Money Moves: How Filmmakers Crowdfund With NFTs

August 22, 2022 by Mimi Phan

If you look at most of the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) available today, you’ll find that they’re primarily in the art sphere. Some of the biggest NFT sales in history have been for artwork – like the famous Beeple piece that sold for about $70 million back in early 2021. While this is all well and good, we often tend to focus so closely on this aspect of NFTs that we ignore their benefits in other fields. Yes, NFTs are primarily known for their connection with art right now – but these tokens are also beneficial for filmmakers. And in this post, we’ll be looking at how filmmakers crowdfund with NFTs to make their projects possible.

How Do You Crowdfund A Movie?

With the turn of the century and the launch of the internet, filmmakers have found different ways to crowdfund and raise money for their projects.

Today, it’s easy for a filmmaker to go on platforms like Kickstarter to pitch their movie idea and get people to buy in. Crowdfunding platforms have become a suitable alternative to movie studios, which tend to take significant sums of money in exchange for their investment, leaving filmmakers with little at the end of the day.

The problem with crowdfunding platforms, however, is that they seem to be losing credibility. We’ve heard the stories of scam projects and crowdfunding campaigns that launch and promise investors the world, only to be rug pulls or scam projects launched by opportunistic people.

Of course, the competition factor is also present. With thousands of campaigns being launched on crowdfunding platforms, the chances of a filmmaker getting the funding they need are slim to none. And even if you do get your funding, you might lose precious time in the process.

The NFT Solution

With all of this in mind, it’s easy to see why a lot of filmmakers are now turning to NFTs as a possible way out. NFT crowdfunding has become an interesting part of the movie space, with more and more filmmakers opting to use these tokens to raise money for their projects.

So, how do filmmaker NFTs actually work? What does everyone stand to gain in the process?

Primarily, there are two ways to crowdfund a movie using NFTs: you can sell NFTs and use the proceeds to fund your movie, or you can offer movie-related NFTs to people in exchange for perks. 

Selling Traditional NFTs to Fund Movie Production

The first – and maybe easiest – option for most filmmakers is to sell their works as NFTs and then use the proceeds to fund their movies.

We saw this with the famous example of Julie Pacino, daughter of actor Al Pacino. In December 2021, Pacino launched an NFT collection where she sold off her photographs as NFTs. She ended up raising an impressive $100,000, which she used to fund her independent movie, I Live Here Now.

This method of NFT film funding is great because it allows creators to use the proceeds from everyday NFTs to simply bankroll their projects. They maintain ownership of the movie and all the rights that come with it, and can earn even more money when they eventually release the movie.

However, it’s also not a surefire method of raising funds. If you launch an NFT collection and see low sales numbers, you just might not get enough money to bankroll the movie.

Movie-Related NFTs

This method of NFT film funding is quite practical – even though not many people seem to be using it.

To understand how movie-related NFTs work, imagine this: you’re looking to raise money for your movie with NFTs. So, you create a collection of NFTs and sell them via an NFT marketplace. When people buy them, they get certain perks – these could be merchandise, directors’ cuts, featurettes, tickets to premieres, or even an opportunity to star in the movie.

A perfect example of this is Miguel Faus – a Latin American filmmaker who launched an NFT collection to raise funds for his movie Calladita. Faus created NFTs and offered rewards and unique perks to buyers who contributed to the fundraising campaign.

This method of NFT crowdfunding is great because it immediately creates demand and offers an incentive. You could even create different types of NFTs and sell them at different prices, with the more expensive ones offering more perks.

Now, people have a reason to buy your movie NFTs, and they’ll see their money work for them when the movie is eventually released and they get their perks.

Is This The New Norm for Funding Hollywood?

It’s easy to believe that NFTs are the permanent solution to the crowdfunding challenges that many filmmakers have. However, this might not necessarily be true. Traditional crowdfunding is still a viable option, and it will be for many years to come. Plus, many movie studios are still on the hunt for the next big thing to fund.

However, independent filmmakers have a reliable solution in filmmaker NFTs. If a filmmaker is able to grow their audience and build an army of devoted fans, they will be able to easily make sales and raise the funds they need to bankroll their movies.

As the space continues to grow, there will undoubtedly be innovations in how filmmakers crowdfund with NFTs. For now, the future looks very bright, and it will be fascinating to see how NFTs shape and influence the movie industry even more.

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