We Successfully Crowdfunded a Film. Here’s Exactly How We Did It

And how you can do it too.

Our feature documentary has just finished crowdfunding and we went well over our target.

I’ve had a lot of people ask how we did it, so I wanted to write this while it’s still fresh. What follows isn’t theory. It’s exactly what worked for us, what surprised me, and what I’d do again if I were starting from scratch.

If you’re trying to greenlight your own film, outside traditional commissioning systems, then this is for you.

The Film

Our documentary is called Thrawn. It explores language suppression, identity, and the quiet ways culture gets erased. I won’t over-explain it here, the campaign video does a much better job than I ever could.

I started making the film in early 2025 by calling in favours from a very small crew. Everyone did an incredible job, but it quickly became obvious that if I wanted to make this film properly, I needed funding.

A feature documentary like this would typically cost £50,000–£60,000 if commissioned by a broadcaster or funding body. I didn’t expect to raise that, but I’m resourceful. I was open to any amount that would help move it forward. So I tried the traditional routes.

I went to Cannes Film Festival.I went to the Edinburgh TV Festival.I spoke to the Scottish Documentary Institute and Screen Scotland.I attended talks, panels, and emailed people working in similar thematic spaces.

Here’s the thing: everyone I spoke to found the film interesting. People shared their own experiences of language suppression, Scottish and otherwise. The conversation was always rich. But no one could help get it made.

That was the signal. The commissioning system didn’t see the value, but the public clearly did. So I turned to crowdfunding.

Preparing for the Campaign

The first thing I did was make a list of what I needed. Everything I read said the same thing: your campaign video matters more than almost anything else. And honestly? That makes sense.

If you’re asking people to trust that you can make a good film, they’ll judge you, consciously or not, on the campaign video.

You don’t need to be a master cinematographer or editor. But if your video looks careless, why would anyone expect the finished film to be any different?

How I Made our Campaign Video (On a Budget)

Behind the scenes of the shoot - We used my Sony ZVE10 to film the video and a Kodak Charmera to take this picture.

I filmed our campaign in my living room using:

• A small vlogger camera and wireless mics

• A blank wall

• Two lamps with colour-changing bulbs (set to blue)

• Two cheap panel lights from Amazon for my face

I chose to create a blue background because it tied into existing footage of me swimming in a loch and subtly echoed the Scottish flag. Being resourceful with the lights meant the setup felt intentional, and intention reads as quality.

I even used lighting changes to emphasise the script. When I said the word “slang”, my partner switched the lights from blue to red to underline the problem at the heart of the film.

I shot a few extra visual pick-ups: props, gestures, moments, just to keep things dynamic.

Then I edited:

• A landscape version for the campaign page

• A vertical version for social media

I used Adobe Premiere, but if editing isn’t your strength, CapCut is genuinely excellent and very beginner-friendly.

Building Assets Before You Launch

From the footage I already had, I cut shorter interview clips for social media, which became instrumental in the campaigns success.

My partner and I also created some graphics in advance:

• What the project is

• What the perks are

• Why this film matters now

• What happens if we hit (or exceed) our target

• 
  

We also made milestone graphics ahead of time:£1,000 → £2,000 → £3,000 → all the way to £10,000.

This matters more than you think. Momentum is fragile. You don’t want to hit a milestone and have nothing ready to celebrate it.

Plus… it’s a form of manifestation. You’re acting like success is inevitable.

We used Figma, but again, if you’re unfamiliar with professional graphic software, then Canva is a great place to start. Much like Capcut for editing, Canva has lots of templates and a very intuitive interface to craft what you need.

Writing the Campaign Page

I started drafting the campaign page about three weeks before launch.

I looked at other campaigns for inspiration, but ultimately I wrote openly and personally about why I was making this film. Some people told me it was too long. It worked anyway.

We clearly explained:

• Where the money would go

• What we’d do if we exceeded the goal

• What each perk involved

And crucially — I didn’t promise anything I couldn’t realistically deliver. Some perks can complicate the process, so anything that involves sizing, styles or costs a lot to produce or post, isn’t a reasonable perk. We went with Postcards and pin badges that I already had made up, and soft perks like an online screener and credits in the film.

Goal Setting (And Getting Over Myself)

This was the hardest part, because I was scared of failing.

That’s not a great mindset to bring into crowdfunding, but it’s an honest one. And, frankly, a very Scottish one. Initially, I aimed for £6,000. Enough to cover travel and pay the crew something. I didn’t even factor in paying myself.

Then I started showing people the video.

The response was immediate and intense. People weren’t just supportive, they were personally affected by the subject matter. That’s when I knew I could go higher. I felt that my network wasn’t in a place to muster up £50-60K. But I could factor in some further costs and find a target that made sense.

I set the target at £10,000.

Is that what the BBC or BFI would spend on a doc like this? No. But it was my first fundraiser. And £10,000 would make a real difference.

Why I Chose Crowdfunder

I used Crowdfunder rather than Kickstarter or Indiegogo because of match funding. Through their partners, we secured match funding from Creative Scotland. Every donation was matched (up to £250 per pledge) until they contributed £5,000 — half our target.

That meant:

• A £30 donation instantly became £60

• Small contributions suddenly felt powerful

I kept telling people: dinnae fash! Your money isn’t “small” it’s doubled.

There’s a Scottish saying, “Mony a mickle makes a muckle.”

That’s crowdfunding in a sentence.

Managing Your Network (This Is Where the Work Is)

Your first backers will already know you.

So I built a detailed outreach list and split it into tiers:

• Tier 3: People I speak to often → contacted on Day 1

• Tier 2: Light but ongoing connections → Weeks 2–3

• Tier 1: People I hadn’t spoken to in years → Weeks 4–5

Each tier had a slightly different email template. And every email was personalised and sent individually.

Yes, it took longer. But if you’re asking people for connection and belief, the least you can do is show up properly.

We also asked people to share if they couldn’t donate. That mattered just as much.

Launching (And the Mistake I’ll Never Make Again)

I planned to launch on a Tuesday at 11am. Thirty minutes before launch, the platform told me the campaign needed a compliance check… which could take 24 hours.

Panic!

Luckily, it only took a couple of hours. But lesson learned: make the campaign live well before you announce it.

Once it was live, the momentum started immediately.

The Thing I Didn’t Plan (And Why It Worked)

Our main campaign video was just over three minutes long.

When I posted it on Instagram, I got a warning: because of the length, it wouldn’t be shown beyond my followers. I had about 900 followers. Not ideal.

So instead, I posted a shorter cut as a trial reel . This is a feature that shows content exclusively to non-followers.

That reel exploded:

• 113,000 views

• 9,000 likes

• Hundreds of comments and shares

• 
  

I repeated the process with another clip, the interview with Karen Dunbar, which reached 178,000 views.

That was the secret sauce.

Press Coverage (And the Unexpected Outcome)

We sent the campaign to relevant press outlets, which led to features in Scottish Newspaper: The National and an online film magazine called Maxit.

Our Feature in The National

Those articles directly led to donations, and something even bigger.

Someone reached out after reading the article and is now exploring sponsoring the film outside the campaign entirely. That’s the real power of crowdfunding: expanding your circle far beyond who you know right now.

Final Thoughts

The campaign has technically ended, but donations are still open, which makes sense in filmmaking terms. We’ll be working on this for the next 6 months at least!

If you’re reading this feeling inspired, overwhelmed, or both: you can do this.

Crowdfunding isn’t just about money.It’s about proof.Proof that your story matters — even if institutions haven’t caught up yet.

If you want to greenlight your own film, this is one way in.

And it works.

You can watch our video on Crowdfunding on the Cinora Youtube Channel.