The Bureau of Creative Works Spotlights 12 Indie Filmmakers—Including ATLFF Alum!

12 independent filmmakers, 12 original short films.

The BUREAU of CREATIVE WORKS is a year long film experiment. We will give 12 independent filmmakers a small budget to produce 12 original short films. In joining The BUREAU, you become an integral part of a community of film-enthusiasts, and, most importantly, a community that doesn't simply curate the hard-work of artists after-the-fact, but instead, directly contributes to the earliest stages of creative work. 

As filmmakers and film enthusiasts, we share a responsibility to not only create and encourage quality films, but to provide a sustainable environment where filmmakers will feel supported and have access to the tools that they need to experiment and share their stories. 

Quality films don't happen in a vacuum, they require a supportive and collaborative environment.

One of the 12 filmmakers is ATLFF '14 Narrative Feature Jury Award-winner Leah Myerhoff ("I Believe in Unicorns"). Two more spots are open in the BUREAU, maybe they can be Atlanta filmmakers!

The Math of Spike Lee, Zach Braff and Kickstarter

Spike reminding you of his long track record.

 The last few months have seen a spike in conversations about crowdfunding as properties such as VERONICA MARS and established talent like Zach Braff have jumped into the fray. Spike Lee now has his own project raising funds through Kickstarter. That, not unexpectedly, has received its fair share of criticism and support, with even the likes of Steven Soderbergh pledging $10,000.

Will the Braffs and the Lees of the world destroy crowdfunding? Are they corrupting the spirit of it? Is it millionaires supporting millionaires? Let's step back and do the math in ascending order. 

Zach Braff's successful Kickstarter campaign was supported by 47,000 followers.

The third most funded film project on Kickstarter is Video Game High School: Season Two, at $800k. 

More than 4.5 million people have pledged to Kickstarter since 2009. 

Amount raised by the top 3 Kickstarter projects in all categories other than film (art, comics, dance, design, fashion, food, games, music, photography, publishing, technology and theater) is $49 million.

There are 209 million adults over 18 in the United States. 

NEA appropriations for 2009 - 2012 was $622 million. 

Amount pledged since 2009 via Kickstarter alone, not including IndieGoGo et al., is $723 million.

What all this arithmetic adds up to is the conclusion we have only begun to tap into crowdfunding's full potential. Filmmakers such as Lee and Braff bring awareness to a process that has burrowed into the collective good will and willing wallets of less than 2% of the country. Every day there's someone new who discovers what crowdfunding is, and most often that's because of an artist they want to personally support or they have a vested interest in.

We definitely have to keep our eyes focused on ways we can use crowdfunding to innovate. As of this posting, too much of crowdfunding is a replacement for aging funding models, yet not part of a larger rethink of how one goes from conception to completion. Nor included in these conversations are discussions on how this can lead to careers and help build bodies of work, not just a finished project. We also have to keep in mind that securing funding does not secure distribution, and that's a nut that always has to be cracked--and should be intricately woven into a crowdfunding campaign, regardless of level of the project, from the start. 

Let's not get lost in an us vs. them debate that doesn't benefit anyone, that isn't currently supported by the numbers, and doesn't lead us to ask larger questions that will lead to solutions.