Biracy evolution

Taking on board all the feedback and comments they've received, Biracy has redesigned their website, restructured information to make it easier to follow, and clarified several things. I'm really happy to see this project take form - the fact they are actively listening and responding to their audience proves they have the right attitude for this transocial media stuff :) 

They've widely opened up communication channels, making great use of Twitter to source questions, with regular vlogs, and really get into the nitty gritty of why they are doing things the way they are.

One thing I loved in their new trailer is the explanation of the SoKap platform that the Biracy project runs off. SoKap will become available to other film producers to help them crowd fund and/or crowd source their projects. SoKap stands for "Social Capitalism" - they even explain the use of the "K" (SoKap instead of SoCap)  in a manner that shows these guys are down to earth and likeable, rather than wanky and pretentious.

They've done a really good job of explaining it all in a number of videos, and I strongly recommend checking them out. Some of the things I didn't understand earlier are now clear, and I'm certainly appreciative.

Another thing I really like about Biracy and the SoKap platform is the focus on mutual benefit, for filmmakers and participants. Crowdfunding and crowdsourcing are buzz words at the moment, but for every well intentioned non-profit project, there is a commercial company using the technique in a fairly exploitative manner. For example, I get sick of advertising companies running "competitions" that ask for a large outlay of participants' time and energy (and sometimes money in the form of purchase & text messages), with one insignificant main prize, and no recognition to all the other participants.

Biracy has gotten around this by creating two different reward systems: 

1) The first relates to sales / referrals - members gain a tiered commission for anyone they refer who purchases a membership. Once the film is completed, they can also gain a commission on any sales they make of the film. This is a cash payment back to participants.

2) The second reward system is a virtual currency. All members gain virtual currency for participating in the crowdsourcing efforts, whether through voting, polling, or contributing creatively by drawing a design for the film itself. This virtual currency has 'deferred' value - it is only after the film gains returns that it will be translated into a value that can be used. It is not ever translated into cash, but can be used to buy merchandise or membership into another film project on the SoKap platform.

There is also a huge prize to the member who accumulates the most of this virtual currency on Biracy: they will gain an Associate Producer credit and 1% or film profits.

It should be stressed, the above forms of reward are in addition to receiving a dvd copy of the movie. People not interested in the referral system or virtual currency still get reasonable value in so much that $25 pre-buys them a dvd of the film.

Biracy has explained why they have chosen this method of rewards, to skirt potential legal ramifications of crowd "investment", with Ross Pruden here.

That's something worth noting for anyone interested in crowdfunding: each country clearly has different laws, and while The Cosmonaut and The Age of Stupid could ask for "investment" and donations without legal implications, their systems won't necessarily work in the US.

And, it is a reason why I am further impressed with the SoKap platform : they seem to have engineered it in a manner that should work internationally. If Biracy achieves it's membership goals, we could very well see a whole swath of international indie films jumping on the SoKap platform.

While there are already tools for indie filmmakers to crowdfund, like IndieGoGo, Kickstarter, ChipIn, Flattr, and TipiT, I suspect many filmmakers using them haven't investigated potential tax and legal repercussions.

For peace of mind to those crowd funding the project, the SoKap platform (and biracy) have in place more sophisticated measures to lower associated risks. For example, all proposed productions are required to have a completion bond, insurance that the film will be made, differentiating legitimate projects from potential scamsters. This is an area that other crowdfunding projects have often overlooked - leading sceptics to argue that those raising the money may just take the money and run.

As I have mentioned before - full disclosure - I have purchased an Icon membership from biracy. I hope nonetheless that my comments here can maintain impartiality without being considered a "sell".

Or, at least, not too much of a sell.... Use my referral code: jibarmprojection87 ;)

There are still elements that in a perfect world I'd like to see modified, such as the ability for virtual currency to be paid out as cash if a member chose to, however I realise that there are legal quandaries that I only have a partial grasp of. 

If anyone has more knowledge in this area - potential legal pitfalls of crowdfunding in various countries - please speak up. It's something I'd really like to investigate so we could put together some plain speak do's and don'ts for filmmakers operating out of Australia, US, and UK.


Previous posts on biracy:

crowdfunding-indie-film-biracy-case-study

biracy-crowdsourcing-model-part-ii