With sites like Indie GoGo and Kickstarter, filmmakers can finally raise money without asking permission. And while the vast majority of filmmakers limit their crowdfunding campaigns to a few thousand dollars – some filmmakers get super ambitious.

Earlier this month Koo from NoFilmSchool decided to implement his own $115,000 crowdfunding campaign. And he stopped by Filmmaking Stuff to share his experience.

Jason Brubaker
It might help readers if you share a little about your background.

Koo
My name is Koo and I’m an independent filmmaker and writer. I run the website NoFilmSchool, which is a site for filmmakers and independent creatives. And I co-created the “urban Western” web series The West Side, which won the Webby Award for Best Drama Series.

Jason Brubaker
What are you working on now?

Koo
I’m now planning on making my first feature film, and I’m currently running a crowdfunding campaign to hopefully turn the dream into a reality.

Jason Brubaker
What made you start NoFilmSchool?

Koo
I actually started NoFilmSchool in 2005 as a personal blog, but in 2009 I told myself I should either quit wasting time with a blog and shut it down, or fully commit myself to re-launching the site as something larger. I pursued the latter with the idea that I could hopefully build an audience online by sharing as much helpful content as possible; if I was successful, it would allow me to run the site as a steady side job (while working on a screenplay), instead of jumping from project to project as a freelancer (and always putting off the screenplay, which is what I found myself doing as a freelance shooter/editor/writer/director).

Jason Brubaker
So you went for it?

Koo
Yeah. It took a year of living out of a suitcase and a lengthy detour into learning how to run a website, but eventually traffic to NoFilmSchool grew to the point where I was able to do just that – run the website, write my screenplay, and not have to seek out freelance work.

Jason Brubaker
It is great when you focus on helping other people. Good things come.

Koo
On a more basic level, NoFilmSchool is simply the website I wish I’d had to help me out in my career from the beginning. Whatever I’ve picked up along the way, I try to share it there.

Jason Brubaker
After your success with the website and also producing online content, what made you decide to make a traditional feature?

Koo
After our success with The West Side, we spent a couple of years trying to get our next idea made, and it just wasn’t happening. The economy was terrible at the time – this was 2008, when the first big crash was taking place. And our project, titled 3rd Rail, was inherently risky for film studios.

Jason Brubaker
What made it was risky for the studios?

Koo
It’s an online, interactive experience as opposed to a standard feature, and therefore established film business models don’t apply. Online content represents a great opportunity in the DIY space, but it brings with it a lot of challenges once you start seeking significant amounts of other people’s money.

Jason Brubaker
Yeah. Any time you involve money people, your responsibility increases. And you have to be ready for it.

Koo
When I co-directed The West Side I didn’t feel like I was ready to make my own feature. But once I started researching and writing Man-child, the voice of doubt that usually causes me to throw a script in the trash can was surprisingly M.I.A. The more I worked on it the more I became excited to make the project. After several months of researching and writing, I knew definitively this had to be my first feature.

Jason Brubaker
I love it when projects put you in the flow. Your current feature is focused on Basketball? How come?

Koo
I’ve played basketball all my life, so it’s a personal project to me. But just because I play basketball doesn’t mean I know a lot about the youth basketball world. I’m talking about middle schoolers, as opposed to the college and pro athletes you typically see in sports movies. The more I researched it, the more I felt it was a story I had to tell. And while it’s definitely a basketball movie, my hope is that the film will also speak to those who don’t have a particular interest in basketball or even sports, because it’s a fascinating and unique world.

Jason Brubaker
Can you speak to that a little more?

Koo
These kids are nationally ranked by the time they’re 12, and they start hearing whispers of fame and fortune very early – but usually they don’t have a whole lot in their lives at that age. This dichotomy – what they could have in a few years as opposed to what they actually have, right now – could be larger in youth basketball than anywhere else in American society.

Jason Brubaker
I noticed you are utilizing crowdfunding to finance your movie. Can you explain crowdfunding?

Koo
Instead of the traditional route of independent film finance, where a few individuals put up the bulk of a film’s investment, crowdfunding is when you ask for small amounts of money from a large number of people. If enough people believe in your film enough to pledge $10 (in the case of Man-child, this gets backers a download of the full film when it’s done), your film is enabled by a community as opposed to an individual.

Jason Brubaker
How is your experience with the campaign thus far?

Koo
Crowdfunding can be a harrowing experience, because in many cases (including that of Man-child), the campaign is all-or-nothing: if you don’t make your goal, you get $0. At the same time, it can be incredibly empowering, to see support pour in from all corners of the world. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced and we’re only 1/3 of the way through the campaign.

Jason Brubaker
Why did you go with Kickstarter over IndieGoGo?

Koo
I think IndieGoGo’s got a great thing going, they originally launched with a focus on film projects, and unlike Kickstarter they accept international projects. They also allow for tax-deductible contributions for projects with fiscal sponsorship. However, I went with Kickstarter because I’ve always really liked the design of their site (I was a designer at MTV for three years, so I’m probably more sensitive to this than most), and they’re a more popular site. Plus, I’ve been a serial funder of other Kickstarter projects for the past two years, so I already felt like a member of the community.

Jason Brubaker
You raised a few thousand in the first few days. What do you attribute this to?

Koo
Crowdfunding $115,000 sounds doable only because it’s been done before But when you break it down I actually have to raise a few thousand dollars not just in the first days, but every day of the campaign. The campaign is running for 38 days and that means I have to average $3k/day to make the goal. I never know where the next dollar is going to come from and so I’m constantly scrambling to come up with new ways of reaching new people.

Jason Brubaker
What are some crowdfunding tips you can share with other filmmakers?

Koo
In terms of having a big launch, my tips would be to build up your audience online long before you even think about launching a crowdfunding campaign. I’m not talking weeks or months, I’m talking years. You’ve got to have credibility and it helps a ton if you have a mailing list. In my case I’ve been giving away a free 114-page eBook on DSLR Cinematography – you know about free eBooks as much as anyone, Jason – and I have been doing this for a year.

Jason Brubaker
Yes. I think we both focus on building genuine relationships with our audience. Which, I believe all modern moviemakers must now do.

Koo
It’s by no means a quid pro quo – you don’t have to donate to my crowdfunding campaign if you read my eBook or website – but I hope that people who come back to the site often and read my newsletters would be more likely to back my project than they would be a stranger’s.

Jason Brubaker
I really like your website and the value you provide to the filmmaking community. Has this positively impacted your campaign? I mean, did you get a great response with your initial email blast?

Koo
In light of how many subscribers and website visitors NoFilmSchool gets, I have 600 backers so far. It is not a huge number. But what I have been amazed at is how generous the backers are. There are more $120 backers than there are $5 backers, and this has been an unbelievably pleasant surprise! For someone you’ve never met in person to believe in you enough to pledge $120 (or more) to help you make your movie is an eye-opening, life-changing experience. Even if my campaign doesn’t make its goal, I will have learned a lot from the campaign thanks to all of the backers and messages I’ve received.

Jason Brubaker
What advice do you have for other modern moviemakers with a goal of making a movie?

Koo
Don’t put yourself in a position where a gatekeeper can tell you no. Grab a DSLR and do it yourself on the cheap. Even if you make something bad or otherwise fail at your pursuit, you’ll have learned something. You don’t learn nearly as much by knocking on doors and hearing “no.”

Jason Brubaker
I totally agree with this philosophy. Asking permission is a waste of time. Never do it!

Koo
When taking a DIY approach, I would say that you should just try to make the best possible short you can. Someone will click on a link, find your video, and if it’s not good, within 20 seconds they’ll click away. If you’re making a “calling card” type of project, there is no value to being prolific – no one says, “wow, this guy made 30 videos.”

All that matters is whether the one they stumble upon is good. And remember, these aren’t just friends, family, and anonymous people bored at work watching. If you get any sort of buzz, producers, agents, and other filmmakers will be watching it too. Put your absolute best foot forward and the rest will follow!

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If you would like to help Koo make his movie, follow this link: Koo’s Crowdfunding Kickstarter Campaign.

Over the next year, I am hitting the road. I’m going from city to city to spread the word about modern movie distribution tactics and how YOU can benefit. I am doing this because the independent movie market is saturated with competition. And as a result, finding a traditional distribution deal for your movie (that actually pays money) is increasingly challenging.

After failing to garner a traditional distribution deal for my first feature film, I had to figure out how to market and sell my movie through modern internet marketing strategies. The good news is, five years later our movie is still selling!

As a result of this experience, I have developed an easy to follow, step-by-step modern movie distribution presentation. In it, I show independent filmmakers how to maximize movie profits without the middle-man!

If you are interested in seeing me live, forward this article to every film festival director you know. And if you can’t wait to see me, watch the video below:

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“Exceptionally sharp, focused and insightful, Jason Brubaker knows how to squeeze profits out of a film release. When I have to deal with marketing – whether it’s getting a film released or setting up a panel discussion – Jason is on my team. He knows how to do the job and he knows how to explain the process.”

-Norman Berns; Emmy-Award Winning Producer

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“Jason delivered a terrific presentation at The Business of Entertainment IV networking event. His topic was “How to Sell Your Movie Without a Middleman” and featured insights and tips on how students and independent producers can leverage Internet distribution for a profit. Jason was informative and entertaining; and he received excellent reviews from the participants. We will definitely engage Jason again and look forward to more of the same professional and personable observations and advice!”

- Von Johnson

Thank YOU for helping me spread the modern moviemaking movement.

(Press Release – Los Angeles, CA) Independent filmmaking has been considered one of the riskiest businesses in the world. This is because independent filmmakers traditionally relied on 3rd party movie distributors to acquire, market and reach the audience through tried and true sales channels. But thanks to modern Video On Demand distribution, independent movie makers can now reach their audiences through popular VOD marketplaces without the middle-man.

Video on demand distribution provides filmmakers with easy access to the major online marketplaces such as Amazon and iTunes. Once a title is submitted, filmmakers can then share virtual shelf space with mainstream Hollywood movies. While video on demand distribution represents a easy way for independent filmmakers to enter mainstream marketplaces, this change in distribution represents new challenges.

According to Los Angeles based independent filmmaker, Jason Brubaker, “Filmmakers now need to become comfortable with internet marketing, social media and audience list building… And for most modern moviemakers, this is a huge learning curve!”

Based on his own experience, Jason Brubaker has completed a new system for helping moviemakers get their movies seen and selling. Called The Independent Producer’s Guide To Digital Self-distribution, independent filmmakers can now utilize a step-by-step Action Guide to help sell movies in popular internet marketplaces as soon as possible.

“When our first feature failed to garner a traditional distribution deal, I had two choices. I could have given up and just let our movie collect dust, or I could try to sell the movie.” Luckily for Jason Brubaker, the experiment paid off. Five years later his first feature film is still selling and as a result, he is still cashing checks, prompting some traditional movie distribution companies to take notice.

“Yeah. They called me on the phone and finally offered a traditional deal. But since we were doing so well on our own, it was decided that the deals just weren’t worth the headache. So we told them we would have to pass at this time. Which is funny, because that’s what distribution companies usually tell filmmakers.”

The Independent Producer’s Guide To Digital Self-Distribution provides filmmakers with an easy to follow Action Guide as well as a a built in step-by-step workbook. Once filmmakers work through the action guide, marketing and selling independent movie via internet marketplaces becomes a very simple process.

“I wanted the Independent Producer’s Guide To Digital Self Distribution to be an easy to follow, valuable guide. Once you know this stuff, you’ll probably never consider a crappy distribution deal again.”

To find out more about the Independent Producer’s Guide To Digital Self Distribution, check out www.HowToSellYourMovie.com

A lot of those “experts” had never even made a movie! One guy even said I should ask my dentist or doctor for money.  Frustrating.

Fortunately, I found few a great filmmaking books. Here are my top 3! I didn’t put these filmmaking books in order, but in full disclosure I did use affiliate links that will redirect you to Amazon. If you don’t like Amazon, get these books somewhere else, but do read them!

1. How I Made A Hundred Movies In Hollywood And Never Lost A Dime – In this book, Roger Corman explains how he was able to build an amazing motion picture business. Now before you decide that Roger doesn’t make the type of movies you want to make – think again. New technology allows filmmakers to make movies rapidly. So it’s very possible you’ll make your first feature film sooner than you think. But the real money in movies will be your ability to sustain the product pipeline. (In other words, you need to make many movies, not just one.) Roger provides a great model for this type of thinking.
2. Extreme DV at Used-Car Prices: How to Write, Direct, Shoot, Edit, and Produce a Digital Video Feature for Less Than $3,000 – In this book, Rick Schmidt wrote one of the classics. Despite changes in technology, one thing remains – If you are going to make a feature film, you need to take action! Rick also has workshops where you can collaborate with other filmmakers and come out with a feature film.
3. Rebel without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player – I got this one for a gift. After reading how Robert Rodriquez sold his body to science, made a feature and became famous. If he could make feature films, so can you!

Aside from those books, I’d like to recommend one more. Filmmaking Stuff: How To Make Your Movie In 21 Steps – Ok, this is the book I wrote. But unlike the other stuff I mentioned, you can get this filmmaking book for free.

Jason Brubaker - Los Angeles Based Indie Film Producer

Sooner or later the filmmaking bug hits you. . . It’s like a far off voice or compulsion. But like breathing, for the serious independent filmmaker, the need to make a feature is always present.

BEFORE YOU GET CRAZY

If you’re not making short movies with your friends, making a feature will be like running a marathon before you know how to walk.  SO, before you make your first feature film, do this:

1. Spend the next couple of months making little movies with your friends.
2. Read EVERY screenplay you can!
3. Constantly write and refine your feature script.
4. Cultivate relationships with rich and successful people.
   
5. Avoid anyone in your life who sucks your filmmaking energy.

The Result?

Follow this system for the next six months and you will have no more excuses. You will diminish a large portion of fear regarding your movie making future. Sure, you’re about to formally enter the club of feature filmmakers. And this transition, like any, can represent change and fear of the unknown can be spooky.

But push through your fear and  the cumulative knowledge and experience you’ll gain is more than most wanna-be filmmakers will learn in a decade.

What are you waiting for?

Think of it this way, the average American lives for only 27,010 days (Just take 74 years multiplied by 365. Honestly, I don’t know if 74 years is the average or not. But 74 years old seems like a pretty good age.) Break your life into days, how many days do you have left? Not as many as you thought?

Well then, what are you waiting for? Create your career in the movie industry!

I’m serious about this. I know you’re reading these words right now because you want to make movies. Well, I’m here to remind you that it’s possible. But you must first take action! So without further adieu. . . Make Your Movie Now!

Go Here:

www.WriteScreenPlayNow.com

Even though some filmmakers think getting money is somehow limited to the arena of filmmaking, it’s not. The truth is, all budding business professionals need to shake the money tree from time to time. So luckily for us filmmakers, the world of business provides us with rules to and resources for getting money.

GET THE MONEY

The traditional ways people raise money in the United States, aside from going to a bank, is by meeting with an attorney, putting together some complex paperwork in-line with the Securities and Exchange Commission regulations, creating relationships and meeting with potential investors, asking for money – and then getting the check!

Now, this is pretty complex. So I hope you’ve taken some time to look at your movie. Do you need a few million to make it? Or can your project be made for much less? This factor alone will determine your strategy. Just keep in mind – If you’ve worked really hard to eliminate costs in your budget, then it’s possible to make a fancy looking movie for under 15K… Or less.

Yes. You read that right.

But for today, lets take a look at some traditional action steps used in raising a few million dollars:

ACTIONS

1. Cultivate a legitimate friendships with rich and successful people.
2. Get an attorney to write up something called a private placement memorandum.
3. Figure out how you’ll spend the money.
4. Figure out how you’ll get the money back.
5. Under a million and it’s doubtful your venture will be perceived as a worthwhile investment.

Now again. Raising money is a super simple subject (just find rich people and ask for the money) – but the laws and rules and regulations mean that you’ll need to know a few things about protecting yourself and your business from liability. The following resources are worth reading if you want to add to your growing knowledge base on “how do I get money to make my movie?”

I found OPM: How to Attract Other People’s Money for Your Investments–The Ultimate Leverage, to be a pretty good read. It’s not filmmaking related – but as I often say, if you want to get a step ahead of your filmmaking competitors, you need to learn a thing or two about general business. And speaking of business, I also think Risky Business: Financing & Distributing Independent Films provides some specific movie making information that I would have otherwise not considered.

In four days, I’ll send you a lesser known, secret strategy for raising funds. (And it won’t involve asking a dentist or a doctor. Promise!)

Happy Filmmaking!

Picture this! By some miracle to end all miracles, born of equal parts luck and blind determination, you’ve managed to rise above the never-ending barrage of questions from “concerned” friends and family who’ve always thought your talk about making movies was reckless. You’ve put together a cast and crew, refined your script, found some financing and in the process, you’ve even figured out how to ignore all your significant other’s not-so-subtle hints that a career selling life insurance really wouldn’t be that bad. To be honest, looking back, even you aren’t really sure how you pulled it off. Yet, despite all of the concerns and self doubt, you’ve somehow managed to make the impossible possible. You’ve made your first feature film! And, by definition, you’re finally a real filmmaker.

So, as your significant other drinks celebratory champagne with your family, friends and whatever members of your cast and crew are still speaking to you at the wrap party, you and I both know there is one nagging thought still rattling around in the back of your mind. It’s the same thought shared by every independent feature filmmaker. You’re asking yourself, how am I going to distribute this thing?

As a feature filmmaker, your distribution strategy will fall into one of two categories. Either your movie will be picked up, marketed and sold through various outlets by one of those distribution companies you read about in the trades, or you will sell it yourself. This is the major difference between traditional distribution and self-distribution. Regardless of which path you take, there are certain fundamental steps you must complete to ensure the film makes a smooth transition from the edit suite to the marketplace.

Preparing to Find a Distributor

When finding a distributor, many filmmakers partner with sales representatives, agents, lawyers or consultants to help get their movies seen and, hopefully, sold. It is during this time that the representative will often furnish the filmmaker with an extensive checklist of deliverables that include (with some variation): the movie master, talent agreements, high resolution digital photos for use in promotion, a credit lock, talent bios and press kits, a copyright registration form, chain of title and just about every other legal clearance the distributor can think of to minimize liability. One area where first-time filmmakers often stumble is in properly securing the rights to each and every bit of music included in their flick.

According to Richard Abramowitz of Abramorama, a marketing and distribution consulting firm that specializes in independent films, “Sometimes filmmakers include a song in the background that can’t be removed from the dialogue track, or a character sings along to the song in scene. If the music isn’t fully cleared, then the filmmaker either has to pay [for the rights] or cut the scene entirely.” As you can imagine, finding one of these errors can significantly delay, or even derail, your potential distribution deal.

Because of these surprises and to further mitigate risk exposure, most distributors will require Errors and Omissions insurance. According to Mark Litwak, of the Beverly Hill’s based law firm Mark Litwak & Associates, “E&O insurance is malpractice coverage for filmmakers. It protects the insured from liability arising from negligence in not securing the rights, permissions and clearances needed to exploit the film.”

Assuming the movie reaches a deal and all the elements are delivered, the filmmaker’s involvement in the project is minimized as the distributor assumes control of the marketing, public relations, packaging, duplication and quality control. From there, the distributor will get the movie into their marketplace pipeline, which may involve anything from movie theatres to any number of straight-to-DVD outlets.

Preparing for Self-distribution

Distribution as we know it is changing. With models like video-on-demand and fulfillment services becoming more and more integrated with not-so-independent conglomerates like Amazon.com, the options for reaching a global marketplace is wide open. Sooner than you think, all content may very well be available with the push of a button. While the prospect of cutting out the middleman is exciting to the independent filmmaker, as your own distributor, you now bear sole responsibility for both the success of your movie and the safeguarding of your personal liability should any legal issues arise. To many, this means purchasing E&O insurance, converting the movie website into a sales funnel, capturing leads, creating the DVD cover art and finding ways to efficiently reach your target audience at a minimal cost.

Stacy Schoolfield, whose film Jumping Off Bridges (view the trailer here) was successfully self-distributed in 2007 after a great festival run, says, “Self distribution provides more control over the film. Where you might only end up with 3 percent of traditional distribution profits, you could end up with much more through self-distribution.”

Stacy, who produced and managed distribution of the film, said her strategy involved showing Jumping Off Bridges, ultimately about a group of friends struggling through adolescence, to carefully selected niche audiences, building a mailing list and making the movie readily available on her website. “At our first screening at SXSW [the South by Southwest Film Festival], there were people from the local Teen Suicide Prevention/Mental Health awareness group. They came up to us and said they could use the film in their outreach and education. It was a new idea for us, and after more research, we found out that there were lots of groups like that across the country and we started reaching out to them. You have to know who your audience is and then pull out all the stops to reach them.”

Thanks to the Internet, finding the appropriate audience is becoming increasingly more efficient. According to Dana LoPiccolo-Giles, managing director of CreateSpace, which provides filmmakers with direct access to the Amazon marketplace, “Films with a specific focus may see higher sales due to niche audiences and less market competition. Some keys to online sales success are having an attractive, effective cover design that will look professional/interesting as a small thumbnail on web searches. Filmmakers should choose online keywords carefully, and make sure the name of the title will help the film be found in searches. Often a subtitle as part of the name can make it more specific and easily searchable.”

Regardless of whether you plan on selling directly to your marketplace or chose to take the time-honored distribution route, getting the appropriate releases, licenses, and clearances during pre-production will only help your movie make a smooth transition from screening room to marketplace. Once everything is in check, then you too can enjoy a little champagne… before getting ready to start the whole process all over again on your next project. Picture that!