Search & Hit Enter RECENT ISSUES Media production in flux: crowdfunding to the rescue By M.E. Luka This article employs mobility studies to pinpoint the specificity of crowdfunding case studies in 21stcentury media production within a political economy framework. Analyzing how capital is deployed through a systemic, contingent set of social, creative and economic relations suggests a nuanced development of the roles and implications induced by crowdfunding. The changeability of professional roles and the fluid nature of funding and project development, distribution and promotion is crucial. Probing method and theory, the author configures media-based creators in relation to projects through assemblages of support composed of virtual producer-patrons and curator-aggregators along value-generating trajectories in a “culture of circulation” (Lee & LiPuma, 2002). If you are an established filmmaker living in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, or Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, you have probably already produced and/or directed more than fifteen projects of your own. Some may be award-winning; several have likely been produced or distributed with major Canadian media players, such as the National Film Board of Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Having established your credentials over the past decade, you seek funding for your next documentary project but cannot secure the support needed by pursuing traditional industry sources. It is increasingly challenging to draw attention and funding from the financial and distribution hubs of the Canadian media industry in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver to projects under development. Four years ago, as the industry contorted, and the overall economy contracted, that might have been the end of your career – or at least, a serious setback. At about that time, however, an innovative, resource-rich opportunity seemed to open up through the increasingly meshed worlds of dotcom startups and open-source strategies. Over the last three years, many North American filmmakers have successfully navigated the virtual world of crowd-sourced funding for arts and media production. Developing such funding structures require a lot of preparatory work, and a deep, ongoing commitment to motivated community-building, particularly during funding drives. And HOME ABOUT WI PAST ISSUES CONTACT