Why I'm Funding a Short Film With NFTs

Why I’m Funding a Short Film With NFTs

22 January 2022

in NFT

Reading Time: 6 mins read

At Decrypt, we believe in experimenting with the technology we write about. And for the last year or so, I’ve been writing a lot about the film industry’s growing interest in crypto, from its first tentative flirtations with blockchain to full-fledged DAOs aiming to shake up the way films are funded.

Making a film—even a short one—is an expensive business. I should know, I’ve made a few in my time (if you’re feeling brave, you can check them out here).

And while it’s true that you can shoot a film on a smartphone these days, the bulk of the cost doesn’t come in the form of flashy 8K cameras or expensive casting; it’s the unglamorous stuff like insurance, location permits, transport and catering.

That creates a high barrier to entry. Aspiring filmmakers are left scrambling for the few sources of funding available, like government-backed film funds and writing competitions (each of which has its own list of terms and conditions attached). Crowdfunding offers another avenue, but it’s very dependent on having an established community of fans and followers.

So when I was approached by First Flights to try out their new crypto-powered crowdfunding platform FF3 in beta, I jumped at the chance.

I’m making a short film! And with the help of First Flights, we’re trying something new: crypto-powered crowdfunding. But how can film fans get involved? Glad you asked. Next week, we’re doing a series of webinars on how to get started with crypto: https://t.co/O36FFc2vH9 pic.twitter.com/8yG4Jv7kqR

— Stephen Graves (@stephengraves) January 12, 2022

The idea is pretty straightforward: each film on the platform has its own crypto token, which the public can buy. Depending on the amount they pitch in, they receive rewards ranging from NFTs, to Discord channels with filmmaker Q&As, to early access to the finished film as an NFT.

A ghost in the machine

The film itself, “The Dead of Winter,” is a classic ghost story with a Christmas setting and a moral center. A death in an alleyway, a man haunted by his conscience… or something more supernatural.

Think M.R. James, “The Innocents,” “Tales From The Crypt,” and “A Christmas Carol.” I wrote the script for the short film a couple of years ago, and since then it’s won awards and reached the finals of a major screenwriting competition. Now I have the chance to make it real.

The Dead of Winter is a Christmas ghost story. Image: Grant Kempster

And no, the subject matter of the film isn’t crypto, or Web3, or blockchain. I think it’s important to show that the crypto world isn’t always inward-looking—it can provide a viable means of funding to projects that have broader, mainstream appeal and have no crypto plot.

So why fund films using crypto? “Everybody knows it’s getting increasingly difficult to make and finance films on the indie side,” FF3 executive producer Phil McKenzie told me when he described the platform. “A lot of the ethos of crypto, Web3, tokens and NFTs is about putting the power back into the hands of the creator, and giving them more control over their project from the point of view of funding and distribution.”