Filmmakers turn to Kickstarter to fund ‘Kickstarted’ documentary
Three Los Angeles filmmakers making a documentary about the crowd-funding phenomenon have turned to the most logical place to find backing for their project: Kickstarter.
The film, “Kickstarted,†is to chronicle the rise of this revolutionary form of financing creative projects by focusing on the people behind some of the most high-profile campaigns, including actor and filmmaker Zach Braff, musicians Amanda Palmer and John Vanderslice and video game industry veterans Brian Fargo and Chris Roberts.
“What’s unique about crowd funding is you have these passionate creators out there in front of everybody, baring their souls, to get something done,†filmmaker Jason Cooper said. “You’re succeeding or failing in such a direct way.â€
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Cooper said he and his collaborators Jay Armitage and Chris Gartin felt that telling these individual stories -- and focusing on the challenges of mounting a crowd-funding campaign and the extraordinary pressures of having to deliver on the community’s expectations -- would make for a compelling narrative.
“These are the types of stories that are so cool; to watch people go through something they didn’t think would happen, and watch their dreams come true -- for better or for worse,†Cooper said.
He and his creative partners are trying to raise about $85,000 in pledges by June 27. So far, 213 backers have offered about $16,000 in backing for the documentary, which the filmmakers hope to complete in time to submit to the 2014 independent film festivals.
In the meantime, the “Kickstarted†team has begun releasing a series of original “Funded in 60 Seconds†video shorts, culled from interviews for the documentary. These clips provide crowd-funding tips, insights and best practices from Braff, Palmer and others who successfully completed Kickstarter campaigns.
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