UPDATE!!! Deadline for reaching the funding target has been extended until 14th November 2013Actress, writer and comedian Helen Lederer, well known for her work in renowned British television shows including Naked Video and Absolutely Fabulous, is planning a comedic stage and screen comeback with help from the crowd. Through the crowdfunding platform BloomVC, Helen is looking to raise sufficient funds for two "pop up" comedy shows and even a pilot show for television. In order to bring her well known brand of comedy to the stage Helen is looking to raise £10,000 in ten days.
Welsh born Helen Lederer emerged at the dawn of the UK alternative comedy scene of the 80s establishing a stand up act at London's famous Comedy Store. Helen worked with various big names in the scene including Rik Mayall and Ben Elton in the popular television shows The Young Ones and Happy Families (with Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders). Helen then joined the Scottish based comedy sketch show Naked Video giving her a broader audience for her own brand of humour, in particular her role as the inebriated Sloane performing a monologue from the comfort of a wine bar. Helen continued to work with her comedic collaborators from the alternative scene in a variety of television programmes as well as appearing in a number of film productions and the West End.
The latest project from Helen entitled "Why The Fuss?" (WTF) will consist of two pop-up comedy shows to be held at the St James Theatre in London. Playing before a live audience she will take on the ultimate topic, the meaning of life with her trademark insight and observational humour that has been prevalent throughout her work . Joining Helen for some intelligent philosophical debate as guests will be writers Mark Lawson, Suzanne Moore, and Jay Rayner (better known as a broadcaster and food critic) with the live shows scheduled to take place on 7th and 28th November respectively. To fund her comeback Helen has turned to crowdfunding and the platform BloomVC to raise £10,000 in a record time frame of just ten days.I am so very excited to join the 21st century at last and to launch my latest project using crowdfunding. It was popular support that led to my decision to bring "Why The Fuss?" back to the stage - this was incredibly flattering, and now I hope that the support of the crowd will also financially enable it. I am giving the crowd the chance to decide whether I can produce my own show. If we can pull this off, it will be the first for a middle aged woman and all thanks to you. - Helen Lederer
Whilst the funding target will cover the costs of the shows, Helen has promised that should that target be surpassed the excess funds will contribute to the production of a "Why The Fuss?" television pilot episode. So in addition, donors will not only be rewarded with WTF tickets, wine hampers, pre-show dinners, or an evening with the funny lady herself but also the opportunity to become television producers. The campaign started from 16th October 2013 with only ten days to raise the necessary funds and is already 12% funded. There is still time to get involved and pledge your support. To do so, click here to visit Helen's funding page.
Actress and television presenter Emily Booth will make her short film début behind and in front of the the camera after a successful crowdfunding campaign. Based on an ancient Celtic myth Selkie will see Booth star as a sea creature who escapes enslavement looking for revenge, and serve as the film's producer. The ongoing crowdfunding campaign through the international renowned Kickstarter platform has already exceeded its funding target to cover the cost of the film's traditional special effects.
Emily Booth is known in the UK to horror fans as an actress in cult films such as Pirvirella, Cradle of Fear, Evil Aliens and the BAFTA nominated short film Inferno. Booth is also recogniseable as a presenter for UK television including Channel 4's The Big Breakfast, Banzai for E4 before moving onto shows covering her true love, horror. Booth's body of presenting work focusing on cult and horror films include Shock Movie Massacre for the defunct cable channel Bravo, Eat Cinema, and in 2007 she joined The Horror Channel as a regular presenter and continuity announcer. Booth enjoys a genuine love of the horror genre, lending her support to the classic horror campaign, and is considered an authority on the subject.
For Selkie, Booth has assembled her own team to work on the visual aspects of the production including concept artist Danny McMahon and special effects artist Robbie Drake whose credits include Nightbreed and The Seasoning House. The film will be directed by her brother Simon Booth and will feature extensive use of traditional special effects make up that is in increasing decline with the rise of CGI. To meet the overall costs of the film's effects Booth launched a crowdfunding campaign through Kickstarter with a funding target of £5,000.My aim is to create something truly unique and memorable, a dark and haunting adult fairytale, with a spectacular creature transformation sequence, all shot in Medieval locations. Yes it’s a challenge and will not be cheap which is why I’m using the innovative crowdfunding site Kickstarter. - Emily Booth
The campaign's rewards for donors feature the usual of any crowdfunding venture such as acknowledgements and credits, but also copies of the finished film, limited edition merchandise, screening invitations and for the top end donors, an exclusive set visit. The campaign has less than fifteen days till the deadline and has already exceeded its funding target by close to £1,100. Fans of the genre and Emily Booth can still pledge their support by visiting the film's Kickstarter page by clicking here.
Self publishing and crowdfunding have opened doors for authors all too familiar with the hard hitting and painful rejections from the publishing houses. Whether it was through well known platforms such as Kickstarter and IndieGoGo, or specialist platforms including Unbound and Emphas.is authors have secured funds, established and collaborated with potential readers and even gained access to a publishing arm. Pubslush is the latest crowdfunding platform for books of any type to raise funds and get published but also with an analytics feature to gauge and build a strong readership.
Pubslush was founded by Jesse Potash after learning about how 12 publishers had rejected J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter novel. After much research Jesse uncovered many instances of multiple rejections of manuscripts considered to be top sellers. The principle problem identified was the lack of significant financial backing to help writers publish their work. With the possibilities of so many potential best sellers looking to grace the top spots of book stores, it was decided that a global crowdfunding platform was needed to bring a democratic quality into a cut throat industry. The platform, Pubslush is exclusively for books, whether they be printed versions or e-books, and can take any form covering all genres. Pubslush is 100% committed to our authors. Since Pubslush is a niche crowdfunding site meaning we are ONLY for books, we don't have as many campaigns running at once and can more easily provide our authors and users with one-on-one assistance - Justine Schofield, Pubslush
Whilst funding is a key goal to publishing successes, Pubslush offers its authors many more features to increase prospects for a successful crowdfunding campaign. Unlike most other platforms that still use the all or nothing principle, Pubslush offers a flexible funding scheme which enables project owners to keep the any funds raised at the end of the campaign, provided they reach their minimum fundraising target. The figure is usually set at $500 however project owners can set their own minimum figure. Pubslush only deducts 4% of the total funds raised, making it a competitive service provider offering project owners comprehensive support through resources and educational tools. These cover everything in bringing a book to life from writing and publishing to managing a successful crowdfunding campaign.
At the end of any campaign project owners benefit from a key feature of Pubslush, the Marketing Analytics tool. A full report is produced with a comprehensive demographic summary providing important information on investors. Such vital data includes location, age brackets, and traffic sources, all of which should enable authors to plan an effective marketing and advertising campaign. Pubslush's support of successful campaigns extends further by helping to promote sales of the authors' books with the addition of a "Buy Book" button on the crowdfunding page. This button links directly to the book's page and any net profits from those sales go straight to the author. Publsush also monitor successful campaigns in search of suitable titles for their publishing arm Pubslush Press, the first of which entitled "A Beautiful Mess" debuted in May this year.
Pubslush prides itself with a major focus on giving; giving opportunities and resources to authors, potentially exciting titles to readers and most importantly free books to children as part of their "One for One Movement". For every book sold Pubslush will donate one book to a child in need to help combat illiteracy around the world. The platform's first partner is Flying Kites, an orphanage in Kenya, which thanks to Pubslush's efforts received over $10,000 in September 2011. As the platform grows Pubslush hopes to expand its philanthropic literacy operations around the world.
