Son of a Bug Trailer from Nicky Tavares on Vimeo.
Raising money for a creative project can be a daunting proposition. Crowdfunding sites, if matched with the right project campaigns, can provide a useful template for attracting funds.
If you’re curious about starting a crowdfunding campaign of your own, check out how some Massachusetts artists are using the site Kickstarter:
Nicky Tavares (Film & Video Fellow ’11) has a campaign to fund her next documentary film, Son of a Bug. The project has already surpassed its $6000 funding goal before its Jan. 2 deadline (on Kickstarter, projects must reach their fundraising goal or no money changes hands). The trailer (see above) might reveal why the campaign has found success; its offbeat humor is as appealing as the film’s subject, the first Pakistani rock band, The Bugs.
The Balagan Film Series, founded by Alla Kovgan (Film & Video Fellow ’09) and Jeff Daniel Silva (Film & Video Finalist ’09), showcases unexpected, experimental works of film and video. The video for the campaign (which ends Jan. 12), does a nice job laying out the background of the series, the part it plays in the local community, and the reasons to support its 2012 season.
In Fall 2011, Steven Bogart (Playwriting Finalist ’09) worked with writer Neil Gaiman, songwriter Stephin Merritt, and actors from the American Repertory Theater to develop an original play about the Grand Guignol Theatre of Victorian Paris. A documentary film project about the process is seeking to raise funds (by Jan. 21), and I like how the campaign borrows its over-the-top tone from the subject of the play.
For further research, check out other local projects:
- Thomas Oboe Lee is a prominent local composer seeking to produce a double CD of his concertos, released under the Boston Modern Orchestra Project label (by Jan. 15).
- Non-Event is a presenter of new, experimental music, seeking support (by Jan. 18) for its 2012 concert season for artists fees, venue rental, and all the other aspects of putting together a fully-realized, like-no-other performance series.
- The Charles River Swimming and Diving Team (a Cantabridgian movie-making troupe) are trying to raise funds to rent the Brattle Theatre to screen the first three episodes of The Central Square Detective Agency (by Jan. 18).
- Documentary filmmaker Alice Stone is seeking funds (by Jan. 26) to complete her documentary Angelo Unwritten, about a boy who escaped the foster care system to a loving family – but not the struggles that continue to mire him.
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