Planning a budget for your short film is one of the most important steps in the process of film making. The funding you have for your short film either enables you to deliver your subject within your own creative space or restricts you into making some alterations.
Crowdfunding is an alternative that provides the independent short filmmakers with a great scope to actualize their vision. Let’s start by discussing what Crowdfunding actually is.
What is Crowdfunding?
Crowdfunding is the system of financing a project or a venture by collecting small amounts of money from a larger number of sponsors. You can reach out to a community of people over the Internet and get contributions from them for your short film. This is done with the help of crowdfunding platforms like Ketto, Rang De, Fuel A Dream and more.
Benefits of Crowdfunding:
You must be thinking what else you’ll stand to gain from your crowdfunding campaign apart from the money, but let me tell you, there’s a lot more. Take a few minutes to read through the benefits listed below before you make your decision.
- Funds
Funds aren’t everything, but they are pretty crucial for your film. It isn’t easy to get funding for your short film, especially if you’re a new short filmmaker. Most beginners fund their short films from their own pockets, but that’s not always possible. Finding a producer for your short film can be one of the most taxing tasks in the filmmaking process. However, crowdfunding is an easier alternative. It lets you present your idea to a network of people, via the Internet, and the ones interested would show their support by financing you.
- Restriction-free Creativity
Even if you get lucky enough to land a huge cheque from a big studio or find a producer who’s willing to finance you, more often than not, they will try to gain more control over the project, mandating numerous restrictions on your creativity. This will leave you with less scope for experimentation. Crowdfunding, however, gets you the financial backing from the supporters who accredit you the power of making any decision regarding the film that you deem fit. You don’t answer to anyone about your film but yourself.
- Marketing Opportunities
Your crowdfunding campaign will also help you analyse the market for your short film. If your campaign gets a lot of backers, it’s fair to assume that there’s a good market for your short film. However, if you don’t get any backers for your brilliant idea, it’s an indication that there isn’t a market for your short film at the moment. Also, a successful crowdfunding campaign will help you create a buzz for your short film. It will attract the right kind of attention for your short film and create an awareness amongst the crowd. It will help you publicise your short film and might even get you the attention of one of the big players.
- A Loyal Fan Base
Your crowdfunding campaign will build you a loyal fan base. Your supporters will want to interact with you, get insights about your film and about your filmmaking process. They will be the first ones to watch your short film and give you an honest feedback. They will be a part of your success and won’t ditch you for the next new short film. Crowdfunding helps you cultivate lasting relationships with your audience.
- Attract Partnerships
Crowdfunding campaigns won’t only help you gain attention from media or your audience, but will also increase the possibilities of finding partners for your short film. If you manage to create a hype around your crowdfunding campaign, you can also draw out some potential partners who would be interested in the concept of your short film. To attract potential partners, make sure your campaign has all the necessary information an interested partner might look for and testimonials from the people you’ve previously worked with.
- Better Future Possibilities
Investors often prefer to back someone whose projects have been successful previously. A significant number of people showing an interest in your film will enable you to confidently approach big producers for your future projects. It isn’t uncommon for successful crowdfunding projects to get better finance opportunities for their next projects. Crowdfunding is one of the most preferred methods of collecting funds amongst short filmmakers in today’s time. It costs almost nothing and enables you to gather funds, insights and support for your short film.
Join creative filmmakers platform – shortfundly now.
