Pfizer, Novartis & Eli Lilly Received A Bunch Of Illegal Pharma Patents In India

More Movies Trying Out Tiered CwF+RtB Support Models

from the fun-to-watch-this-in-action dept

Fri, Apr 9th 2010 3:43pm — Mike Masnick

We're getting so many examples of content creators making use of CwF+RtB business models lately, that it's difficult to figure out which ones are worth posting. Mostly, of course, we're still hearing about the music industry, where these sorts of models are becoming more common, but here are two interesting ones that are in the movie business, where such models haven't been as common. The first, pointed out by rosspruden is about a Spanish film called The Cosmonaut which has a few unique features surrounding it. Ross listed them out:

the filmmakers are releasing their work under a CC license to let others mix and reuse their film.
the film is fully funded from fan donations (so the film never needs to turn a profit)
profits are generated from sales of scarce goods
fans are allowed to invest in the project for real financial profit (not virtual profit), which isn't allowed according to SEC regulations (yet)

The fan funding element is definitely interesting -- though I'm still not convinced that investing for real financial profit really works that well in these situations. As we've seen with things like Sellaband's problems, those can have downsides as well. Money is one incentive, but certainly not the only one. And, with crowdfunding projects, it often seems like giving the crowdfunders financial (as opposed to non-financial) incentives can lead to problems. People get less into supporting the content creators and then start worrying about what they might get back out of it. This isn't to say it can't work, but it has pitfalls. Still, either way, it's definitely nice to see the Creative Commons license on the film, and the plan to let others not just watch it, but remix and reuse the film.

The second example comes from Ryan Estrada, who is involved in a project to create an animated romantic horror-comedy that is using a crowdfunding model as well, with the focus on being able to get "in the movie" in some manner.

This isn't entirely new. We've seen some other movies do the same -- and even just the idea of getting your name in the credits (the cheapest option) was something that filmmakers like Kevin Smith have done in the past (though, not for money). However, I think this actually works especially well in an animated movie. One of the (quite reasonable) concerns that filmmakers have expressed in hearing about fan funding movie projects that involve "get a part in the movie" is that this could seriously diminish the quality of the movie if the fans can't act. But with an animated film, the idea is that you send in an image, and then an animated "you" shows up in the film. That seems to work a lot better, and to build a real connection with the fans.

Again, I'm not saying either of these will be success stories, but they're two recent attempts at trying something new in filmmaking, and both seemed worth mentioning and discussing here.

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Filed Under: crowdfunding, cwf+rtb, filmmakers, movie industry
Companies: sellaband

7 Comments

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Brian (profile), 9 Apr 2010 @ 5:04pm

Self-distribution data
Although not fan funded, Albert Pyun's is a filmmaker who is also working on a DIY model for distributing his films. He is posting some interesting stats in his DIY blog at filmmaker magazine and works with Magic Rock. Here is a link that may interest some of you regarding sales figures o filmmakers who have chosen to self-distribute.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Apr 2010 @ 5:46pm

not much different from hitting up your friends for enough money and putting their names in the credits. crowdsourcing is just using a buzz word to explain what has happened for the last 100 years of movie making. it was a 0.0001% of the market before and remains now. nothing is changing just the buzz worthy name.
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Mike Shore, 9 Apr 2010 @ 7:57pm

Same old, same old
"We're getting so many examples of content creators making use of CwF+RtB business models lately, that it's difficult to figure out which ones are worth posting." Why do we keep talking about different ways to make money? Because some people realy want industry to survive. Industry needs to change? Hey, no problem. You are in the dominant position to embrace new the world order! Do it and continue your dominance! Oh, you don't want to change? Continue selling your buggy whips and continue to whine about "new" technology. Welcome to 1900. Frankly I am tired of hearing about the dinosaurs. I want to hear about whatever will replace the current species.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Apr 2010 @ 9:43pm

Re: Same old, same old
meet the new boss, same as the old boss. all the new models live only because the old model tolerates them. remove the old model and the new models will die from lack of income
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Suzanne Lainson (profile), 10 Apr 2010 @ 12:55am

How's the Cosmonaut movie doing?
I went to the website and they are offering some nice looking merchandise. The group is also throwing what looks like a good party tonight (April 10th).

I saw that they just hit 2000 producers (which is a label they give who spends/contributes as little as 2 euros). But I didn't see any mention as to how much they have raised or how the movie production is going. I may have missed it or maybe it hasn't been posted anywhere.

Does anyone have that info?
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PaulT (profile), 10 Apr 2010 @ 5:06am

In before some moron claims that this won't work for bloated $300 million Hollywood productions as though those are the only good films...
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catullusrl, 11 Apr 2010 @ 4:44am

More nonsense from Masnick
The plot of this film is that an astronaut returns to earth and finds nobody there.This is a great way to cut down on the costs of hiring actors.It's almost as if the poor economics has defined the plot!
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