BENEFITS OF CROWD FUNDING CONCEPT FOR SHORT FILM MAKERS
Short films are a rage today. Though Feature films have their own charm, this medium of Films has captured many hearts and is being appreciated worldwide. Unfortunately, many talented filmmakers today, do not have enough capital to make their films. That’s when the concept of crowd funding comes in. It is the funding by many individuals, where they pool in their money together for a common purpose.
A person who is very enthusiastic about the art of film making, will never be able to pursue it, if he doesn’t have financial support. Lots of creative minds, lose hope when there is no means to support their passion, in this scenario crowd funding a project is a very nice solution to the problem. Making a film requires a lot of planning and manpower. The expenses for paying the actors, cameras, equipments, marketing and post production is immense.When a film has a very alluring topic, interesting storyline and no lose ends in the climax, it has a good chance of convincing the people to crowd fund it. Sometimes theatre artists, celebrities and photographers work free of cost, if they find a film worth doing.
If we look back at the history of crowd funding, the first Indian film which was crowd funded was Manthan (1976) directed by Shyam Benegal, where 5 lakh members of Gujarat Cooperation Milk Marketing Federation Ltd, donated Rs 2 each. The film went on to win the National Award. This film is a superb example of the benefit of crowd funding, if not for the volunteers who donated the money, people would have missed the opportunity to watch such a good movie. The movie Pinjra (2015) is the latest Hindi short film, which was appreciated for the compelling narration of Naseerudin shah, which talks about the injustice done to women in our society, the film was crowd funded.
The concept of crowd funding is beneficial to short film makers, as it gives them a chance to showcase their creativity and talent. It gives them confidence to explore new ideas and thoughts. Crowd funded movies would already have garnered, a lot of attention during the campaign to raise funds for the film, thus the marketing for the movie would have already begun, and people will be looking forward to watch the movie. The film makers also have pressure on them and a huge responsibility to satisfy the people who funded the film. The flip side would be though sometimes pressure gets the best out of someone, it also breaks their determination and devotion if the film is not successful.
Another important benefit to the film makers, would be that, they would be recognized for their efforts, if the film has a good impact. A successful movie is a boost to the careers of the budding film makers. When a crowd funded film gets rave reviews, other projects of that film maker would be easy to start, as he has already been appreciated for his work before.
In today’s busy world, people do not have the patience to watch a full fledge feature film, a short film is a breather, saves time and creates contentment. Film makers who think out of the box and have the knack,to narrate their stories in an interesting way, achieve success and leave their mark in the film industry.
The advent of social media has rewarded the filmmakers immensely. Media is a powerful tool, The campaign for crowd funding has become easier, film makers know the impact of their film through social media and can meet likeminded people who will be really happy to help kick start the project. There are a lot of people, who would willingly help the film maker if he is confident, hardworking, devoted and responsible. The art of convincing people is important too. The benefits of crowd funding are many, the best according to me is that, it gives hope to talented people that there is humanity still left in people and that this humanity has made them sensitive enough to give wings to someone else’s dream. Crowd funding will inspire people, even from the most least financial background to dream big, because they will believe and know that, there are people out there who are ready to help them.
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