My not so little, little brother has a company, iLLMaTiC Productions. It is a Las Vegas based production company, specializing in high quality cinematography and video production. His most recent project is trying to secure funding for a documentary, Lucky Enough, on Seamus O'Conner, a young snowboarder breaking into the professional circuit (more details and updates here).
If you haven't heard of kickstarter.com , it is a new way to fund creative projects. You can find out more about the website itself here. I mention this because it is the forum my brother is using to secure the funding, but he only has about 10 days left. Kickstarter stands on all or nothing, so if he doesn't get all the funding, none of the current pledges will go through. Here is their explanation.
All-or-nothing funding?
Every Kickstarter project must be fully funded before its time expires or no money changes hands.
Why?
1. It's less risk for everyone. If you need $5,000, it's tough having $2,000 and a bunch of people expecting you to complete a $5,000 project.
2. It allows people to test concepts (or conditionally sell stuff) without risk. If you don't receive the support you want, you're not compelled to follow through. This is huge!
3. It motivates. If people want to see a project come to life, they're going to spread the word.
I believe in this project, not just because it is my brother, but because it is a fascinating subject. My brother isn't just a kid with a camera fooling around. This is his work and what he does (see his website here for examples of his work). Seamus is also the real deal, not just a kid who likes to snowboard. He already has big sponsors (Nike & Oakley to name a few) and is working on additional deals. At the age of 14, he is already making a name for himself in the world of snowboarding, and don't be surprised when you see him at the 2014 Olympics representing Ireland.
As #3 states, Kickstarter motivates people to see a project come to life and spread the word. So, I am spreading the word. Take a moment and check it out here on Kickstarter. If you are able to donate (even as little as $5), great. If you can't donate but believe in the project, help spread the word. If the funding goal isn't reached by 10:00am EST on Monday, April 25th, he will receive none of the currently pledged money and the project will be at a stand still.
OK, off my soapbox. Thanks for reading if you made it to the end.
Sorry that the font color changed mid-post. I am not the tech-saavy one in the family, nor do I have time to figure that out.
