtube hit. I was lucky to catch one of the filmmakers, Jarod Green, speaking at SPAA Fringe a month ago.

Tuning in the creative voices

This is a one of the few Leunig cartoons I actually understand, and you’ll notice by the faded, tattered, dog-eared status that I’ve had this fondly blue tacked to my wall for many years. For good reason.

Battle of Long Tan - Case Study

Recently I attended a multi platform seminar at AFTRS where speakers shared their experiences. Martin Walsh of Red Dune Films had a very interesting approach to getting his film up.

Many years ago Martin decided he wanted to make a feature film about the Battle of Long Tan, but realised there was a key obstacle: no one much had heard of this battle. A key strategy to him gaining the support to make the film, and having an audience who would want to watch it, was to first raise people’s awareness of this historic event.