Research and Brainstorming

Oy, the first step was the easiest step, I think. And now there is so much more to do, so much more to organize, so much more to learn...

I did manage to get a lot of sleep last night, yay! I gave myself "the night off" and took a lavender bath to help me relax. Then watched How I Met Your Mother, one of my favorite shows ever. (Check out this clip, Barney and Robin think they're in love... or are they? Sorry, CBS doesn't allow embedding.)

And then, I ended up researching more about what a producers job is (because I wasn't really sure, talk about leaping before you look! ACK!) Anyhow, I realized I wasn't nearly as clueless about that side of it as I thought. And then researching a bit into the legal side of things, contracts and such. Plus setting my sights on finding another producer to work with who has the experience that I don't.

Why did I think producing a professional web series would be just like the amateur productions I've done, where I just get a group of people together and do it, except there's money involved and we get paid? Yeesh.

There is so much more business involved than that. But at least that's not a surprise. Yes, I didn't consider that side of it at first, but it's not a surprise. And I feel prepared for that side of it in many ways.

About four years ago, I took an entrepreneurship business class as part of the required curriculum for a professional massage therapy certification program I completed. (The massage therapy was supposed to be my flexible day job to support myself through the acting career, but it fell through for various reasons. The biggest was a knee injury.)

Anyhow, I have written a business plan before. So tweaking it for a web series production shouldn't be too hard.

On the financing side, I am actually considering a fundraiser to pay for production of the first episode, and then taking that plus the business plan to find investors/sponsors/financial backers to fund production for the rest of the series.

As I've let the idea of fundraising roll around in my head, I've come up with an idea. It's crazy, it's outside the box (maybe so far outside the box that everyone will ask, where'd you leave the box, I can't see it?) I have no idea if this will actually realistically work, but in my "Anything Is Possible" mind, it's brilliant.

There are restaurants that will hold fundraisers for whatever event you like. And that probably brings in more money than a car wash or selling chocolates for $1 at the office. So, let's say I have a restaurant fundraiser, and I only invite friends and family to the fundraiser, I'll only raise a fraction of the amount I'm sure I'll need.

But what if I plug in the "it takes a village" theory? What if I put out a press release in my local neighborhood, talking about producing this web series and inviting everyone to the fundraiser? What if I have multiple fundraisers at multiple restaurants in different areas around my home town? City magazines and local newspapers always have articles about actors or other people in the public eye who came from the city. So if I can use the press releases to create buzz about the project before it's even started in local papers, send people here to my blog and/or a production blog about the series. Maybe even create a buzz in the web community on the same theory, sending press releases to various web sites, then have a "donate by Paypal" option for web visitors, considering offering "Special Thanks" in the credits and/or autographed headshots/cast photos for a donation over a certain amount. And then there will be a buzz around the project, people will know about it and have a stake in it's production because they went to the fundraiser(s)/donated, and they'll feel good about it, because they've become a part of something special. They will be looking forward to seeing the completed project be successful. Voila! Ready-made audience!

Will this actually work?? I have no idea.

Especially since I am not revealing the story concept right away. My mentor said there is nothing like it being produced right now, but audiences have been very receptive to this type of project in the past. Which makes my concept valuably unique.

(P.S. If this idea does actually work, it will be because my home town is not Los Angeles. In LA, so many people are trying to make something, that most people won't care. But in my home town, that's a horse of a different color.)

I have big plans for this project, I want to take it as far as it will go. As a web series, I am looking towards having it show on Hulu.com and other websites like that. I'm looking to have the episodes available for downloadable purchase from iTunes, Zune, and Amazon.com. I'm looking to having it available on DVD. Maybe even having it picked up as a real 30 minute TV show on USA (Characters Welcome!) or other channels.

I'm dreaming big on this. Reach for the moon, even if you miss, you'll be among the stars!