IndieMaverick offers high-tech film financing
By MicroCinema Scene • Jan 2nd, 2008 • Category: News, Tech“If IndieMaverick was around earlier, Robert Rodriguez would not have had to offer his body for medical experiments to raise the $7000 he needed to make El Mariachi which went on to make $2 million at the box office. He could have just uploaded his script and reel to our site, sat back and waited for the money to pour in,” says IndieMaverick creator Shane T. Hall. “Here at IndieMaverick we have set out to democratize the way films are made, giving audiences the ability to not only choose the films they watch, but to choose which ones actually go into production.”
IndieMaverick allows filmmakers to set up an account, upload reels of their work and promote their project to investors. Visitors to the site can then browse the offerings and if they find a project they like, invest. Investors can start with as little as $25. All the cash is held in a fund until the full budget is reached and then the funds are released to the filmmakers. Income from the movie is split 70/30 in the investors favor.
This is a very interesting concept, particularly for really low-budget films where you just need to raise a few grand. But I do have a few concerns.
- How do investors know that the producers aren’t going to take the money and run?
- If the movie does get made, what ensures that the producers will be reponsible as far as accurately reporting the films profitability?
- To make a $100,000 movie on $25 investments you would need 4000 investors. That number is a lot bigger than it sounds.
If the site is popular at all, there is the potential for a LOT of money to be sitting around for a long time as projects try to reach their budget. What kind of account is all this money going to be sitting in? Is this where IndieMaverick will really make it’s profit? And what happens to all the money if IndieMaverick goes under?
What do you think? Use the comments to let us know! If I was to invest today, it would definitely be in G-String Hellcats.
Related Articles:
MicroCinema Scene is your guide to the world of low-budget filmmaking. Our mission is to empower filmmakers by providing practical how-to filmmaking information, a system for networking with other filmmakers and a promotional outlet for truly independent movies.
Email this author | All posts by MicroCinema Scene
It look very interesting. There is a US-vased company doing the same thing. Check out www.filmriot.com
With site like these, as well as Prosper.com and Fundable.org, it’ll be interesting to see is financing options grow the way distribution has.
That whole 70/30 split seems like it can kill you financially. Because if you look at it you have marketing materials, printing costs, DVD costs, and etc. Then off that they take their fees, and then the investors take their percentage, all which in the end seems less than what you would really make.
70 percent may seem good for the director/producer but after costs it seems like a piss-poor deal. Besides that if I was to invest I am hard pressed to see a film in their selection that I would even want to part money with. It could be Sam Arkoff inside of me, but where are the genre flicks. Most of those film projects seem a bit talky or too arty for it’s own good.