How Do You Finance Your Animated Film at Kickstarter?

Kickstarter

Writer and film-maker Allen Stroud, author of Elite: Lave Revolution, explains how to get a Kickstarter project off the ground. The rules of raising finance for film projects is changing fast. If you have a good enough idea, there is no reason why you cannot crowd fund your project and get fans all across the globe to make your dreams come to life. Here is how it is done.

What do you need to succeed at Kickstarter?

You need rewards. This basically means free stuff to give investors. By way of example, you can offer free signed books, free drawings, a screen credit, eBooks - anything that you can give that will get investors excited.

How does it all work?

Remember that a Kickstarter campaign is not a linear curve. Campaigns tend to open well, and then run out of steam. Fortunately,  lots of stuff comes at the last minute. Campaigns often close well - but with a big (terrifying) dip in the middle.

You have to understand the Psychology of Kickstarter. There is a comments page for your project, but no-one can comment, unless they have first backed it - this incentivises investors to pay up if they want to voice their opinion. Also, investors don’t pay anything until the funding is closed. So, it doesn't feel real until the project has reached its goal (which it might not). Yet. Again, this encourages people to pledge - they might not have to pay anything. And, investors can adjust their pledge up or down until the funding is closed. If they start to lose confidence, or they don't like what they are seeing, they can withdraw their pledges. Nothing is fixed until the end, when payments are cleared through amazon and credit cards.


What if you reach your goal? Can you ask for more money?

Once you reach your additional funding target, you can ask for more. You can add “stretch goals’ to add extra stuff that you would like to have. A Kickstarter campaign can takes 30 days, or 60 days - it's up to you. Remember that this may well be “the most tortuous time of your life” - but can be very rewarding. And, if you don’t make it, nothing happens. The project just ends. “That is it”.


What are the secrets of success?

Once you launch your project, you need to the following:

• Talk about the project a lot - don’t be quiet. You must communicate with them. Be engaged with them
• Encourage a sense of community. This is your team, your fanbase
• Until it’s funded, it’s not over. You must keep producing new rewards, keep exciting your fans
• You must make videos. Lots of videos. Keep up the momentum 
• If you have a physical thing you are selling, you must make a prototype of it, so people can see it
• Be generous! You must not appear cheap, or let down your fans. You must avoid bad press at all costs - your pledges will start to disappear. 
• Be realistic, especially with stretch goals. Don’t offer rewards you cannot deliver.
• Get a bidding war going if you can - a first edition of your book, for example, will sell for a lot.
• See what others are doing. Copy stuff that works. 
• Hit the ground running – keep up the momentum! Update every day, update comments.

Other sites worth knowing about

www.kicktraq.com - gives you daily data on your project. It is a statistics site. Gives you a chart which shows your progress.
www.thunderclap.it  another useful site for Kickstarter projects.
Indiegogo.com This site is like Kickstarter, but offers "experienced ambassadors" to support you in your goals.
Patreon – Like Kickstarter, but with more of a focus on the arts.


Here at Animation Apprentice we think every good animator has a story to tell. We encourage all our students to come up with ideas, and make their own films. And don't forget Kickstarter as a great source of possible funding.