The Web is Hollywoods New Farm System

No matter where you look just about everything has a “farm system” to find their future talent. Professional sports have the minor leagues and college sports, business has internships and white-collar jobs have apprenticeships. A few years ago the entertainment industry basically has college programs and film festivals as their new talent pool, however that all has been changing over the past few years all thanks to the web.

Think about it. Just about everyone at one point or another had the thought that they had a great idea for TV of film. Only thing is they didn’t have the money or resources to go to film school or make the project on their own. Those people could have given us fresh ideas to where we wouldn’t have to deal with constant remakes and reboots.

Of course, these days everyone has the ability to create and share their ideas with millions of people around the world. This is all thanks to smart phones, cheap computers and sites like YouTube. Everything from vlogs to web series are being uploaded everyday by everyday people without the help of film school or any formal training. These people are gaining more exposure and views with a simple video then most professionally done web series or extras some networks create.

The more you look at the people who are embracing the web, the more you will see that even Hollywood stars seeing the potential it offers. People like Joss Whedon and Lisa Kudrow have taken the web by storm and used it as turning points for their careers. One of the reasons behind this is that they are free of network influence and censors. However, those are house hold names and really don’t have to worry about being discovered.

Just recently the web held its version of the Emmy’s with the Streamy’s. The best of the unknown went face-to-face with Hollywood Elite and the underdogs win. A girl vloging from her room weekly is a more recognizable face on the web than people like Felicia Day. Guys like Rhett and Link who make silly videos can go to having a show on the Independent Film Channel. So why is it that networks and studios are looking to the web for their next big thing instead of film schools and film festivals?

Crowd Funding The New Alterative

The second the Internet came online is the second everything about the entertainment industry changed. People were able to share information about all types of projects in various stages of development. You could download the script to your favorite movie and not have to wait to go to the movies to see trailers. Then in 2005 a little site entitled YouTube changed the game again. Now a days people from all over the world are creating new and entertaining content every second of the day and uploading so millions of people can enjoy it.

However, sometimes creating that content isn’t cheep and people need to find new and interesting ways to fund their projects. This is where Kickstarter and Indiegogo come in. Kickstarter and Indiegogo are crowd funding sites that allow anyone and everyone the opportunity to donate money towards a project they like. Anything from a $1 to $5,000 can be given to a project to help it meet its goal.

The reason these crowd funding sites are changing the game is because they are doing what YouTube did and that is changing the Hollywood system. Typically if you wanted to fund your project you would have to either beg for money from a studio or max out your credit cards just to finance your idea.

Of course, most people aren’t just going to donate. Both sites allow you give rewards for specific donation levels such as thank you or producer credits, props or stills from the project to even walk-on roles. Think of it as a way of giving back and saying THANK YOU for helping my project out.

The one thing I love about these sites is that they give people the chance to create something that they normally wouldn’t have been able to on their own. By helping them pay for extra props, a real editor or special effects these projects can become something more than just another D-rated movie or short. Plus, if you really enjoy the idea it could also catch the eye of someone in the Hollywood system and give that creator a chance to continuously entertain you.

I asked my friend Traycee King why she chose Indiegogo to help fund the second season of her webseries 8.13.

Indiegogo is a great way to get the community involved and to make them feel like they helped make a film. I also chose it because whether or not I make my goal; I want to finish as much as I can! With Indiegogo, I can keep the funds whether I make my goal or not.

As you can see some people in the system want to give back and get people involved with their projects. Yes, it’s nice to reward fans with cool features on DVDs and Blu-Rays, but lets face it those are old news. With these crowd funding sites you can get people more involved and give them a sense of being part of the project.

I will honestly think about using Kickstarter or Indiegogo to finance one of my future projects.