Thursday, March 20, 2014

blog/ Veronica Mars/ crowdfunding



This is on my www.badcb.blogspot.ca:

Feb. 28 Blog: I was thinking about how to get my TV script The Vertex Fighter produced. 

I had Tracy’s Blog for 7 yrs and at the top it says this:

I’m Tracy Au and I have graduated from the Professional Writing program from university. I am an aspiring screenwriter, so this blog is used to promote my writing and attract people who will hire me to write for your TV show or movie. I write a lot about writing, TV, movies, jokes, and my daily life and opinions. I have another blog promoting my TV project at www.thevertexfighter.blogspot.com.

I had The Vertex Fighter blog for 2 and a half years and at the top it says this:

I'm Tracy Au and I have graduated from the Professional Writing program from university. I'm an aspiring screenwriter. This blog is used to promote this TV movie The Vertex Fighter. If the ratings are good, it could be turned into a back door pilot. It's used to attract producers, directors, investors, cast, and crew who want to be part of this project. It’s also to attract the same people who will hire me to write for your TV/ movie. I have another blog www.badcb.blogspot.ca.

I’ve had these blogs for years and still there are no investors and producers coming.

Kickstarter: I then thought about this.  I have written about this before:


I then reread the article that Roxanne McAnn sent me “8 Tips for Raising money through Kickstarter.”  Here are the tips.

  1. Set your goal lower than you think you need.
  2. Have a record of accomplishments.
  3. Look at successful and unsuccessful campaigns.
  4. Give good rewards.
  5. Make a short, well-produced video.
  6. Offer updates.
  7. Thank contributors as they donate.
  8. Promote your project everywhere.


Veronica Mars: This TV show was turned into a movie because of Kickstarter.  I decided to check it out.  The 5 min. video was funny with Kristen Bell (who played Veronica) waking up and seeing Ryan Hansen (Logan’s friend Dick) on the show watching TV and eating cereal.  Jason Dohring (who played Logan) comes with a box of donuts.  Enrico Colantoni (Veronica’s dad Keith) is in the kitchen drinking coffee.  The creator Rob Thomas is performing a puppet show in the living room.  This is great success.

It was achieved because they were on TV for 3 yrs and had a big fan base, and the fans were willing to donate money to get this movie made.  


Crowdfunding: Richard Botto wrote a blog post on Sept. 30 about crowdfunding on Stage 32:

“The crowdfunding revolution has taken hold and is showing no signs of slowing down.  Seems as if every creative you run into from actors, to producers, to playwrights, has a campaign rolling.  This past weekend, while speaking at Screenwriters World West, I was fascinated by how many aspiring screenwriters wanted to talk to me not about landing a manager or hooking a producer, but for tips on how to run a successful crowdfunding campaign.

And why not?  Seems simple enough.  Write a killer synopsis, splice together a cutting edge trailer, and watch the dollars roll in.
If only it were that easy.

The reality is, raising money through crowdfunding requires business and marketing skill.  It requires intricate strategy that goes well beyond “Yo, dude, check my IndieKickGogo campaign” posts on Twitter – which never works, by the way.  It requires constant attention to detail – and to your supporters.  It’s an investment of time that has nothing to do with the pre-production, production, and post production of your project.  It’s a job in and about itself.

Further, the competition is fierce.  How people go about getting eyes on their campaign is as important as what they show them once they get there.  Well, more important in fact, for without eyes, the cash register remains empty.
So how do you cut through all the clutter and stand out amongst the pack?  How do you plan a pre-campaign strategy.  How do you hit that all important 30% of your raise in your first week (which leads to about an 80% success rate)?  How do you create fans and keep them engaged?

We asked John Trigonis - Film, Web, and Video Manager at Indiegogo and author of the critically acclaimed book, Crowdfunding For Filmmakers: The Way to a Successful Film Campaign - if he would be willing to speak on all of these subjects as part of our Next Level Webinar series.  He graciously accepted.

On October 16th, John will lead two sessions of Cutting Through The Noise – The Keys to a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign at 1PM and 7PM PST.  If you have ever run a campaign or plan to do so in the future, this is an event you will not want to miss.  You will increase your odds of success significantly and eliminate frustration from what should be a very enjoyable and rewarding process.”

Here is RB’s Oct. 3, 2013 post:

“On October 16th, John will present two 90 minute sessions of Cutting Through The Noise - The Keys to a Succesful Crowdfunding Campaign.

According to various crowdfunding studies:

Over 90% of all film crowdfunding campaigns fall short of the intended goal

Over 75% of those which fail do not even reach 50% of their goal

Raising 30% of your goal in the first week of a campaign leads to a nearly 90% success rate

87% of those who post a film crowdfunding campaign do not have a pre-campaign strategy

93% of those who do not have a pre-campaign strategy do not reach their goal

85% of all those running a campaign do not use social media effectively to market and promote their campaign

Some might say that these are sobering statistics...I say they're inspiring. Many are doing it right. There's a way. A process. A formula to success. But it requires time, patience, and knowledge.”

My opinion: The above is my research.  I read an article and 2 blog posts, and watched a successful Kickstarter campaign.

Mar. 2 Rewards: I thought about it some more.  There is supposed to be like a gift for every donation.  Here are some examples if I were to create this campaign.  I have talked to MMA fighter Kit Cope and the actor Giles Panton.  They have read my script.  What if:

For a $10 donation: You can get an autographed picture from Kit Cope OR Giles Panton.

For a $25 donation: You can get an autographed picture from Kit Cope AND Giles Panton.

Panton is a Canadian actor.  I first saw him as a detective on the TV show Flash Gordon.  I watched it because my favorite Edmonton actor Eric Johnson is the star.  Panton has done a lot of TV work.


Here is Kit Cope:


Mar. 20 Update: I checked the Veronica Mars movie and it got a 7.8/10 rating from 8,800 users.

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