KickstarterForum.org

Hi everyone,

I'm Evan from Boston and though I've been a Kickstarter backer and frequent browser since last summer, I only just recently launched my own Kickstarter campaign for a TV project my writing partner and I call "Big Kids." Here's the project: http://kck.st/1hgH9ML

The gist: it's a sitcom in the spirit of "How I Met Your Mother," "Friends," "New Girl," and the host of other shows that have been about people in their 20's but that never really dealt point blank about the ups and downs and curveballs that seem to face everyone in their 20's. So here's our pilot: when moving in with his fiancée Whitney proves overwhelming, Cale turns to his "permanently relaxed" friend Mason for support. What starts as a simple night out drinking between friends ends the next morning with a ringing phone, a splitting headache, and the aftermath of the previous night's drunken bad decisions. But all that will have to wait, because Mason has just returned from Las Vegas unexpectedly married to a waitress named Drew and clearly needs some life lessons of his own. Curveballs!

We partnered with an LA-based director and producer and are planning to shoot the pilot this August, with the hopes that a network sees it, likes it, and helps us bring it to series (akin to what happened with "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"). Lots riding on a gamble like that but also lots to gain, right?

I hope you enjoy our project, and if you do please help us create the next big thing on TV!

~Evan

Seems like you guys got a big jump around the 11th. What do you attribute that to? I hope you are successful.

In a word: family. My father, soon after we launched the project, offered a challenge to backers to help drive support. He offered to match any donations made up until the 11th to a maximum of $5000. It drove a huge amount of support and he kept his word, which was awesome and helped us surge to the 50% mark.

Really, it was simply an amazing act of charity and not one we imagine will fall in our laps again.

Wow that's awesome!!

Yeah, it was stunningly generous, totally unexpected, and really helped drive us toward our goal. We still have a long way to climb, but all of us running campaigns knows every little bit helps and large gestures make those large, scary goal numbers seem so much more achievable. If nothing else, it was a shot to the arm of adrenaline and hope.

Only 16 days left, so keep your fingers crossed for us!

What happened with your pilot? I've got a project for a sitcom, too. I'm surprised you got $20,000 for a pilot. That's a good budget!

Yeah, $20K was a pretty decent budget but I'm told scant by professional standards. Still, we made it work and shot our pilot last September. We are still editing but the near-finished product is gorgeous and really looks near production quality. I'll post a link once the editing is wrapped. Good luck with your pilot!

Yes, $20K is a decent budget for an indie pilot, especially funded through Kickstarter. You can't compare it to studio-funded productions. I'm guessing your production was professional and you believe, like I do, that professionalism has nothing to do with money. I shot my sitcom pilot for $5K, and am now turning to Kickstarter to fund additional episodes for way less than $20K/episode. I wonder if I should ask for more money...

Victor, how did your pilot turn out? Did you end up asking for more money? On our end, post-production wrapped on Big Kids and I just released the full pilot on Vimeo. Have a look if you like (and let me know what you think): https://vimeo.com/155005987