Kadeem Wilson’s viral trailer for his film concept “It Doesn’t Exist” fooled 65,000 viewers into thinking it was for an actual movie—and garnered enough interest that he was able to turn that misconception into reality. Many independent filmmakers like Wilson are turning to crowdfunding to financially back their projects. Are you an Indiegogo-getter who wants to Kickstart your filmmaking career? Let’s dive into the fundamentals of crowdfunding, from why you might want to take money from the masses to how to transform that into cinematic success.
Why should I consider crowdfunding my film?
Creative control: Crowdfunding on sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo gives filmmakers the rare opportunity to maintain complete creative control. As opposed to traditional financing routes—in which studios, investors, or distributors might demand script changes or ask you to cut your favorite scene—crowdfunding means you answer directly to a group of supporters who already believe in your vision.
Filmmaker-audience relationship: Beyond granting creative freedom, crowdfunding lets you connect with your audience long before your film is complete. Your backers become invested advocates who want to spread the news about your project, attend screenings and events, and follow any work you might produce in the future.
“With traditional film financing increasingly out of reach, it’s more important than ever for filmmakers to own their relationship with their audiences,” explains Taylor Shaw, Kickstarter’s senior outreach lead for film. “Crowdfunding is one of the most direct ways to do that.”
Additional support: Finally, a successful crowdfunding campaign provides valuable proof of concept that might just attract mainstream investors, distributors, and festival programmers to your project.
How to crowdfund for a film
1. Build a pre-launch foundation.
Before filmmakers take the plunge into crowdfunding, Shaw says they need to know exactly “why they’re running a campaign and how to communicate that in a compelling and urgent way.” Most successful crowdfunding campaigns don’t begin when they go live; they start weeks (or even months!) earlier with a strategic pre-launch phase.
To build excitement for your upcoming project, set up a pre-launch page that shows potential backers what the project is about and why they should be throwing money at it (here’s how to do it on Kickstarter and Indiegogo). Send it to your friends, family, and industry contacts, and post it on social media and in relevant communities.
“Pre-launch is the most important part of running an entire Kickstarter,” says Wilson. “If you can get the pre-launch right, everything else is smooth selling from there.” He should know: The filmmaker made the fake trailer for “It Doesn’t Exist” so that he could try to practice his editing, but he was soon surprised by its immense popularity that took his YouTube channel from 17 subscribers to 65,000 nearly overnight. Commenters were disappointed that the trailer wasn’t actually a movie, so Wilson decided to start a pre-launch page on Kickstarter to feel out interest. This allowed the people who had been so impressed by the trailer to follow the page, learn more about the potential project, and get an email notification when he decided to launch a campaign, which earned him over $11,000 in funding.
Wilson reached out to viewers in the YouTube comment section, sent his pre-launch page to his friends and family, asked the project’s cast and crew to share the page, and posted the trailer in various relevant Reddit groups. “I found a Japanese horror group on Reddit, which had like 40,000 people,” he says. “I went from subreddit to subreddit. By the time I was ready to start my campaign, I had a pre-launch following of around 700 people.”
2. Create a project video.
One of the key aspects of successful film crowdfunding is the project video sharing your concept. “You really need a strong project video,” says Shaw. “Keep it under two minutes. Use it to tell a compelling story about your film and why it matters. Speak directly to your audience and show them what makes your project unique.”
Check out Wilson’s project video to see how he did it:
Once you’ve perfected your project video, it’s time to share it far and wide. You can also try showcasing visuals from principal photography that represent your project’s tone and style.
3. Answer the why questions.
Your crowdfunding campaign should clearly break down the following:
- Why you want to make the movie
- Why you’re the right person to do so
- Why now is the right time to do it
Take Winnie Cheung, whose short erotic thriller “Last Call” went from pre-launch to raising over $23,000 on Kickstarter to the major win of premiering at South by Southwest this year. To help her film get there, Cheung crafted a narrative on her pre-launch page that articulated her vision for the project, why she was uniquely positioned to tell this story, and why now was the critical moment to bring it to life. She emailed potential backers the pre-launch page with this information, then followed up with them every few weeks.
“I was pitching it as a route to making a feature,” Cheung says. “I wanted to get more momentum behind the genre. I knew that women wanted to see other messy women onscreen, and to make a subversive and transgressive movie from the female perspective. I told the story behind the film and the story. I wanted to make a personal connection with the backers. That way you have a better chance of them following your campaign.”
4. Go from pre-launch to launch.
Once you’ve built a solid following and have refined your campaign materials, it’s time to pull the trigger on your official launch (here’s how to do it on Kickstarter and Indiegogo). Before going live, be sure to let your followers know that the campaign will be launching soon, with the specific date and time. When you do launch, reach out personally to your closest supporters first, asking them to contribute within the first few hours to create crucial early momentum.
“The first 24–48 hours are absolutely critical,” explains Shaw. “That’s when the platform’s algorithm determines whether your project gets visibility.” Send launch announcements across all your social media channels, email your pre-launch list, and ask your cast, crew, friends, and family to share the campaign with their networks.
Wilson’s success demonstrates this perfectly: By coordinating his pre-launch community of 700 followers to back immediately upon launch, he was able to reach his $5,000 goal in just 11 hours, creating a snowball effect that attracted even more backers throughout the campaign.
5. Set realistic goals and attractive rewards.
When setting your funding goal, resist the temptation to aim too high. Instead, choose a number that covers your essential production costs but is still achievable for your audience size (like Wilson’s $5,000 goal).
Equally important are your reward tiers, which should offer genuine value that makes backers feel excited about contributing. Wilson incentivized pledges by creating a range of attractive options: Supporters paying $24.99 would receive a digital download of the movie; those contributing $49.99 would also get the eight-song soundtrack; and backers giving $99.99 would have their voice used in the film for a haunting sequence. The key is balancing rewards that are meaningful to your audience with costs that won’t eat into your production budget.
6. Be transparent.
Once your campaign is live, maintain open communication with your supporters so that they stay supporters. “The most successful crowdfunding filmmakers are radically transparent with their backers,” says Shaw. “They treat their supporters like collaborators—keeping them informed, sharing the ups and downs, and honoring the relationship throughout the journey. Trust is everything, and transparency builds the kind of long-term support every filmmaker wants.”
7. Persevere.
Crowdfunding campaigns rarely follow a straight upward trajectory, so the best thing you can do is keep on keepin’ on. Even successful projects experience dramatic swings that can test the most veteran filmmaker’s resolve. Anticipate this emotional roller coaster ahead of time so you’re ready to navigate inevitable challenges—and celebrate the victories along the way.
Cheung notes that filmmakers should expect a dip in the middle of campaigns. “Everybody goes through this phase of despair,” Cheung says. “You should tell your closest friends and family that’s when they should donate, as it can give the campaign a boost.” She admits that if she had funded “Last Call” with her own money, she probably would have stopped altogether. “But the fact people who didn’t even know me had financed the film, I felt in debt to the project. It made me feel accountable. That made me keep going.”
Ultimately, crowdfunding doesn’t have to be a grueling alternative to funding projects or “feel like a chore,” says Shaw, who adds that, “when approached with clarity and creativity,” it can actually “be an energizing, audience-building experience.”
