So far in history, there is only one feature-length motion picture executive-produced by yours truly. Twenty-six years after graduating from film school, I’m very proud to have earned Co-Executive Producer credit on this highly intelligent feature documentary. First screened at the 2016 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Montana and the American Documentary Film Festival in Palm Springs, “Kickstarted” was lovingly co-directed by my friends Jason Cooper and Jay Armitage. I’m guessing that my unique contributions may be characteristic of many EP credits.
Essentially, Jason and Jay engaged me during the film’s Kickstarter campaign to help them generate more press coverage, and happily, that worked out well. The film was ultimately funded thanks to many factors; chief among them were the resourcefulness, skills and determination of the directors, as well as producers including Kim Sherrell, Chris Gartin, JP McMahon and Tristan Drew. It’s a badge of honor to have contributed. According to Jason, “To say that Roger went above and beyond in helping us promote and market our Kickstarter campaign for ‘Kickstarted’ would be a gross understatement. He was engaged, helpful and giving with his time and expertise. Just as important, he got things done. The amount of press we received during our campaign surpassed even my loftiest expectations and Roger was a major reason why.”
My job wasn’t too difficult, since everything the directors did in the early-going was ambitious, smart and captivating. As a result, they earned coverage from Dawn Chmielewski in the L.A. Times – and from Mashable, IndieWire, PandoDaily and countless others.
“Kickstarted” follows the stories of three creators who turn to the “crowd” in order to pursue their dreams. These creators all recognize that crowdfunding was opening doors of opportunity to anyone wanting to bring ideas to life. Seemingly, support is there for all who ask. Most quickly realize how much hard work is required once their campaigns go live. “Crowdfunding is just the first step – whether you reach your financial goal or not.”
Do crowdfunding campaigns take a lot of work? Watching Jason and Jay in action, I say yes, absolutely. From the L.A. Times story: “The ‘Kickstarted’ team has begun releasing a series of original ‘Funded in 60 Seconds’ video shorts, culled from interviews for the documentary. These clips provide crowd-funding tips, insights and best practices from [Zach] Braff, [Amanda] Palmer and others who successfully completed Kickstarter campaigns.” Thanks to the filmmakers’ sustained efforts, their YouTube channel (http://bit.ly/Kckstrd) remains one of the world’s richest and deepest free resources for anyone researching the crowdfunding phenomenon.
To learn more, visit https://www.kingtoledo.com/work/kickstarted.
