Thank you all so, so much for your endless support over the last two years and over the course of this campaign! We raised almost $9,000 in less than 30 days! Sadly, we were not able to reach our minimum goal to keep the funds we raised, but I think I speak for everyone at No Method when I say that I still consider our campaign a huge success.
This actually wasn’t our first Season 1 crowdfunding campaign. We did one around the same time last year, with wildly unsuccessful results, relatively speaking. (You can find it on IndieGoGo if you’re morbidly curious!) Although we raised enough in that campaign to make our second episode, I felt devastated that we weren’t able to make a full first season. How come some dude in Ohio can manage to raise $55K to make a single serving of potato salad, but I can’t raise funds to support a show that I think is pretty damn good and employs a family of insanely talented, dedicated people?
Needless to say, the idea of running another crowdfunding campaign after we released episode 2 did not excite me. A wise friend recommended that we “go boldly” and use our second episode to pitch our show to web channels and apply for pilot competitions. Over the summer, I started doing that. And we got some incredible feedback. A rep from Comedy Central said our show was “well-shot” and “well-acted,” but that it was a little dark for their web channel. Again, some would see this as a failure, but I was thrilled to have our work complimented by a ‘real channel.’
But I immediately realized that doing it this way would be a long and winding road. And the thing about running your own show is that you feel responsible for everyone involved. As a longtime actor, I hated the idea of my actors sitting around wondering, “When am I going to get to make more episodes of No Method?”
So I brought up the idea of crowdfunding again with my co-producer Sammy, and we both said, “Fuck it. Why not?” I already knew what having a campaign that didn’t materialize felt like. I went in with zero expectations--but with the goal of “all or nothing.”
As we started drawing closer to the end of our campaign, friends started asking if I would supplement what we’d already raised with my own money, just so we could hit 80% and keep our funds. Truthfully, I was never comfortable with that idea. We went into this campaign with a seriously pared down budget to begin with because we wanted our goal to be more realistic. I cut the season down by two episodes on top of that. If we didn’t end up making 100% of our goal, something else would have had to have been compromised. And I didn’t want it to be the wages of our actors or our amazing crew, even if they were willing to work for free.
One of our crew members once said that every episode of No Method is like a short film in its own right. And it is. We’re not like a traditional web series. And I love that about us. I want to keep doing our show, but I want to be able to do it *right.*
Even though we weren’t able to fund the rest of our first season with this campaign, we did connect with tons of new fans (thank you, Seed & Spark), and I learned a lot about what it takes to run a successful campaign.
Will we be running another campaign for No Method? Probably not. (I just heard a collective sigh of relief.) In the meantime? I’ll continue with the original Plan B, pitching and submitting.
I should also mention that I have literally *tons* of other projects I want to devote my energy to and get off the ground, too, so stay tuned for that!
Have I rambled enough? Happy Thanksgiving! We love you all, and we’ll be sure to keep you posted on the future of our little show as it develops.
Caitlin Graham Creator of No Method
