Kickstarter and Independent Projects
First, a quick crash course: Kickstarter.com is a platform site that provides opportunities for the funding of creative projects through a system of all-or-nothing financial backing. Anyone can submit a project, and as long as it meets the sites Project Guidelines, backers can begin pledging donations to it, in return for rewards and perks from project organizers that vary depending on the project itself and donation levels. Launched in 2009, the platform plays host to a wide variety of independent creative projects in all areas of the arts. The keyword here is independent
, and some critics were quick to challenge the validity of a studio-backed project like Thomas utilizing a platform like Kickstarter. Admittedly, this is somewhat new territory for crowd-sourced projects. Its the first time that a major studio has promised to support such an effort if it reaches its goal, and such a promise (especially with the dramatic success of the effort) could be seen as detrimental to the very nature of crowd-sourced projects. After all, isnt the real goal of crowd-sourcing to fund creative work that would not otherwise see any possibility of success? The short answer is yes. The longer answer, though, has to take into account that the Veronica Mars film does in fact belong in that previous category of projects with no other possibility of success. Without the support shown through the Kickstarter campaign, the film never would have moved forward. Its possible to argue that Thomas and Bell should have simply funded the movie themselves surely two talented members of Hollywood could have fronted the $2 million necessary, right? Rightbut the catch is a big one: even if the movie had been made on their dime, there was still no way to distribute it widely. A major benefit of this campaigns success will likely be the raising of Kickstarters already fairly high profile. In turn, that may well benefit the other projects that can be found on the site through increased interest in the platform and word-of-mouth concerning different projects that can be found there.