Welcome back to another Kickstarter Conversation! Today the creator of “Pariah, Missouri: The Graphic Novel” has stopped by to talk to us about his project. Thank you for joining us today Andres!
Thank you! It is a pleasure to speak with you about Kickstarter and my project.
So you’ve written a “TV Pilot-come Comic book” and taken it to Kickstarter. What made you select Kickstarter over other crowdfunding options?
I first learned about Kicktsarter about 2 years ago, a friend of mine used it to finance his next film project. I’d been hearing the scuttlebutt about the site but the concept was still foreign for me and I hadn’t thought about how I would use it until last year when I started seeing more creative projects and professional creators using it for financing. That’s when I said to myself, ‘this might be how I get this puppy made!’ I am familiar with Indiegogo but that’s about the extent of my crowdfunding options knowledge.
Welcome back to yet another Kickstarter Conversation! I’m very pleased to be shouting across the pond to England Paul and John of Pimoroni LTD creators of the “Picade: The Arcade cabinet kit for your mini computer.” Thank you for joining us today!
So as one of the pioneering British Kickstarters I have to ask, why Kickstarter? Did you wait until Kickstarter allowed British based projects? Did you look at the alternatives in crowdfunding?
J&P: We’d been thinking about the idea for Picade for some time but not really had the time to get into it properly. When we knew KickStarter was launching in the UK it seemed like the perfect thing to kick us into gear and get on with it!
I guess one of the big questions for the less tech nerdy of my readers is, “what’s a Mini computer?” Let alone a Rasberry-Pi, Mini-ITX, Pandaboard and the like you’ve listed on your campaign.
J&P: Yep, that terminology is pretty vague really! For us it means any single board system or micro computer that runs a standard OS (i.e. Windows or Linux) and can physically sit inside the Picade. I suppose in theory you could even squeeze a Mac Mini in there if you wanted, it’s really about size limitations more than anything.
Welcome back to another Kickstarter Conversation! Today I’m joined by Joe Born of successfully completed “‘No Spill’ Kangaroo Cup” project, thank you for joining us today Joe.
First off let me congratulate you on your successful campaign! You earned $6,750 of your $6,000 goal what was your first reaction when the campaign closed?
I really felt Lily’s life (and mine) had changed. To launch an invention at 10 years old is really something to build on!
Welcome back to another Kickstarter Conversation! Today I am pleased to be joined by the founders of CritSuccess, the company behind a fun new concept in dice, “Dice Rings.” Thank you for joining us, Aaron and Sam.
It looks like you guys have stumbled upon one of those products that resonates with a large number of folks. With over 30 days to go you already have over 3,000 backers who have pledged over $100,000! Did you ever think you would be this big a hit? Is that why you came to Kickstarter and not a dice company or jewelry company?
Aaron has always been the optimistic one, while Sam has been more reserved about the project. Kickstarter has a huge community of tabletop gamers, and so we thought it would be the perfect place to test out the idea. This way, before investing any money into large quantities of ring styles that may not even be popular, we can build up money and discover which rings are in demand from the beginning. That’s priceless.
Honestly this product seems to sell itself, but your video just adds extra layers of goofy fun to the process. Who’s idea was the video?
We all came up with different elements during one of our underground brainstorming sessions in the Crit-Cave. The jokes and ideas grew as we talked it out, and even more during shooting, based off of the script written by our Marketing Director. We have even more video ideas that we’d like to produce to spark more interest in our product.
Welcome back to another Kickstarter Conversation! I am joined today by one of the co-creators behind the comic Kickstarter project, “The SteamWorld Chronicles” Steven Hoveke. Thank you for joining us today Steven.
Happy to be here
I think the obvious first question is, why Kickstarter? It looks like you have more than enough here to get started as a webcomic, create a fanbase, and then come to Kickstarter. Why jump straight to Kickstarter?
Mike Scigliano and myself have worked in and around the comics industry for long time. We both grew up comics readers and fans. For me, webcomics are awesome but they work best when you have a team that is willing to work long term for no pay. Solo writer/artists and creative teams that have strong personal ties (I think) fit this bill better. Our creative team was assembled from a group of friends, but we wanted to ensure they were paid up front for their work, regardless of the success of the books. We certainly could have gone this direction, but we really wanted and love the ability to hold a comic book in our hands, and while we plan to run digital as well, we like the floppies.
Can you give us a brief rundown of the concept?
Sure. It is, at its most basic, an action-adventure story set in a steampunk-styled alternate version of our United States. People will get the connections to Indiana Jones or James Bond, I’m sure. An object is stolen from a train and the government asks our main character to retrieve it for them to avoid the public exposure. Only once he gets there, he realizes that there is a lot more going on and finds proof that a person from his past is heavily involved. The search for the missing object, once identified, and what’s behind it will become the focus of several groups seeking to recover it and will take our hero across the Atlantic to Europe.
Welcome back to another Kickstarter Conversation! Today I am joined by photographer Eros Hoagland whose Kickstarter project “Reckoning at the Frontier” has recently kicked off. Thank you for joining us today Eros.
Thank you for having me
With such a powerful subject, one that regularly makes headlines across the nation, why do you need Kickstarter to fund it? It seems a regular publisher would be chomping at the bit to get at this project.
Unfortunately headlines don't equate to long-term interest. It is always an uphill battle to get photographs of serious issues published at all, let alone in book form. I imagine that book publishers just don't believe in the economic success of heavy imagery. In fact I had one executive of a very large book publishing company tell me he couldn't sell the idea unless every page of my book depicted a murder scene. That was not an option for me. Just unacceptable and he knew it. So I was told I would have to bring my own money to the table to get the thing published. Kind of like a medical co-pay. There are other publishers I will be meeting with soon, but I think I will be in a much better position to negotiate if I have some money behind me.
Welcome back to another Kickstarter Conversation! I’m joined by the very talented Brian Carpenter of the Ghost Train Orchestra. He’s with us today to talk about their new Kickstarter album release Book of Rhapsodies. Thank you for joining us today Brian.
A pleasure to be here James.
Kickstarter is a wonderful place where all sorts of creative folks bring their projects, what brings your project to Kickstarter?
Many of my friends and artists have had successful campaigns on Kickstarter. It's a great way to fund and promote projects and help out in the community. I thought the Ghost Train Orchestra's second recording would be a good time to use Kickstarter to help finish our project. It's a very ambitious project with 25 or so people involved.
So what is Chamber Jazz?
I'm talking about chamber jazz here from 1935-1942 as a way of discussing music that bridged jazz and classical music. There is an element of swing, but it's a light swing. And the music is mostly through-composed (meaning any improvisations are bounded within a larger composition). There are elements of classical music such as contrapuntal writings and fugues in Alec Wilder's music.
