TORONTO — This summer Kickstarter hit a major milestone, surpassing $100 million raised to help bring 4,780 documentaries to life since the crowdfunding site launched in 2009.
Star Trek fans helped the company reach that record in June, pouring $662,640 USD into For the Love of Spock. By August, Bill Nye’s doc became the most funded Kickstarter doc, raising $859,426.
But you don’t have to be a big name to bring in big bucks for your project. Erin Bagwell, a feminist blogger and backup singer from Brooklyn, surpassed her goal of $57,000 last August by $47,000.
“Kickstarter was how our movement was started,” said Komal Minhas, the 25-year-old producer of the Dream, Girl project.
The two hope their film, which tells the story of female entrepreneurs, inspires the next generation of women to live out their biggest dreams. When marketing themselves, Bagwell and Minhas focused on niche blogs that were aligned with the message they wanted to champion.
The strategy seems to have paid off: the White House and British Parliament have already reportedly expressed interest in the documentary, which will make its New York City debut in Feb. 2016.
During a conference at the Toronto International Film Festival on Wednesday, Kickstarter’s George Schmalz and Dan Schoenbrun said if you want your project to be successful, it’s crucial to do your homework and figure out where you’re going to find your audience before you launch your page.
“All that page is is a tree in the woods unless people are hearing about it,” said Schoenbrun.
If done right, they say, the Internet can turn your documentary into a movement. The recipe for success seems to be having a video (one that ideally doesn’t go over the five-minute mark), and low donation options (as low as $1 or $5). The company has a whole editorial team dedicated to helping filmmakers reach their goals.
WATCH: Zach Braff talks about using Kickstarter to finance ‘Wish I Was Here’
They estimate that 38 per cent of all films are successful and, usually, there’s a tipping point. They find that projects which raise 20 per cent of their goal usually succeed 80 per cent of the time. Those that raise 5o per cent of their goal succeed 96 per cent of the time.
READ MORE: Filmmakers brace for benefits and challenges of using Kickstarter Canada
A number of Kickstarter-backed films have made appearances at festivals like TIFF, and some have even been nominated for Academy Awards.
“You can’t ever under-estimate yourself and your idea,” said Minhas.
“If you have that goal in your heart, if Kickstarter is the way you have to go about it…go wholeheartedly after that dream because you never know unless you try.
“We’ve tried and we’ve made it incredibly far.”
Comments