Fund This: ‘Every Frame A Painting’ Uncovers Art At The Movies

Welcome to the Fund This column! Each week, we’ll look at a planned web series or other online video project currently in search of funding on crowdfunding sites. We’ll tell you what the series is all about and explain why it is worth your money. Do you have a project that’s currently being crowdfunded? Contact us to let us know and we may feature it in upcoming installments and check out previous installments right here.

This installment of Fund This is brought to you by Patreon.

Project Name: Every Frame A Painting

Asking For: Monthly contribution on Patreon

Amount Raised Thus Far (At Time Of Post): $6,205 per month

Days Remaining In Campaign (At Time Of Post): Indefinite (30 days until end of month)

Description: Every Frame A Painting is the name of a YouTube channel run by Tony Zhou, a movie buff with an eye for small details. By combining his experience as a film editor, a little bit of formal education, and an exhaustive amount of research, Zhou is able to break down well-known flicks and shine light on the techniques used by the world’s most famous filmmakers.

At first glance, Every Frame A Painting’s grandiose name may make some potential viewers suspect pretension, but Zhou is no film snob. Instead, in his videos, he has analyzed everyone from Jackie Chan to Akira Kurosawa to Michael Bay. No matter his subject, Zhou’s focus is education, and he tends to achieve that goal with aplomb. Watch any one of his videos, and you’ll walk away with a deeper understanding of the filmmaking process.

Creator Bio: As he explained in a Reddit AMA, Zhou’s most significant film education came at the Vancouver Film School

, where one of his professors uttered the line that would eventually become the title of his channel. Zhou now works in the Bay Area as a freelance editor.

Best Perk: Teachers who wish to show Zhou’s work in schools can pay him $3 a month in exchange for classroom-safe videos that feature no nudity or swearing.

Why You Should Fund It: There are not a lot of creators who put as much work into their videos as Tony Zhou. Each individual Every Frame A Painting video takes several weeks, if not months, to put together. In order to deliver the high level of analysis his viewers crave, Zhou has to give each movie multiple viewings, and that is obviously a time consuming process.

By receiving support on Patreon, Zhou can dedicate more time to his videos, and he can summarily turn Every Frame A Painting into a useful destination for film buffs. “Every dollar you give goes into making the essay series a better resource,” he writes on Patreon. “Annotated videos, educational versions (without swearing or nudity) and downloadable links for everything. I want to make this channel a place where we can all learn to become better filmmakers or film viewers.”

Got a crowdfunding campaign you’d like to see featured in Fund This? Be sure to contact us here.

This installment of Fund This is brought to you by Patreon, the best way for video creators to get ongoing funding directly from their fans. Over 25,000 creators are using Patreon to do things like increase production value, hire more staff, and expand revenue sources. Learn more about funding your future on Patreon.