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BIRACY.COM (Crowdfunded Filmmaking)

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NormLi

NormLi

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Hey everyone,

I recently shot this commercial for BIRACY.COM (Shot on my RED and RPP's). I believe in the project and think it's a great idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTyqTyHt-bQ

If you want to MAKE MONEY by signing up and refering your friends who refer their friends, who refer their friends....(you get the picture), you can make quite a bit money EXPONENTIALLY.

Not only do you make money (32% of total gross memberships goes to the referral program), you you also are helping to raise funds for feature films to be made and shown directly in theaters, in which you have a vote in how it's made.

I just signed up myself and I believe in the project, and I want to make money :) Hope you sign up too.

Sign up now by clicking on (and read over the website to understand how it all works):

http://www.biracy.com/affiliate/NORMLI

Sign up, spread the word, make money!

Thanks,

Norm


P.S> If you have any questions on the project, let me know.
 
Crowdsource Filmmaking

Crowdsource Filmmaking

Funny, we just launched something similar. Ours is project specific and more of an entertainment / education offering. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts - you can find it at ExperienceFandom.com

I think the model of crowd sourcing for filmmaking is going to be a big trend in 2010.

It would be cool to get feedback on the pros and cons of the two different models

Cheers,

Tim
 
I find these kids of things very interesting. At the same time I don't think I have ever seen an example of one that actually got a film made, let alone released into theaters.

I do hope for the sake of anyone who tries to get a film financed this way, that it is legit and that they get something made. But I have to admit I have my doubts about the legitimacy of the whole thing.

I do think that in the future we will see more of the "micro" financing type of thing. I would love to know if anyone has successfully produced a film this way.

And if you really want to just give away some of your money so I can make a film, send me a pm.:smiley:
 
DRappazzo said:
I do hope for the sake of anyone who tries to get a film financed this way, that it is legit and that they get something made. But I have to admit I have my doubts about the legitimacy of the whole thing.
Click to expand...

I completely agree with you. I think that the idea of offering experiential entertainment is interesting, but a huge challenge. We've been aware that we will be fighting the scam / legitimacy all the way.

I also think that you can't be depending on this to finance a film. We see it as a business model to offer film fans a new offering. We are also looking at launching similar models with the music industry - Making of a rock tour, recording of an album, etc.
 
Michael Schrengohst said:
Biracy rhymes with Piracy....
Click to expand...

That was on purpose by the way. The purpose of this program is to turn the pirate into a buyer. Hence, "Biracy". If they help to promote a film that they helped finance, even if it's a $25 membership, then they will help to promote it everywhere to make money by referring their networks, etc. If the film makes money in the theaters, then they make a % of sales as well. It's all on the website.

At any rate, even if the person who signs up for a membership doesn't give a damn about a movie being made, they would probably be more interested in making $ by referring their friends, family, networks, etc so that they get % from each membership signed up. They also get a % of the people that signed up under the first tier of people that he referred and so on.

In your "profile page" after you sign up, there's a page that shows how many people signed up in total, how many signed up from your referrals, and from other referrals, and there's also an account balance in $ to show how much money you will be making. I have a friend who already made $200 today.

I only signed up because I believe in it and the more you promote, the better the chances are of making some $.

I'm not the creator of this site promoting it to make money. I'm just a new member and an active member of the RED, 35mm, indie filmmaking community as a Cinematographer.

Norm
 
Jonas said:
just read the Q&A...

what a nice packaged ponti-scheme
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=ponti+scheme&go=Gon

I bet 5$ that no film will ever be made.

Nice 8% guaranteed profit for the management - 40.000,-
Lets say it costs 10K to program this crapsite... and noone will even bother to investigate, as some of the money will float back.

Smart guys!
Click to expand...

Hey guys, I had a post on this site before which was taken down for the violence in the replies. We're trying to develop a funding structure based on word of mouth marketing, and we have opened our doors and are already populating. It's a beta for our SoKap system, which utilizes the same referral program to help fund films for independent filmmakers at any genre, or budget level without having to mess with pre-sales from distributors. Which by the way are getting harder and harder to actually get.
I never understand the out right disgust people have over something they don't understand. Please do some research and see if you want to get involved. www.biracy.com/tour
We have an open door policy within the sites tour as well as well as a contact us page.
Here is my email if you have anything further: scooter@virmana-pictures.com

It's 3 years in the making, and a 5 minute look never justifies this kind of child like behaviour. You are independent filmmakers, do some research into something that could help you in the future. If you refer someone to the project to help FUND your feature, why shouldn't you get a piece of it?

Scooter Corkle
Vancouver, BC
Media Director
The Biracy Project
 
Hey Scooter,

Love the idea. What ways are people going to be able to interact with the filmmaking through out the process? As the project reaches critical mass how will the interaction influence the filmmakers? Have you looked at sellaband.com It's a similar model for the music industry.
 
Hey Tim, we have looked at Sellaband, it's a cool site and uses a lot of similar principles. Sellaband's business structure, especially in the token of "ownership", is extremely similar to that of the Biracy Project.

Well the Biracy Project is the beta, so we've put the power into the fans hands. Our genre is Science Fiction, we know that, but we are going to whiddle down all the submittions we get to about 4-5 options we can viably do for the budget we have allocated (from the fans) and then give those choices to the members to be voted on (including the script).

It's not only an experiment in crowdfunding, but also crowdsourcing. The story, script, pre-production, production, VFX choices, storyboard idea, you name it - we give it to the crowd to be voted upon or participated in. We want to have thousands of different decisions laid out for those who engaged in the Biracy Project to choose from. It's like a 20 million dollar choose your own adventure.

Will it work, we'll see, but we are going to be curating the process as it goes along to help it get there. It's an experiment and we're really excited about it! Obviously major plot points and key decisions will be made by the Biracy internal group but we want the movie to belong to the fans!

The filmmakers will be dictated by the crowd for the most part, so as writers and producers of the film - the fans, let the creative production team know what they want.

Thanks for the question,

Scooter Corkle
Vancouver, BC
Media Director
the Biracy Project
 
Is it a Pyramid scheme masquerading as a film studio or a film studio funded by a pyramid scheme? Does it matter?

The referral network system is definitely an effective one. MIT just used it to with the DARPA balloon challenge. Adding referral incentives definitely multiplies involvement and advertising--but like any referral/pyramid system it's incredibly difficult to actually find enough human beings on earth for anyone but a small fraction at the top to actually make back their money and then some.

I predict a lot of initial involvement followed by a disengagement and backlash as people find it increasingly difficult to find people to recruit. Hopefully it won't sour people to crowd funding in general.
 
This is a full fledged pyramid scheme, plain and simple. Only the people at the very top make any money. It's disguised as a way to finance movies in order to entice people to buy in. That's how pyramid schemes work, and if you can't see through this, then you all need your heads checked.

Can someone PLEASE explain how they are OK with 8% going to "administration," and any money made off the movie doesn't go to the community as cash, but rather as "rewards points"?????


NormLi said:
Hey everyone,

I recently shot this commercial for BIRACY.COM (Shot on my RED and RPP's). I believe in the project and think it's a great idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTyqTyHt-bQ

If you want to MAKE MONEY by signing up and refering your friends who refer their friends, who refer their friends....(you get the picture), you can make quite a bit money EXPONENTIALLY.

Not only do you make money (32% of total gross memberships goes to the referral program), you you also are helping to raise funds for feature films to be made and shown directly in theaters, in which you have a vote in how it's made.

I just signed up myself and I believe in the project, and I want to make money :) Hope you sign up too.

Sign up now by clicking on (and read over the website to understand how it all works):

http://www.biracy.com/affiliate/NORMLI

Sign up, spread the word, make money!

Thanks,

Norm


P.S> If you have any questions on the project, let me know.
Click to expand...

NormLi said:
I'm not the creator of this site promoting it to make money. I'm just a new member and an active member of the RED, 35mm, indie filmmaking community as a Cinematographer.

Norm
Click to expand...

This is you not promoting this site to make money? Then why did you list your referral link? Why did you literally say, "Sign up, spread the word, make money!" It sounds like you're an employee.

I thought spam wasn't allowed on this forum?

And lastly, you're promoting having your friends and family sign up as referrals. So you think it's OK to profit off of friends and family?
 
BTW, I think crowdfunding is a really intriguing idea. Just not when it's run as a pyramid scheme and by a bunch of con-artists...
 
Besides the whole law thing the other issue (when the budget is raised at all) is a lack of focus and because of that, extremely long production times for a product quite nobody cares for. "A swarm of angels" comes into my mind - how many years did it take so far? And now (for months) they`re "making a transformation" : http://aswarmofangels.com
Such things won`t even work with well known people at the top like Stephen King, as far as I remember he once tried to sell a book chapter by chapter as long as enough people pay for it...
 
Alex Kornreich said:
Can someone PLEASE explain how they are OK with 8% going to "administration," and any money made off the movie doesn't go to the community as cash, but rather as "rewards points"?????
Click to expand...

Technically it's an MLM operation (Multi Level Marketing). Think "Avon calling". When you join you have lost 100% of your money. You're essentially purchasing into a game. The rules of the game in this case award actual monetary rewards for your activities. I suspect if they returned cash for box-office receipts then the film itself would be an investment and subject to stringent regulation. In order to remain legal they have to essentially burn your membership money 100% on goods and service and then pay out from the company's revenues for your referral network independent of your membership.

So while I'm sure they're legally on solid ground just like Avon I suspect many people won't realize that the pyramid aspect is impossible to 'win' but will jump in anyway in order to 'make money' not in order to fund independent films. I would feel very uneasy accepting investments knowing most of my investors don't actually understand that their money is definitely gone. If people understand that they're just playing a game that they will almost certainly lose (like a slot machine) then all is well. But in order just to make your $25 back you have to recruit two people. Each of them have to recruit two people. And each of them have to recruit 2 people. That's 14 people just to pay off one producer. Or you have to recruit 7 people yourself. It doesn't take very long to completely exhaust the entire population of the planet.
 
Gavin Greenwalt said:
So while I'm sure they're legally on solid ground just like Avon I suspect many people won't realize that the pyramid aspect is impossible to 'win' but will jump in anyway in order to 'make money' not in order to fund independent films. I would feel very uneasy accepting investments knowing most of my investors don't actually understand that their money is definitely gone. If people understand that they're just playing a game that they will almost certainly lose (like a slot machine) then all is well. But in order just to make your $25 back you have to recruit two people. Each of them have to recruit two people. And each of them have to recruit 2 people. That's 14 people just to pay off one producer. Or you have to recruit 7 people yourself. It doesn't take very long to completely exhaust the entire population of the planet.
Click to expand...

...which is why MLMs (basically the legal version of a pyramid scheme) collapse quickly, and only people at the top make any money.

Read the "Q+A" section on their website for a good laugh. Especially where they address whether they're an MLM or pyramid scheme. As usual, no solid facts, just fluff.

I must say it's a spiffy website. The name "Biracy" kinda sounds like a disease though...
 
Alex Kornreich said:
This is a full fledged pyramid scheme, plain and simple. Only the people at the very top make any money. It's disguised as a way to finance movies in order to entice people to buy in. That's how pyramid schemes work, and if you can't see through this, then you all need your heads checked.

Can someone PLEASE explain how they are OK with 8% going to "administration," and any money made off the movie doesn't go to the community as cash, but rather as "rewards points"?????






This is you not promoting this site to make money? Then why did you list your referral link? Why did you literally say, "Sign up, spread the word, make money!" It sounds like you're an employee.



I thought spam wasn't allowed on this forum?

And lastly, you're promoting having your friends and family sign up as referrals. So you think it's OK to profit off of friends and family?
Click to expand...


Don't make assumptions...I am NOT an employee. I am trying to spread the word about this project as like everyone else, I'm in it to try to make some extra income as well as to help promote making a film. I spent some $ for a membership and since I believe in the project and think it can go somewhere, then of course I will sound positive ("employee-like?") about what I am saying. What better place to promote than technology/filmmaker forums where many of us are in the same boat. If everyone has a mindset where it won't go anywhere, it won't. If there are people who believe in it and join and promote it, then the financing of a first feature is more probable. Hopefully it keeps going and more and more films are developed, shot, and distributed.

If it's spam, then by all means, please delete this thread. I've been a long time contributor of the RED community and I'm not some fly-by-night stranger who's posting for the first time...

You took my comment too literally. You can have friends, family, co-workers, online community and tech forums, strangers, acquaintances, ex-lovers, pets, aliens...whatever. I didn't mean for it to be just friends and family. That would be just plain ol' silly!
 
Why would any single writer or director make a film this way? Why would someone in charge of this nonsense ever make a movie when they can just reel in "investors" until the well runs dry? What kind of good movie ever got made by committee?

And how does Norm Li's comment "... I am trying to spread the word about this project as like everyone else, I'm in it to try to make some extra income as well as to help promote making a film...." sound like someone even remotely interested in making a film? "Some extra income"? You're better off getting a part-time job at Burger King.

Norm, your website doesn't load, but your vimeo reel looks nice. It doesn't cost that much to make a decent small-budget movie (not to beat a horse but - Paranormal Activity), just go make a freakin' movie.
 
Probably the best proof of this being a Ponzi-scheme is someone ("crowdfunding_fan") registering on the forum almost immediately to defend the scheme - anonymously, of course.
 
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