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All about Kickstarter…

Jamie AndersonSeptember 28, 20143 Mins read731 Views

With the upcoming launch of Gerry Anderson’s Firestorm Kickstarter Campaign on Tuesday 30th September, we thought that those of you who are not familiar with Kickstarter might want a quick overview of what it is, how it works etc.

What is Kickstarter?

Kickstarter is a crowdfunding website. Every project creator sets their project’s funding goal and deadline. If people like the project, they can pledge money to make it happen. If the project succeeds in reaching its funding goal, all backers’ credit cards are charged when time expires. If the project falls short, no one is charged. Funding on Kickstarter is all-or-nothing – so if the goal isn’t met, nobody is charged, and that’s it! We really hope that doesn’t happen though, and that we meet and exceed the funding goal for Firestorm.

Why are you using Kickstarter for Firestorm?

The way creative projects are funded is changing. In the 1960s and 1970s Gerry Anderson had Lew Grade backing him. Now you often have to go through legions of executives, financiers etc. That process can often end up changing the project significantly to make those execs happy. We don’t want to do that. We want to keep Firestorm as pure a Gerry Anderson project as possible – and we want to prove to the world that a TV series featuring physical sets, miniatures, practical effects and puppets could be absolutely amazing, and can entertain new generations of fans for decades to come!

How do I sign up to Kickstarter?

Head over to Kickstarter’s website and sign up for an account here. The sign-up is safe and simple, and can be done in a couple of clicks by signing up with your Facebook account, or you can sign up manually with your email address.

How do I back the project?

Head over to the project’s page on Kickstarter (Firestorm will be accessible via this link from launch day onward), and check out the page and the rewards on offer. When you find something you like, hover your cursor over the reward level you want – it will be highlighted in green. Click on it, and then follow the instructions. Within a minute you’ll be a backer!

When is my money taken?

Money is only taken from the card at the end of the project’s run (2nd November in the case of Firestorm), and even then only if the project has raised its minimum funding goal. If the project falls short, no one is charged. Funding on Kickstarter is all-or-nothing

Is it safe?

Yes! Kickstarter itself is a safe online community, and Amazon Payments (the system used to charge backers’ cards) is one of the safest payment gateways on the internet.

What if you don’t raise enough money?

Well, we really hope that Firestorm will capture people’s imagination, and that backers from all over the world will back the project, but if we don’t raise enough money then Firestorm won’t happen – certainly not in its current incarnation though.

When will I get my reward?

This depends on a number of factors, but we are tentatively giving a delivery date of August 2015 – this will allow us time to enter pre-production after the funding period completes, enter production early in 2015, post-production in spring 2015, and then time for reward production and shipping. We know from experience that this can take longer than expected (as we found after or last successful Kickstarter project for Gemini Force One), and have used that experience to make sensible estimates for delivery.

Is there any benefit to backing early on?

Yes! We have a couple of reward levels that are specially reduced for “early birds” (on a first come, first served basis). On launch day we will open up the project to backers of our previous Kickstarter project (Gemini Force One) first, then to the Gerry Anderson mailing list. Those early bird rewards are heavily discounted, and are strictly limited, so by backing the project early – you’ll be sure of getting a great deal on your rewards package.

Want to make sure you’re in with a chance of getting one of the early bird rewards? Join the mailing list and receive the link to the project before the rest of the world!