Having suggested an on-line pro-science film festival a little while ago, I should report that there are discussions underway (or at least in the works) about trying to make something happen. If it goes anywhere, it may look different than the original suggestion, but I'm kind of curious about one aspect of the original idea.
If you recall, my original suggestion was that we could arrange a film festival using YouTube for the submission and distribution of entries, and basically passing the hat to get a prize pool. I still sort of like the idea of funding it via direct contributions rather than some sort of sponsorship. I'm not sure it would work, though, so my question is:
If we did a grass-roots film festival funded by reader donations, would you contribute?
Note that this is not an announcement of anything, nor is it a request for a firm commitment. I'm just sort of curious as to whether it would be feasible to get a significant amount of money to fund the production of short films promoting science to a general audience from direct donations.
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I would contribute my editing/animating/scriptwriting skills.
While I think it's a great idea, I'm not a big one for film fests or even watching YouTube so I would tend to think "no" for donations/
I'd probably donate, but not a lot--on the level of a $5-10 donation, which is about what I can afford. Depending on how much prize money you want (~$1000 total from your previous post?), you'll probably either need a sponsorship or a very large number of contributions.
I could make a modest donation -- maybe up to $50.
Getting some kind of sponsorship and/or donations of prizes would certainly help. It would also help if the Festival was organized under the umbrella of some not-for-profit, so that donations could be tax deductible.
I'd probably throw in something on the order of $25-$50 or so. At the low end, that's about what I'd spend taking the family to a movie in a theater, or buying a new-release DVD, and I think this film festival would easily be as entertaining (and probably more informative) than that. I think that couching it in those terms might bring in a fair amount of donations.
It depends on the size of the contribution you're looking for, but even more it depends on the ease of the contribution. Credit card thingie run through Seed? Yeah, probably. Make me futz with PayPal? Probably not. Write you a physical check? Uh, do you have any idea how lazy I really am?
I'm guessing that a good number of people would contribute (I would), but sponsorship might also be a good idea -- bring in more money, and perhaps some publicity. Call it the Obama model vs. the Clinton model.
Are you thinking more of fun, five-minute videos by enthusiastic amateurs, or trying to inspire some professionals to do short films on this subject? (Either would be fine, although competition between the two might be unfair -- maybe separate categories?)
Maybe a small amount like $25; I'm just a poor post-doc in a city with high cost of living.
I would definitely donate, as much as I was able to. (Unfortuantely, those gold doubloons they promised me as payment for being a student around here haven't come in yet, but I'm still willing to tighten my belt some...)
To clarify a litte: the discussions that are ongoing (or soon to be ongoing) do involve sponsorship, which is an easier way to get large sums of cash.
I just sort of like the idea of a prize based on contributions from a community of readers/ bloggers, which would fit with the DIY aethetic of the whole thing. I was curious to see if that's at all feasible, or just wide-eyed idealism on my part.
I wouldn't be expecting $1,000 contributions from anybody, for what it's worth. $10-100 contributions would be the goal, but could potentially amount to enough money for these purposes, given the number of readers we have at ScienceBlogs (I get a couple thousand page views per day, suggesting several hundred daily readers, for example). If you're looking for prizes on the order of $1,000, you only need something like 100 people to give $10 or more, and that seems like something that ought to be within reach, given what we've managed with the DonorsChoose fundraisers in the past.
It's not clear how many people would be inclined to give money to this sort of effort, though.
I'd be happy to make a modest contribution.
$100.
I think the film festival is a great idea, and I would be willing to donate in the $10-100 range.
I'd be more than happy to throw in $20-$50 as well, at least. I'd love to see this thing rockin' and rollin'..
Maybe a small amount like $25; I'm just a poor post-doc in a city with high cost of living.