Like Eric, I agree that a huge benefit that shouldn’t be overlooked is the value in audience (participant) involvement early on, not just to raise money, but to grow and strengthen the audience relationship.

As indie films can’t afford the huge marketing budgets of Hollywood it is lack of audience awareness that frequently kills them in the box office. By getting in early, giving the audience tools to spread the word, interacting with them in a way that creates a bond, the audience can become the number one promoter’s of indiefilm.

On the flipside, if an indie filmmaker builds a big enough online audience, they don’t need the audience to fund their film, as the size of the pre-established audience will be of value to investors, distributors, sponsors, etc who will be happy to write a cheque if the risk has been minimised in this way. In this way, they are funding a project with an audience attached, rather than a project that may not gain an audience.

There are many ways to look at this, and different indie filmmakers are focusing on different aspects, experimenting to see what works. It’s quite an exciting and innovative time.