Dutch film sector embraces crowd funding and crowd sourcing

As DVD sales and government subsidies decline, the relatively small Dutch film sector has to be innovative and clever to maintain their high level of film production. Many people in Dutch cinema have taken the step to involve their audience. The first crowd funding film projects have been completed, showing that the sector is making the transition to new kinds of business. For example the Dutch Film Festival, held this week in Utrecht, is funded by crowd donations.

Money isn’t the only resource that can be drawn from the crowd, however. World famous Dutch film director Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct, Starship Troopers, Hollow Man) has called on the public to contribute their creativity to his latest film project. Via the website “Entertainment Experience” everyone interested in film making can join Verhoeven to write the script, compose music and design costumes or sets for the film. There’s also room for a computer game based on the film

The production of the film has a unique setup. The first three minutes of the movie are written by a professional scriptwriter (Kim van Kooten) and subsequent three-minute sections can be filled in by the crowd. Paul Verhoeven will coordinate the project and will make sure all contributions are merged into a high quality film, ready for the movie theatres around the country. Anyone in the Netherlands with talent is welcome to join the project.

Mr. Verhoeven has high expectations of this crowd sourcing project: “There are so many people, 16 million I believe, of course there is talent out there. But people have just never tried it before. Now these people can say, “Let’s give it a go.” It is already being done with all kinds of television programmes in the Netherlands.”

Sources: VARA television “De Wereld Draait Door” Sep 20, 2011; Crowdsourcing.org; Entertainment Experience, Crowdfunding.nl