Crowdsourcing for Filmmakers

14Case Study #3

Mile … Mile & a Half

In the two case studies presented thus far, we reviewed and dissected film crowdsourcing efforts related to a narrative short and a narrative feature. But what about the documentary format? Do the same rules apply?

Through the years, I have had many talks with creatives who believe that sourcing a crowd for a documentary feature presents a most difficult, if not impossible, task. The prevailing theory is that audiences for documentaries are smaller than those for narrative features. A smaller pool represents a smaller crowd. And a smaller crowd means less people to move in support.

This is, of course, backward thinking. Remember, ultimately, we’re trying to identify, engage and move a crowd of people interested ...