Jake Fruia
Want to crowd fund your film project but don’t like Kickstarter, GoFundMe or other similar sites? LovinGood FilmFund promises to help raise the money for your film, as well as fulfill the one movie metric that matters: butts in seats.
Lovingood FilmFund was created in response to the trend of declining movie theater ticket sales versus people who stay home and watch on the internet, smart TVs, etc. To LovingGood FilmFund the problem with other crowdfunding sites is that filmmakers “become merchandise managers or self promoters and distributors”, getting caught up in minutiae that takes away from their primary job as filmmaker.
So, how does Lovingood FilmFund go about this? By “pre-selling digital tickets to the movie before it’s made”, allowing the filmmaker to set his budget goal (and number of ticket sales needed) and earn it from people who are already interested in seeing the film. Upon completion of the film Lovingood FilmFund hosts a five city theatrical premiere (if your film hits the $100,000 that is) as well as a world wide VOD release for all other ticket buyers. Movie goers then enjoy their movie, while movie makers enjoy the spoils of their hard work.
Lovingood FilmFund hasn’t forgotten about film investors in their super simple equation either. With their framework investors are free from the risky venture of buying equity in a film, instead buying bulk sets of tickets. The investor then sells their tickets on the FilmFund ticket exchange for a “fixed market price to another movie goer for an instant return.”
The whole process sounds remarkably simple and stress free, and cuts out a lot of the extra work required to just get started on something like Kickstarter. The only problem I can think of at the moment is trying to break people free of the current crowdfunding mindset, that something this simple is too good to be true. This is also just the beginning, as Lovingood FilmFund seeks to incorporate digital currency such as Bitcoin into the equation in an attempt to really push the boundaries of how filmmakers meet their ever evolving audience. Hopefully people will give a chance to what looks to be the start of something beautiful for filmmaking fund raising.
Lovingood FilmFund is currently in Beta, with a relatively simple (if still involved) submission form. They also make sure to list what they’re looking for in prospective films:
- Awesome Script & Story – The reason we require filmmakers to submit their script or treatment is because no matter how big a star or big a budget you have, if your story isn’t compelling and structured, you’re movie might not be a good fit for our studio. We’re interested in winners and we know that’s you, so write a damn good story!
- Killer Trailer – We require all of our campaigns to produce a short 2:30 max length theatrical trailer or sizzle reel to show off your skills and hook your audience. This is the second most important element and an killer trailer equals a killer campaign. So show us your work and blow our minds with your cinematic genius.
- Compelling Theme – Does your film have a compelling underlying theme that is relatable to a defined audience? We look for films that cater to specific audiences like horror lovers, musical enthusiasts, LGBT films, docs and action films. If you fit into a defined category, we want you!
- Striking Visual Effects – We’re looking for filmmakers that want to create films that look like big budget, studio films. If you have the skills and desire to shoot toward perfection, we’re the place for you!
- Star Power – This is the most important, but the lowest category on which we accept films. Do you have a well known actor director or producer attached? This will help you sell tickets and raise general interest. We strongly encourage striving to include this aspect in your campaign and join the true competition, but this is never required.
The only big hang up is something that will be familiar to those familiar with some of the other crowdfunding sites. According to their official rules:
If you do not raise more than 50% of your project, you will not be compensated for your project and your contributors will be left with tickets to a movie that will never be made. Make sure you do not let this happen. Also, there is a $5,000 campaign minimum per project.
The wording is a bit vague on whether or not people who bought those first 49% worth of tickets are simply out of luck on their money or not. But this is not necisarily a new phenomena when it comes to crowd funding. The other rules are pretty simple as well; no hate speech, must be a movie project, must submit a budget and script/treatment, etc. If you’re a good little filmmaker, most of these things will already be done prior to filming anyway.
So I would encourage all filmmakers pursuing crowdfunding to give Lovingood FilmFund a review at www.FilmFund.io and see if it seems like a helpful avenue.
