Once A Clown Short Film was funded partially via crowdfunding, and partially through the use of my bank overdraft. Our Once a Clown Indiegogo Campaign was unsuccessful. Our goal of £7244 resulted in a final funding amount of just £28. This made it very challenging to make the film, knowing I then had to cut the costs of absolutely everything, using the raised funds for only the most important props. I matched the raised amount myself, resulting in a final figure of somewhere between £500 - 600 .
It's difficult to know where our campaign failed, while many others succeed. In hindsight, perhaps more research of successful crowdfunding campaigns would have helped us to break through. I had a discussion with a former film producer regarding crowdfunding, though at this point, our crowdfunding campaign was already up and running, and thus, the conversation was too late.
Tips for a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign
The producers advice was to split the campaign into three different sections, and as three separate campaigns.
- Pre-Production - advertising our concept and where we wanted to go with the idea,
- Production - the second (if the first was successful) for production - explaining that we had reached our pre-production goal and that our production now needed this new amount to cover filming, and
- Post-Production - the third campaign (assuming the first and second were successful) to cover post-production and costs such as distribution, editing, colouring etc.
Filmmaking is a lesson, and there's no guaranteed, successful way to do it. As unsuccessful as this campaign was, it was still much more successful than our first (we raised roughly £70 for our webseries in 2016), so perhaps as people begin to become aware of our company, and of our productions, they will feel more comfortable contributing to or campaign, knowing that with barely any money at all, we are able to create enjoyable, good quality content.
So the thought final thought is: "What could they do if they had funding?"
Author: Murphy Rhodes
Location: Liverpool, England
Film: Once a Clown (2018)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6158160/
Promote YOUR Story, Business, Film on FilmProposals
Do you have some great indie filmmaker tips or financing tips to share with other aspiring or current filmmakers? Do you want to promote your latest film or service to a huge global network of filmmakers, producers, directors, potential investors and distributors? Here is a great opportunity to first, pay it forward, and then promote your projects, products and services.
More Info: Filmmaker Tips - Write for FilmProposals
FilmProposals Best Sellers - 2023 Financing Toolkits & Bundles
NEW!!! Level up your Comparable Films Analysis using 20 Comparable Films. With our PLUS Bundles, you work directly with the expert analysts at Nash Info Services to select your ideal 20 comparable films from their full list of 20,000+ films. You get all the same reports as our standard sales projections PLUS expert advice on choosing your Comparable Films and an exponentially larger selection of films from which to choose.
This brand new service is offered with our Platinum Plus Bundle ($1,299) and Gold + 20 Films Financial Projections Bundle ($899).
Toolkits Start @ $99, Bundles Start @ $599
See All Financing Toolkits & Financing Bundles
Gold Toolkit
DIY Templates- Financing Manual
- Financial Projections Template
- Business Plan Templates (Narrative & Documentary)
- Investor Agreement Outline
- Film Budget Template
- Indie Film Pitch Deck
- Custom Indie Film Database
- BONUSES (MPA Market Stats, Dealmaking, Investor Tips, ++ )
- Regular Price $303, Save $124
Gold Toolkit + Financials Bundle
Do It For Me- Full Gold Toolkit
- + Professional Sales Projections & Investor ROI (10 Films)
- Regular Price $802, Save $203
Gold Toolkit + Financials Bundle PLUS w/ 20 Films
MOST POPULAR- + 10 Additional Comparable Films
- 20 Films = Better Analysis for Investors
- + Choose from 20,000+ films
Platinum Bundle
Game Changer- Full Gold Toolkit
- + Professional Sales Projections & Investor ROI -10 Films (Reg $499)
- + Film PPM Investor Agreement (Reg $499)
- + Filmmaker Legal Pack (Reg $129)
- Regular Price $1430, Save $431
Platinum PLUS Bundle w/ 20 Films
THE ULTIMATE- + 10 Additional Comparable Films
- 20 Films = Better Analysis for Investors
- + Choose from 20,000+ films
FilmProposals Tools and Templates
- Film Financing Bundles
- Film Financial Projections Template
- Film Business Plan Template
- Documentary Business Plan Template
- Film Financing and Investor Manual
- Film Budget Template
- Indie Film Pitch Deck
- Film Investor Agreement Outline
- Film Investor Tip Sheet
- Filmmaker Legal Pack
- Indie Film Database
- FREE Business Plan E-Course