The Changing Face of Cinema
There was a time and day when the only way you could get funding for your independent project was to beg, plead and borrow from anyone you knew.
Actually, on second thought, that's a practice that is as common now as it was then. Ed Wood famously went to a church and convinced them that if they backed one of his films he would make them enough money to reinvest in their religious pictures. Unless you were born the child of a millionaire, you're probably going to have to borrow a bit of money at some point to fund your vision.
The problem with borrowing money though is that it can cost you a bit of creative license. When you're dealing with other people's money, you might find yourself beholden to their wishes. In Ed Wood's case, Grave Robbers from Outer Space had to become Plan 9 From Outer Space in order to appease the Southern Baptist Convention. It's always a gamble to borrow money from others who don't share in your vision.
If Ed Wood had been born in today's modern age, things might have turned out a bit differently for him. Sure, his films would still have been God awful messes, but with programs like Kickstarter, they would've been 100% his own mess.
Kickstarter works on a simple principle: You present your idea to the worldwide community, set a financial goal and then you try and meet that goal. Not every project meets it target, but that's part of what makes the system so helpful. If you can't present an idea that appeals to the masses, then that must mean you have to take it back to the drawing board and retool it. If it's something that people genuinely want to see, than it'll get the funding it deserves. There's no corporate investor breathing over your shoulder or deals to be made. It's as simple as appealing to your peers.
New projects are constantly being presented and showcased on Kickstarter, with a cursory glance at the front page you'll see ideas ranging from Jazz albums to a project based on Clive Barker's work. One of these projects that is on the prowl for donations is a cult classic film called Thankskilling.
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