The Children’s Media Conference 2012 – Part Two
Commissioned by the Crowd
Introduced by:
Gina Fegan, CEO, D-Media and the South East Media Network Board
Speakers:
Naomi Alderman, Writer
Nick Daze, Author
Jason DaPonte, MD, The Swarm
Kevin McLean, Co-founder, Tinkatolli
There is a belief amongst many that the time of successful crowdfunding has passed, that it was a fad which has now over and redundant. Thankfully, this session confirmed what I had been hoping, that crowdfunding does in fact still have a future.
For those who are unaware or unfamiliar with the process, crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter allow creative’s to pitch projects and ideas directly to the public, encouraging them to act as the commissioners and fund their ideas. Crowdfunding is therefore highly beneficial for independent filmmakers, not only for the obvious reason of getting their projects funded but it also gives them unique access to their audience. While it is true that there is no better way of finding out what people want then by asking them, this notion is reinforced further by getting the public to put their money where their mouth is.
The site is equally as beneficial for these financial backers, who are typically rewarded be it with gifts such as, signed copies of the film, unique props and costumes, or even in extreme donations opportunities to be taken out for a meal by the director and cast.
In the last few years alone crowdfunding has grown from strength to strength, funding numerous projects and films. Yet, by no means is it a quick and easy method, as the speakers of this sessions reiterated countless times. Indeed to produce a successful crowdfunding campaign requires a substantial amount of preparation to be done before, during and after a bid for funding. You must be prepared to work hard, really hard.
Another implication is copyright, or more specifically protecting your IP. One speaker told us of how someone working for a well known television company confessed to using the site purely to steal ideas. This was a shocking revelation, yet a simple and obvious solution is to just develop your project quickly; something which should probably be happening anyway if you are to run a successful campaign.
This session looked at these issues surrounding this relatively new platform and aimed to provide advice and tips to those considering making a campaign.
The first of these useful tips was to be able boil your idea down to five words:
To kick off a campaign you are often required to provide a trailer about what your product, film will do or be about. This is the first point of contact with your audience so it is crucially important that the video is constructed carefully. You need to communicate effectively and efficiently; addressing YOUR target audience in the way THEY should be addressed. For example, if your target audience are unlikely to understand what crowdfunding is you need to explain it to them.
This is even more difficult in the area of children’s media, as children are not commonly familiar with it, and would need to rely on an adults permission to donate towards a project in the first place. Kevin McLean co-founder of online children’s game Tinkatolli remarked how this was a problem they encountered with their trailer.
It is crucial for the trailer your energy levels are up, you want to excite your audience, but you also want to explain clearer what or who you are doing this for and what your appeal is. You can’t be too precious about your ideas, they must be able to adapt or be shaped by your audience. The website Indiegogo was cited as having fantastic customer service, as you can access their statistics about what projects work and are successful and which have more difficulty finding an audience and funding. Similarly, you can’t just ask for money, you need to really sell your idea to them so that they want to donate.
Secondly, try to keep your rewards simple.:
You can’t build custom present boxes for each person, keep it simple for yourself and your audience. Similarly, the rewards should be something you can communicate easily. For example, pre-ordering is a highly successful reward as it effectively encourages the audience to donate and is essentially the same as them just buying the product they like. With the $25 mark being the most frequent amount donated this is also highly accessible and reasonable. Other simple alternatives could be mp3’s of music used in the film, copies of the script or offering to feature their name in the credits. Tinkatolli capitalised on donations by encouraging audience to pay a mere $5 to play an early version of the game. This was particularly effective due to its target audience being children, as their parents were keen to pay the amount as it provided something for their child to access and use immediately.
Lastly and probably most importantly, you must ensure that you keep in communication with your audience at all times:
Although it may seem like it from outside, you cannot regard this money as simple being free. Your public have invested in your project and they should therefore be treated as your partners; with regular insight into the development of the project. This not only allows them to see where there money has gone but also holds their interest in the product and encourages them to tell more people about it. Many of the speakers spoke how a crowdfunding campaign should be planned like a military operation, you should know what and when you are sending out information and where you are advertising. Most of all you should be prepared for the dip in interest and donations that will occur. Many of the speakers revealed that they gained a relatively big boost of donations in the first week or so, however this was followed by a long period of little donations and a steadier stream towards the end. They suggested that the way to deal with the drought was to be prepared, encouraging potential users to plan marketing tools and think of alternative ways to contact your target audience. Blogs were noted as a particularly successful way of gaining recognition, as they often have a steady and reliable fan base who follow them religiously and repost material. Similarly, you should encourage those who have already donated to spread the word. Everyone you have ever known should know about the campaign and you should encourage as many of those to help spread the word too. In a world where social media reigns this is highly possible and a very great way to get donations flowing during the quieter days of your campaign.
Most of all though the speakers spoke positively of their crowdfunding experience. Although it is a lot of work, they agreed it was a fantastic platform for them as independent filmmakers to get their projects commissioned. They also remarked on the joy that there is to be sought from achieving the goal amount, and the community of support they are able to build with their audience. So if you are an independent filmmaker, on the search of some money to fund your new project, don’t believe the negativity and consider crowfunding as a successful alternative way to get your production off the ground!
Working with CBBC
Hosted by:
Saira Khan, TV presenter
Panellists:
Japhet Asher, Executive Producer, CBBC Interactive
Helen Bullough, Head of Productions, CBBC
Sara Harkins, Creative Director, Children’s Scotland, BBC Scotland
Bill Hobbins, Creative Director, CBBC
Sarah Muller, Head of Acquisitions and Drama Development, CBBC
Everyone is familiar with CBBC; the division of BBC that focuses solely on children’s programming. In fact, we all know the channel whether we have children or not. With its bespoke news service and high quality in house productions providing original UK comedy, drama and factual entertainment, aimed specifically for a UK audience, it is no wonder that it has an audience over over 1.8 million children a week.
This session, led by Saira Khan, ex-Apprentice star and presenter of CBBC show Beat the Boss and Trade Your Way to the USA, aimed to give an insight into each area of the channel and provide a closer look at the in house productions it produces. In addition, it also aimed to supply information on the direction of the channel, more specifically what they might be looking for from future content creators.
With the channels in-house productions contracted to produce 85 hours of news and 550 hours of factual content the CBBC panellist’s first spoke of the importance of keeping content fresh. The most effective way in which this can be achieved is through presenting new ideas, voices and faces, so the panel were keen to encourage and nurture any fresh talent who approach them with ideas. Surprisingly, they also appeared open to take risks on ideas that had a certain uniqueness or creators that displayed a great passion, new style and unquestionable talent. In addition, although a vast majority of their productions come originally from books, such as The Tracy Beaker Show and Shaun the Sheep, the panel insisted they were keen to hear ideas from talented freelance producers, writers and directors. In fact, they reiterated countless times that people should email them with any ideas for shows.
This may perhaps make it all sound a bit too easy, as though they were suggesting anyone could create a show for the prestigious channel. In reality, we all know the competition is fierce and CBBC will only accept and look at scripts from people who have previously produced or have an agent representing them. Likewise, the standards of children’s television are incredibly high, as proved recently with Tracy Beaker Returns winning a BAFTA for Best Children’s Drama in 2010. However, the panel did provide some really useful tips to consider before submitting your ideas to them, for those really serious about creating content for the channel.
- Firstly, you must know the channel really well, so well that you are able to recognise areas which are lacking. CBBC are always looking for something a different, new and exciting. If you believe and can sell your programme based on this, it stands a way better chance of being recognised and considered.
- Secondly, you must know your audience even better. CBBC do a lot of “stepping out” in which they visits schools and see what the children like and don’t like. This provides really insightful research as often they remarked how often creators realise that something they thought would appeal to their target audience actually serves of little relevance to them.
- Similarly, a perhaps most obviously, you must have a great idea. Although the channel has frequently attracted big name stars such as Vic Reeves and Brian Cox good talent will not sell an idea. As for what makes a good idea the panellists agreed that passion, an inherent desire to make a show and work with children rank highly, along with a genuine, honest story that is both clever and makes them smile. A superb script is therefore essential to get right before submitting and you should talk to children and find out what they think of your ideas. This script, together with a pitch bible which contains basic ideas of the budget, target audience etc is what you should submit or approach the channel with originally.
As well as providing these useful tips that the panellists also revealed some of the types of shows they are looking for at the moment: a boy driven action adventure show and a long running drama with an emotional heart.
At the end of the session Sarah Muller spoke a little more specifically about animation department of the channel. Here, things worked a little differently and she encouraged that animators with an idea for a programme should pitch it as a writer, and they will be brought in if there is significant interest in their idea.
She was also very keen to stress CBBC’s awareness of the importance of British animation in particular. Unsurprisingly, the channel were big supporters of the recent tax breaks for animation; recognising the great significance of the form has in many of their shows as well as its significance in factual shows such as the Newsround specials. Muller went on to explain that CBBC are always open to work with animators in the North, and have opportunities for a lot of people with different levels of experience!
All Animated
The last session of the day that I attended was led by Bill Lawrence and Kath Shackleton. Cath is well known for her work running Animated Yorkshire, a network for animators in Yorkshire to meet up, discuss projects and ideas. Recently she won an Arts Council bid to start up All Animated, a replacement of Animated Yorkshire, which aims to continue this work and connect with more animators around the North.
All Animated will therefore provide a network for animators in the North, the only area that does not already have one set up. Unlike Animated Yorkshire, All Animated is going to use its’ website as base, providing information on projects going on in the area, tutorials and details of the next networking nights in the area. The session was attended by many other animators and other interested in the area, as served as an informal chat to discuss what should be included on the website; what would be useful to established animation studios and people who have just graduated and are looking to get into the industry.
Along with regular networking sessions, a useful suggestion was for these meet up to serve a specific purpose, perhaps a specific night for younger animators to showcase their work to professionals, or challenges and competitions to be set to keep animators between projects busy. The session was greatly informative and interesting, and once set up All Animated should be a fantastic resource for animators in the North to connect with one another easily and seek support.