Do you have a story in your top drawer but not enough money to make it a reality? Are you interested in redefining the dimensions of storytelling and creating a crossmedia storyworld? The Frankfurt StoryDrive Crowdfunding Competition can help. Starting now, creative innovators from the fields of publishing, games and film have the opportunity to present their projects to the public – and to take a significant step forward toward financing those projects.
Together with the European Design Centre (EDC), the European web magazine LABKULTUR.TV and the creative industries community “How To Grow”, the all-media Frankfurt StoryDrive platform would like to help aspiring media professionals realise their projects. The five most compelling submissions will have an opportunity to present their projects live at the StoryDrive Festival. The key: The pitches will be transmitted via livestream to a select audience of business angels and potential investors on the creative industries platform “How to Grow”.
Your turn!
The competition is open to media professionals who have a book manuscript, a web series, a concept for a feature film, a video game or, or, or… in their top drawers. Those interested in participating have from 3 to 20 September 2012 to register at www.book-fair.com/crowdfunding. Participants are also required to upload their project to one of the three participating crowdfunding platforms (www.symbid.nl, www.startnext.de, www.ulule.com), where they can get in touch with potential sponsors in advance. Participation is free.
Eligible participants include media professionals up to 45 years of age in the fields of books, film and games. Priority will be given to projects with a crossmedia or transmedia approach. The plot should incorporate a variety of media formats and interactive elements. Visuals, storyboards and photos can be submitted along with a short synopsis.
Alright – and what happens next?
From the bei StoryDrive submissions received, an international jury will select five finalists who will present their projects before a live audience as part of the StoryDrive Festival (13 & 14 October 2012) at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The five presentations will simultaneously be transmitted via livestream on the platform www.howtogrow.eu and made available to an audience of selected investors and finance experts. The StoryDrive audience will vote live for their favourite – and will also have the opportunity to make a financial contribution.
Each of the five finalists will also receive a two-day ticket to the StoryDrive Conference (11 & 12 October 2012), along with tickets to the Frankfurt Book Fair.
Who is on the jury?
Jury members include the New Zealand screenwriter Mark Staufer, whose transmedia project “The Numinous Place” recently grossed 75,000 US dollars in a crowdsourcing competition, Dr. Helmut Pesch, longtime editor and designated programme director for e-publishing (fiction) at Bastei Lübbe Entertainment, and Britta Friedrich, project manager for StoryDrive at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
I’ve never pitched live. What should I keep in mind?
A kick-off event will be held on 4 September on www.howtogrow.eu. The goal of the event is to answer questions about the competition and to reveal tips and tricks for giving an online pitch and Tipps & Tricks for dealing with crowdsourcing platforms. Visit www.storydrivefrankfurt.com or www.howtogrow.com in the coming days for more information.
The Crowdfunding Competition is organised by Frankfurt StoryDrive in cooperation with the European Design Centre (EDC), the European web magazine LABKULTUR.TV, a project by European Centre for Creative Economy (ECCE) and supported by the Ministry for Family, Children, Youth, Culture and Sport of North Rhine-Westphalia.
How to Grow is a virtual meeting point aimed at supporting business development for creative companies. Its users are able to share ideas and content with other users and access services specifically designed for the needs of the creative sectors. How to Grow was developed within BCreative, a European project supported and partly funded by the European Commission (DG Entreprise and Industry) under the Europe INNOVA initiative. BCreative is a partnership of nine European organizations with strong networks and experience in the fields of creative industries, science, research and technology. The European Design Centre (Netherlands) is the initiator of the project. www.howtogrow.eu
The European web magazine LABKULTUR.TV is web TV, blog and platform for culture and creativity. Over 20 authors from the Ruhr area, London, Rotterdam, Barcelona, Istanbul, Nantes and Košice report on cities within the world of digital and social change. They study the influence that culture has on city development and analyse the production and life situations of artists and creatives. LABKULTUR.TV understands creativity as the engine of the urban future. LABKULTUR.TV is a project by ecce – european centre for creative economy www.labkultur.tv/en />
For the third time as part of the Frankfurt Book Fair, Frankfurt StoryDrive will take place under the slogan, “Maximize your story, maximize your business”. Frankfurt StoryDrive is the first organized meeting point for the media and entertainment world – and the key to cross-media success. The all-medis platform consists of a two-day conference and a weekend festival. It is a unique combination of a center of commerce and a fashion show, combining business and networking possibilities with visionary concepts. www.storydrivefrankfurt.com