Crowdsourcing hat die Filmbranche erreicht und diese Entwicklung bietet den unabhängigen Filmemachern viele neue Chancen, ihre Projekte umzusetzen und bekannt zu machen. Das Wichtigste dabei ist die Kollaboration zwischen dem Publikum und den Kreativen. Seed&Spark aus New York bietet genau diese Plattform für die Community aus Filmliebhabern und Filmemachern – und verfolgt dabei das Konzept „Fair Trade Filmmaking“. Die Gründerin von Seed&Spark Emily Best hat mir im Interview erklärt, wie die Plattform funktioniert, auf welche Arten und Weisen das Publikum mit einbezogen werden kann und wie sie die Zukunft des Independentfilms sieht…
The Future of Filmmaking from Seed&Spark on Vimeo.
Nora: What is Seed&Spark and how does it work?
Emily: Seed&Spark is a truly independent filmmaking community where filmmakers and audiences come together for crowdfunding, production, and streaming distribution. We are an audience-building tool leveraging crowdsourcing, gamification and social media. Independent filmmakers can build and engage with their audience early on to fund, produce, and distribute their films. Film lovers can sign up on the site to watch a slate of independent movies and browse for independent film projects that they would like to get made. Every time a Seed&Spark user supports the making of a moving picture project – through funding, following or sharing – they earn “Sparks” which can be redeemed to watch movies on the streaming platform. We charge US$2.99 for features and US$0.99 for shorts. 80% of the distribution revenues go to the filmmakers. Watching and supporting films leads to the creation of more films. It’s the new ecosystem for filmmakers and audiences.
Nora: How exactly do you see the future of filmmaking?
Emily: In the future, the art of independent filmmaking will be based on a strong collaboration between filmmakers and their audience. The audience is more empowered by technology than ever before to seek out what they like, what they want, what matters to them. We want to build a new ecosystem that restores independence to independent film, fueled by both filmmakers and film lovers. The audience becomes part of the filmmaking process early on. By contributing to the film project they develop an emotional connection and sense of ownership. They are vested in the success of the movie and share it with their friends and family. But filmmakers will only be able to build these kinds of communities of support if they are making something that authentically matters to them. A filmmaker has to be able to tell a compelling story about why the project needs to be made in order to garner the attention of the audience.
Nora: What was the reason for you to launch that platform?
Emily: First and foremost, the founding members of Seed&Spark are all film makers who come from different areas of expertise but have all come to recognize that the world of independent film needs some renovations. Typically, an independent filmmaker is the last person to reap the financial benefits of viewership, even if the movie gets picked up for theatrical release. Once the sales agents, distributors, and exhibitors take their cut and are reimbursed for their costs, there are pennies on the dollar left for the filmmakers. Seed&Spark filmmakers can keep up to 80 percent of the revenue and create a larger audience.
Nora: How many independent filmmakers are participating on an average?
Emily: We launched the site with a group of independent filmmakers, called the Seed&Spark Founding Filmmakers. We have 14 filmmaking teams raising money for new projects, and 12 directors currently streaming their completed films on the site. We will gradually add more funding campaigns and movies to the site after the new year.
Nora: How can the audience be included?
Emily: The audience can participate at every step of the movie making process, starting with the fundraising for film projects. The central element of each fundraising campaign is the Seed&Spark WishList, a crowdfunding tool that works like a wedding registry. Filmmakers list exactly what they need to make the film. It’s not just cash contributions. Supporters can also contribute or loan equipment, services, locations, accommodations and catering. So, you might not have the money to support a movie, but you might have a stack of office materials or a location that could support the production. And, every user can help spread the word with social media to help drive attention to specific movie projects.The more an audience member shares, follows, or funds projects, the more Sparks they earn, which gives them free access to watch the growing slate of independent movies on our site.
Nora: What are the difficulties and challenges?
Emily: Fragmentation, of course. There are a lot of competitors in this space, which makes it harder for us as a platform and harder on our filmmakers competing for audience attention with the other 15,000 independent films made every year. That said, I think the solution is to believe proudly in what you are doing and that it will make a difference to people. Those people will tell their friends, and so on…it takes a lot of faith! This is a new approach to filmmaking and art. The filmmaker needs to be willing to open up the project to the audience early on. It is not about creating this amazing film and showing it to the audience when ready. It is about including the audience and giving them ownership. It’s a more intimate relationship with the audience than traditional filmmaking. And, it includes being available via social media for feedback and input. No more of this „I don’t have a Facebook account“ because you simply can’t ignore the access to over a billion people it gives you.
Nora:What are your prognoses for Seed&Spark?
Emily: We are confident that we can bring the concept of Fair Trade Filmmaking to the independent film community. Seed&Spark will set an example for the industry and help hard working filmmakers get better rewards for their movies and help with the creation of movies that have a larger audience.
Thank you, Emily!
Zum ausführlichen Info-Video geht es hier.
