IDEA: ICO for TV Pilot/Series based on Crypto-Community

[expathos]

Hi All

I am currently working with a couple of writers I know to create a treatment/pitch for a pilot for a TV/Web Video drama series that would be based on the Crypto and Bchain communities.

www.encrypto.tv is the brand.

http://www.encrypto.tv/encrypto.jpg

This is my thinking and feel free to beat it up. Please...

Yes, we could raise money via typical crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter or Indiegogo for an idea like this - but I believe that the added value of having the community which inspires the show, is the one that backs it.

And not only that, having a cryptocurrency as part of the project is interesting and can be fungible - and be used, for instance, for a spinoff game product or by using transmedia tactics and game theory. Or be engaging brands in the show asynchronously in a post-pre show web version.

Or they can be traded and speculated on in the exchanges.

Or they can be traded at a fixed cost as a convertible loan and acquire shares in the project itself (30 percent of the company open for shares?).

Other perks/bounty could be given to Bitcoin whales and larger investors - such as 15 Bitcoin would get you on-screen credit as a producer and 100 bitcoin would get you a role in the show itself (not a leading role of course).

I can also imagine a co-writing process with some people in the community to help develop the narrative - maybe using Backfeed from Matan Field and reward contributors with bounties calculated by consensus.

Here's some of my thinking today...

Example lead character

Mateo Silva: 24.

His father is a mathematician at Cambridge, a computer genius with an outsized ego.

His father lost everything in the Bernie Maddoff scandal in 2008 while he was developing a new digital currency called Encryptocurrency which he developed while leading an anonymous life as a hero known only as ENCRYPTO to a generation of hackers. He donates his open source code to the world and walks away from it.

Mateo’s mother, an Italian art historian, fled her marriage, leaving Mateo with his father.

She teaches in the States. His parents’ marital drama left Mateo on the sidelines with enough space and brains to self-create himself.

Innately charming, geeky, painfully clumsy in matters of the heart, Mateo is a self-critical perfectionist. Fail again. Fail better! Beginning as a gamer and programmer, he has become an encryption and digital currency expert – he picks locks as a hobby.

At an encryption conference in Las Vegas, at a lock-picking table, Mateo meets a wily American operative who recruits him to the NSA.

Through the Agency, he designs and codes a hugely popular social media site for the Orthanc Corporation.

The social network site takes America by storm but really is a cover for the NSA to collect massive data on Americans. Mateo holds a clearance at the highest level – it’s his baby. The counterweight to his governmental/corporate self, his alter ego ENCRYPTO posts classified documents he considers in the public interest. Mateo becomes a hunted man, fleeing to Ecuador, and finally abducted back to the States, his ass is hauled off to solitary in a Federal prison.

But after a year, charges are dropped: he’s freed. He's not sure why.

When free, he realises that the code he dropped on the world called encryptocurrency has now taken on a life of its own and has spawned a whole new movement and means of trade. He's angry. He wants revenge. The system has betrayed his father and now him. He drops his real identity and goes into hiding as ENCRYPTO and begins to assemble a team of hackers, dissidents and others to take on the system.

Is this idea crazy? Would it be the first ICO for something that has nothing to do with Bitcoin, Blockchain, software or hardware, but rather a creative process? This is the kind of show that the establishment would not like to back - the status quo in Hollywood has rules. Mr. Robot broke some of them last year and opened the doors. We feel there's room to take a new narrative to the table - one that challenges the media, governments, and the establishment.

I have been writing for over 20 years and have had a show optioned by Sony Pictures Television in the past. I work with a couple of other writers in SF and London on ideas. I also publish Blockchain News THE-BLOCKCHAIN dot com (written over 700 articles on Blockchain in 2016). And advise a couple of ICOs. So not walking in here blind with an idea.

[AT101ET]

This would definitely be a cool idea. However, the show/series would need longevity. Do you think you have enough material and enough of a story to write about?
I haven't had much experience in the film industry but I now that film production is expensive. There'll be a lot of costs involved in pre-production, casting, licensing and post production fees.
I highly doubt that you'll get anywhere near enough funding on here. You'll be better off trying to crowdfund using indiegogo (they're more focussed on indie projects) and hopefully - if there's enough demand, you'll be able to get the ball rolling on this.

Good luck!

[expathos]

Thanks  AT101ET, But I would only do this project here, and not go to Kickstarter or Indiegogo. The idea came to me after working with both Inchain and DECENT as part of their ICO teams.

Of course there's enough material. That's not hard. Not with a good writing team. And there's plenty of fodder right here in this forum for ideas. There's not only cryptocurrency, there's deep web, there's hackers, there's cryptoanarchists, open source Blockchain dreamers who want to rebuild society.... there's criminals and scammers. There's people getting rich quick and others losing it all.

There's are far too many projects like this on Kickstarter and Indiegogo and the reality is, the narrative of this project focusses on this community which makes it relevant for those who are part of it. We are telling your stories. We want the community to be part of the process in developing story arcs and ideas.

Cost depends mainly on talent. If we raise 2 or 3 million dollars via an ICO we could bring in A list acting talent for a pilot. Or we could do a whole web series.

If the show sold to Netflix/Amazon/HBO or someone else there would be a healthy return for investors.

At any rate, this is just an idea.

[Snorek]

As you said yourself, it is "crazy idea" and you will never know if it catch on unless you try it.
I am a little worried that we are now entering a stage where everyone with an idea would like to go ICO-path.
What is wrong with standard Kickstarter or IndieGoGo? I think it suits creative projects like yours better.
Why? Because you don't have anything solid - your show might be awesome like Mr. Robot or will suck like many other semi-professional projects.
And then what? ICO will fail miserably with it. I tell you what - first create some content: a trailer, pilot episode etc. and then evaluate the feedback, and choose your options.

[bittraffic]

Yes. its a crazy idea. The plot is actually not that unique. But the idea of having a cryptocurrency for its investor would be quite cool.
Maybe you would also contact CISCO to sponsor some scenes and such like there is no other drinks to be shown in the series but pepsi.

[ranlo]

I'm always up for new ideas. Would the investors get income based on what it makes (if it's picked up by a network), though?

[expathos]

Hi Snorek,

Create a pilot first? How many of the ICOs here have a working prototype or even a solid Proof of Concept before their ICO?

The point is to create a pilot - which costs a lot of money if you want to do one properly.

If I were to go to Kickstarter or Indiegogo, I would not choose the topic I currently am looking at mostly likely. Why? Because the investors at those sites don't give a shit about the crypto-world, while I do. And there's too many creative film/Video projects - you need to have celebrities onboard to make them stick.

I want to do a series that challenges the status quo, that takes on topics that the system doesn't. Like anarchy and a new financial system.

That's not going to get funded by the gadget donations crowd who want yet-another-fucking-android-smartwatch on Kickstarter.

And if people here don't want to invest, don't invest. It's pretty simple. Why does every project have to be another Blockchain idea? Why not have creative ideas that reflect the various ethos' of the community?

bittraffic that's not really the 'plot' per se'. That's something I popped out in an hour while thinking about it. I have some other writers I am talking to as well. One WGA member who has film and TV credits and a writer who has done a book on cryptocurrency. I used to be in the TV business (see https://nl.linkedin.com/in/expathos) and have worked with  the BBC, ABC, CBC, NPO, RTL (DE & NL), Eurosport, NBCU, C4, ITV, Liberty Global, Seven Australia and have contacts with many others. Aside from publishing Blockchain News and working with Inchain, DECENT, vDice and others on ICOs.

ranlo, I am not sure how to structure it yet. I was looking at some other setups and I'd like to see encryptocurrency.com have both fungibility and utility. Therefore perhaps coin purchasers can either do a convertible loan or even buy real shares of the company based on company valuation, or choose to keep them outside the company and play the exchanges. But not do both. We feel that Encryptos (the currency) will have utility with the show, by marking arrangements with sponsors, building a game version, and other what we call 'transmedia' projects attached to the original series. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmedia_storytelling

[Snorek]

Create a pilot first? How many of the ICOs here have a working prototype or even a solid Proof of Concept before their ICO?

This is slightly different situation. ICOs are promising something - but mostly upgrades of their code, some features that can be programmed and functionality improved.
With movie/series you can promise something, create it, and then audience will realize that acting is bad, screenplay is even worse - but the project will be 'completed'.

The point is to create a pilot - which costs a lot of money if you want to do one properly.

I know, quality=money in this business. Pilot would be maybe too much. How about trailer?

If I were to go to Kickstarter or Indiegogo, I would not choose the topic I currently am looking at mostly likely. Why? Because the investors at those sites don't give a shit about the crypto-world, while I do. And there's too many creative film/Video projects - you need to have celebrities onboard to make them stick.

I know, you will have to promise something extraordinary to be founded on Kickstarter or standard crowdfunding platforms.
Therefore you are asking help of crypto community and I like that. But you also probably know that we are plagued with scams and people who constantly promise something and never deliver.

I want to do a series that challenges the status quo, that takes on topics that the system doesn't. Like anarchy and a new financial system.

Again, great topic for the series. But we need more details, beside your promise, that it would be amazing.

And if people here don't want to invest, don't invest. It's pretty simple. Why does every project have to be another Blockchain idea? Why not have creative ideas that reflect the various ethos' of the community?

I wan't people to invest in good ideas. But you have to show them something first, that is all.

[Kakmakr]

You will have to make it believable for people to get emerged into the "revenge" part of this. The research into the hacking techniques would need to be accurate too, because Mr. Robot has some pretty interesting scenes with those. I like the "Cat & Mouse" games being played between the government and the hackers, but with a twist.

It needs to be on the knife edge, like the "24" series with every episode ending in a cliffhanger, begging you to see what is coming next and combined with the NCIS plot, where main characters can die at any given moment.

Good luck with the project, cannot wait to see the pilot. ^smile^

[jimbobway]

Seems like the pic of the guy in the hoody is potentially showcasing a dark drama similar to Mr. Robot.  Seems like it's already been done.  To be a little different I imagine you would need to change the main character so it is not the stereotypical hacker (white, male, does drugs, introverted, etc.)

If you want to model the real-life crypto community you could have the following characters:

A loony tunes Roger Ver-like character.
Intelligent core devs
Insane /r/btc supporters.
Satoshi played by the Illuminati (or something so outlandish to surprise viewers)
Gavin going from normal to crazy due to some unknown mental disease
Samson Mao as the unlikely Chinese hero
Rick Falkvinge playing an actual pirate with a parrot.

This could go somewhere...

[expathos]

Just to let you know Snorek

I am not a total stranger to this community.

Publisher Blockchain News - http://www.the-[Suspicious link removed] blockchain DOT com
Partner at Blockchain Partners - http://www.blockchain-partners.com
Steering Committee - Blockchain Ecosystem Network - http://www.becon.global
Blockchain startup ICO Advisor - Decent - https://decent.ch/richard-kastelein-recruited-decent/ (I helped them raise 4.2 million dollars in ICO)
Blockchain startup ICO Advisor - Inchain.io - http://inchain.io/#team
Organiser and founder -  Chain Blockchain Hackathon - www.hackthechain.com
Organiser and founder -  Hack Energy Blockchain Hackathon - www.h4ckenergy.com
Spoken on Blockchain at events in Gdansk, Amsterdam, Minsk, Dubai, Antwerp, Eindhoven, The Hague and Nairobi (coming up).

I have also had a show optioned by Sony Pictures Television and have worked in TV industry. I am working on bringing in a writer to do the treatment with me to raise the money - who is in the WGA and done film and TV.

And I am not one to hide behind an avatar and fake identity. http://www.linkedin.com/in/expathos tells my history.

And for some reason this forum keeps killing my urls - I hope http://[Suspicious link removed]/iaC7305WRDM might work if not

the-blockchain DOT com/2016/11/07/blockchain-vc-says-no-initial-coin-offerings-icos/ spells out my views and defense of ICOs in a retort against a VC ripping into our community.

From the article.

1. Regulatory uncertainty is what allows anyone from anywhere who wants to make the choice to invest,  the ability to do so without being told they are unaccredited (not wealthy enough to play). Regulatory uncertainty allows for the ICOs to move at pace of innovation that is not tied to pencil pushers lobbied by big interest groups to create laws that inhibit or even snuff out the ecosystem. Governments are national – this place is global. SEC is moot for the most part as US investors are doing so with pseudonymity using Bitcoin which is not even considered money by the US government but rather a capital asset.

I would argue that the ICO community potentially does far better due diligence on itself and much better than any junior hire at an investment bank or VC – any shiny FINRA-licensed kid with an MBA – tasked to dig into something he knows little about.

In the crypto-hangouts – particular at Bitcointalk where almost all ICOs are first broadcast, scores of net-savvy investors start googling the history of the founders and teams, ripping apart the code, hammering the theory, and generally kicking the living shit out of the concept – by the tens. Then they out scammers who end up shrivelling out the forum with their tails tucked and hang the ICO. You also have new companies like Smith and Crown doing great work analysing ICOs and others are now moving into that space and providing more centralised market intelligence.

In terms of ‘breaking the law’ when it comes to spending your own money as you see fit in an investment you feel you can handle –  Obama has finally opened the doors slightly with the JOBS act and you don’t have to be an accredited investor or bike to work on Sand Hill Road to reap rewards any longer. And so it should be. The Americans are already three years behind the UK and Netherlands in crowdfinancing. ICOs are, in particular, have been a panacea to American investors (particularly those with a lot of unclaimed cryptocurrency) who want to participate.

[Snorek]

Wow, Expathos.

I gotta say that your credentials and experience might be a winning factor here. Suddenly I might be willing to believe that your project might be something good and unique.
And it will be first known case of successful entertainment project if you will manage to raise founds for your project through cryptocurrency and ICO.

BTW, your links are being cut and removed probably because you are still newbie here. Newbie accounts have some restrictions (can't post pictures, links in signature, time limit between posts, etc.)

[expathos]

Thanks Snorek, I am not even sure I will do it, Just an idea. It's a risky proposition with creative works - it's subjective - some people will hate it some will love it. With software or hardware it's a little different  - it either works or does not. There is potential for significant profits for sure - a pilot or even a well produced short web series with solid actors and polished writing (great dialogue) could get picked up by Netflix or Amazon or perhaps cable - HBO, Bravo, etc.

And with profits can come more productions tackling edgy, controversial narratives.

Wow, Expathos.

I gotta say that your credentials and experience might be a winning factor here. Suddenly I might be willing to believe that your project might be something good and unique.
And it will be first known case of successful entertainment project if you will manage to raise founds for your project through cryptocurrency and ICO.

BTW, your links are being cut and removed probably because you are still newbie here. Newbie accounts have some restrictions (can't post pictures, links in signature, time limit between posts, etc.)

[bitseedmike]

Looks like a cool idea. Hope it takes off. The OP of the thread certainly has the background to do the project. He wrote a great article on the ICO model on his Blockchain News site, http://www.the-blockchain.com/2016/11/07/blockchain-vc-says-no-initial-coin-offerings-icos/ .

[eternalgloom]

This is definitely one of the more interesting ideas I've seen in here lately, I hope you can pull it off.
But I think you really should diversify your funding sources and also look into crowdfunding aside from the ICO.

I personally doubt you can get the funds for this kind of project through an ICO, crowdfunding just seems more suited for a project like this.