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.
Project Name: Firebase
Asking For: Flexible amount through Oats Studios website
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Amount Raised Thus Far (At Time Of Post): N/A
Days Remaining In Campaign (At Time Of Post): 30
Description: It’s been nearly a year since director Neill Blomkamp first started sharing well-shot, action-packed short films on his Oats Studios channel. The noted sci-fi director is now looking to make something bigger, but to do so, he’ll need some help from his fans. Blomkamp has launched a campaign to fund a long-form version of Firebase, a short film that first arrived last year.
Of all the short films Blomkamp has created under the Oats banner, Firebase — a thriller based around the supernatural goings-on among a military unit — is the one he and his team have chosen to adapt into a larger project. To drum up support for this venture, the director and his associates have taken to Twitch, where they are hosting a miniature film festival of sorts.
The size of the project depends on how much money Blomkamp raises. “If we raise $40 dollars [sic] we will film a Firebase “Cat” video,” he wrote in a video description on YouTube. “If we raise $100 million we will shoot a Firebase feature trilogy.”
Creator Bio: Blomkamp, who is South African, has directed high-budget films like District 9 and Chappie. He launched Oats Studios last year.
Best Perk: Contributions of any amount $10 and up includes access to a digital copy of the film once it is released. Blomkamp has noted that the film will not be available for free to non-contributors.
Why You Should Fund It: Blomkamp is an accomplished director whose track record speaks for itself, but Firebase is a particularly special project because it has the potential to change how filmmakers interact with their fans during the production process. Blomkamp could fund his film through traditional means, but he is choosing an experimental path. “Let’s actively choose to build something different,” he said. “Let’s actively choose to see if it works.” It’s a both experiment for sure. Just as campaigns like Veronica Mars legitimized crowdfunding years ago, Firebase has a chance to be a groundbreaking piece of work.
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