The Future of Sports

Have you ever wondered if there were some type of conspiracy behind the winners and losers in different sporting events? Not the type of conspiracy that suggests some athletes may be aliens from outer space, but a much more local conspiracy. Let’s take basketball for an example. If your success or failure during the season determines how high your draft pick becomes, wouldn’t you throw a few games, especially if you’re not in the running to claim the title anyway? Or, what if your success could be determined by the amount of money your sponsors are investing in you, or even worse, your competition. If you’re like most sports fans, this is unthinkable and it would totally take away from the unpredictable nature of sports along with the allure of watching your favorite team play. As with any conspiracy, it is usually based off of some theories of truth. This video gives some insight to a more positive sports experience. An experience where your success is based on your talent, drive and passion, and that’s it:

Fan Fuel is a company that believes the success of an athlete should be determined by the talent, skill, and passion of that athlete. Could this be the future of sports? Is it even imaginable that sports and entertainment sponsors would allow such a lucrative business to be turned over to the measly accommodations that sports fans might be able to provide? This may seem like a great idea in theory, but sports fans have become increasingly spoiled by the “scripted” realism that current sports shows provide. After all, sponsorship dollars and over the top aesthetics are what drive us to want to do, see and spend more to get that experience. This is not only true for sports, but look at the music industry, singing is no longer a requirement as long as you are marketable and bankable. It is not quite this bad in sports though, you at least have to know how to play the game and have a remarkable skill level in order to compete. I must say, I agree that sports teams should have to earn their success in the same way that any company should have to earn theirs, but I also believe that sports sponsors are here to stay and anyone who tries to push them aside are in for the fight of their lives. 

Funding Your Film

Independent Filmmakers: Funding Your Film

Photo from google images.

One of the hardest parts about writing and creating a great film is having the means to fund that film. Crowd funding is widely used among independent filmmakers and is an excellent way to fund your project. Sites like "Give Forward," "Razoo," and "Indiegogo," are great tools because they also allow you to share your funding efforts on social media sites. There are also the more traditional funding methods such as corporate financing and product placement but this can be time consuming and still may not produce results. Fortunately, for the filmmakers that rely heavily on the support of others to produce their projects, there are other methods to successfully complete their films.

As an independent filmmaker, one of the methods I used on my last film was adding a prop donation page to my website. I listed the different props needed for my film and asked individuals to either donate the props or they could leave suggestions on how to create certain props effectively and inexpensively. This method produced great results because one of the props needed was a "fake pregnant belly" and one was donated to my film, saving me over $100.00. Another method I used was a more traditional method which was researching the new, “mom and pop,” restaurants in my community. This method was effective because the agreement included complimentary food for the cast and crew and in return, I would send new customers to their restaurant via my daytime job, which is a very popular hotel chain.

Finally, figure out what your particular film has to offer and research special interest groups that may have similar interests in the message your portraying. There are individuals out there who may not necessarily believe in you, but they believe in your cause and are willing to invest in that. It will not be an easy task to convince individuals to part with their money especially in this economy, but do not let that deter you from your goals. Typically, there are always going to be individuals or companies that are looking to invest in the next big “idea.”

Also, be sure to make professionalism a character trait when seeking funding from any source. Remember, you are asking for help, not the other way around and your attitude can be the difference between success and failure.