Okay.......this weekend, doing my Kickstarter Campaign.

Doc Bernard

Doc Bernard

Indie Arms Member
For any of you that have run one, successful or not, what is your advice and what did you learn with your campaign? Was yours successful and funded?

This project of mine looks like has grown from just a coffeetable book with some added video......to doing a concurrent documentary about the same subject. But it will still be an extremely small footprint/impact crew of 2 (me and the director). This is out of necessity and to not create problems at the locations where I will be embedding. Disrupting the routine of the crews is exactly what I don't want, as I am going to essentially be a part of those crews.

But today, polishing the script for the KS vid, tomorrow shooting it. Got the tiered incentives in place........already have 200.00 pledged from a department and it's not even live yet. That gives me hope. The nice thing is, almost all of the gear is already purchased and owned, both the Director and I are not paying ourselves since we both believe in the project.......so the lion's share of the amount is just for travel expenses


Thoughts to share with someone who has not done a crowdfund before?

And now that things are underway, I can share the concept art (photos will be replaced):

Conceptcover.jpg

As a side note: I already have 2 departments that have "greenlit" my embedment and have authorized me to ride along for a week each. I will be suiting up right along with the crews and being right along side them (up to and including entry on structure fires), as I used to be a firefighter and have my bona fides still and press credentials. I also have my own structure gear already.

The intention is to visit 10-15 department over the next year, from a good cross section of the US.

Never been this passionate about a project of my own. The intention is to tell the story of volunteer firefighters around the US, giving the world a snapshot into the bravery, honor and sense of community these people have, and why they do it for no pay.
 
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My advice is that kickstarter is a place to make it easy for your fans to contribute to your project. It is not the best place to make fans.

Do you know a lot of people (online or offline) that would donate, but it would be a real pain in the ass to ask each one, and to promise to give the money back if you don't raise enough? Do you already have a good fan base on youtube, twitter, facebook, a blog, a forum, etc? Then kickstarter is great!

Are you hoping to find people on kickstarter that have never heard of you or your project but are willing to pledge? Kickstarter isn't so great for that. Kickstarter is a great way to capitalize on buzz you have already created. It's not a good way to create buzz.

It's possible to have a successful kickstarter without building a fanbase first, but much less likely to succeed than if you build the fanbase first.
 
Thanks, Gillvane! That is something I figured was an issue, and you confirmed it. So I have been building my contacts outside of many "social media" sites and also within them.

I am also partnering up with a national charity that provides assistance to families of fallen firefighters and will be giving 10% from every book sold.
 
I was fortunate to have had a successful Kickstarter, and agree with Gilvane that it's not the best place to make new fans.

Also, my (initial) Kickstarter video and page copy had to be modified because it stated "10% of funds raised will be donated to the Surfrider Foundation." <OOPS! We didn't read the fine print:

What is not allowed?

  • Kickstarter cannot be used to raise money for causes, whether it's the Red Cross or a scholarship, or for "fund my life" projects, like tuition or bills.
  • Kickstarter cannot be used to sell equity or solicit loans.
  • Projects cannot resell items or offer rewards not produced by the project or its creator.
  • Creators cannot promise to donate a portion of funds raised or future revenue to a cause.

    We were contacted and afforded the chance to resubmit a modified video and page copy.

    Good luck! and let us know when it's live!
 
The 10% come out of the book sales. Not the KS funding. It won't be mentioned now on the KS campaign. Thanks!
 
Doc, not what you're asking for in this thread, but... I'm going to be backing the project. Sounds very interesting. And what Zak said is right on the money. I'll back it because YOU are producing it. Through this site I've come to know and respect your professionalism and that means quite a lot.
 
Zak Forsman said:
Biggest lesson I learned when I did mine was that people, generally, do not back the movie, they back the people making it. So know that a pitch video that's only about the movie will not be as effective as a pitch video about you and why you want to make it.

http://filmmakermagazine.com/32284-the-microbudget-conversation-down-and-dangerous/
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Agree 100% with a small caveat. People will back an already popular issue or IP. Most people don't have access to such a project but if you do that means the fanbase is already there and you don't have to build it.

For example if you're best buddies with Mick Jagger and he says you can hang out with him for a year making a documentary if you can fund it, no problem Rolling Stones fans will show up in droves to hand you cash.

Otherwise, yes people will back a horrible movie because they like the film maker or ignore a great movie idea because they don't know who the film maker is or they don't like him or her. Of course you can be both, someone that people like with a great project, but being likable/popular is the part that gets you the funding.
 
keylight said:
Doc, not what you're asking for in this thread, but... I'm going to be backing the project. Sounds very interesting. And what Zak said is right on the money. I'll back it because YOU are producing it. Through this site I've come to know and respect your professionalism and that means quite a lot.
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I second that Keylight, I have a great deal of respect for doc and his honest approach, I too will be a backer on this project. On another note, there's still a lot of volunteer fire depts. especially in rural America. Here on Cape Cod, there is a fire mans museum, (Brewster,MA) I'm NOT sure the status of it, but it may pay to reach out to them with an email, or phone call and inform them of what your project is about. Not many mainstream people know what kickstarter is. Either way best of luck!!!
 
This sounds interesting, and I believe it will be worth watching. I don't know if it will work as a kickstarter campaign ( I know nothing about creating a successful campaign), but I do believe that this will work as a tv/web or any other distribution system series. keep it up!
 
Wow, so not the outcome I was expecting, nor was this the intention of this thread.

You guys are so awesome. Thank You!!!!!!!!!!!!

When it's up (hopefully this coming week), I'll PM you guys the link.


EDIT: Maranfilms, in doing my research, the US Census and Statistics show that of all the Fire Departments in the US, over 71% of them are Volunteer, or primarily Volunteer houses. That is eye-opening. And makes a person feel good, to know that there are that many people willing to do a dangerous job for no pay, other than the sense of community and service.

This is one of the main reasons why I want to do this.
 
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I've run a few successful kickstarter and indiegogo campaigns, and the advice I have is spend a lot of planning on how to get people to share the link. It's crucial. Make a spreadsheet of groups, contacts, organizations, websites, etc that might be interested in seeing this project get done. Then prepare personalized e-mails or phone calls to all of them and ask them if they'd be interested in sharing your story and a link to the campaign to their followers.

**EDIT** Forgot about facebook groups. They have the potention to reach TONS of people, search for groups related to your project and get them to share the link too.
 
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