Living the future is a popular internet series about sustainable living made by award-winning media charity Undercurrents.
Over the last 5 years, the series has followed the birth of the UK's first planned Eco-village, Lammas, in West Wales. www.lammas.org.uk
We have been raising funds to help us produce DVDs of the upcoming 50 minute film and we have reached our target. Yippee!
Any additional funds raised will now go to continue making the online series, for which we currently have NO funding. So please keep giving!
vimeo.com/livinginthefuture/videos
Living in the Future documents natural homes, sustainable living and land-based communities. Our films are inspiring, entertaining and educational. This is our second DVD- the first one has helped to keep the series going and we now have 44 episodes!
Take a look at our really great rewards :)
Can you help? Thank-you. Diolch. Gracias. Merci. Spasibo.
Well, we are counting down to the end of the Crowd Fund. Thank you all so much for supporting this project so far.
I'm not sure what will happen when it ends- another fanfare? explosion? or perhaps nothing..
I may not be able to update, but I have all your emails, so I will contact you later this week with news of Launch Screenings.
The Crowd Fund was a rollercoaster- exciting in the beginning as the first pledges came in; then frustrating as it stalled in the middle;
finally relief as we hit our target and glee when you kept giving.
The journey continues...
Yes, we made it. Phew!
The person who helped us get the last mile of the way was my friend Ross, who suggested that I use Sponsume
way back when I had just started the project in Crowdfunder! It was a scary move, but it worked out.
I hope you have been happy with the way that Sponsume and I have dealt with your donations. They won't actually leave your account
until the Crowd Fund is over, so hang on a few days. When will you get your goodies? Books- in a few weeks; DVDs- not sure yet.
But you get the Feelgood Factor right now :))))
Hi All,
Tonight I am a very happy bunny indeed. £25 left to raise on this Crowd Fund. I feel as though there should be a fanfare when it happens!
I want to say a huuuge thank you to you all. THANK YOU!
The Crowd Fund stays live until the end on October 1st and we can keep accepting donations.
All additonal funds will go towards making new Living in the Future episodes, for which we have NO funding at present, so it is very useful indeed.
Merci, Gracias, Diolch, Vielen Dank, Tak, Dank U, Kiitos, Tack, Cheers, Köszönöm, Hvala, Takk, Cпасибі, Spasebo!
These are all the countries you are from. Did I leave anyone out? ;)
Hello Supporters,
The new episode-Charlie's House- and the article on Natural Homes has brought in a few more sponsors and we are in sight of our goal.
This week, I've been shooting some final clips for the film and a DVD extra.
We need to start designing the DVD cover now and the opening pages for the DVD.
So as the Crowd Fund goes into the final stretch, so does the film. I should have news for you this week about the launch screenings.
I'm hoping you will all be able to help publicise them- or even hold a screening yourself! Our supporters are widely spread around the world...
In Wales this weekend, the sun is shining. Hope it is where you are.
Helen and the (growing) Living in the Future Team.
Hi there Sponsors,
We have just released a new epsiode, which we hope will motivate potential crowd funders out there to helping us reach our target.
You can watch it here : http://www.livinginthefuture.org/index.php/45
It's an empowering story about a beautiful natural home inspired by the Lammas project. You can't fail to be impressed.
Please share the episode as widely as possible- there is a link to the crowd fund on the page.
The link will be released on facebook theis evening, so keep an eye out for it and make it work for us!
Thanks very much.
Helen and the Living in the Future (growing) Team
I'm making a copy of the first rough cut of the Film.
It's to show to the people at Lammas- to see if they like it- and to the Wales One World Film Festival-
to see if they want to help organise a multi-venue Premiere.
It feels like a big step and it's nice to know you're with me.
I've also put the credits on- so you're on there, guys! Thank-you :)
We're nearly up to £500. Horay ( she says in a weary tone..)
It's hard to keep up the momentum for these things, especially in a week when you've had your birthday
and the sun has been shining, the beach inviting, the sea sparkling...
Anyway. It's back to work next week and let's see if we can break that £500 barrier.
Ask your mate, your aunty, your Mum. Share the love :)
Thanks for your support (and I mean that in the way of keeping me UP) :)
Lammas had their latest Ecovillage Conference this weekend and we took what may be the last shots of the film.
It's an exciting time for them, as new people are coming forward who want to create new ecovillage projects. It's going to be easier for the people coming after, as so much of the groundwork has been laid- a road more travelled, so to speak.
For me, it's back to the edit suite, but not before a swim in the sea and a little sit in the sun :)
Well, we've got to make the most of these September days...
Are any of you finding it hard to get motivated after the long weekend?
I'm needing some inspiration, myself. The editing is going slowly and the crowd fund even slower.
It seems that every time I find a new place to post the project, I get a result.
Anyone got any ideas for new places to post?
Permaculture News kindly put us on their site today and this evening we made it to £400. Yay :)
Research shows that there is some kind of tipping point- where people can see that your project is a winner and feel more inclined to back it.
I can understand that. I wonder if this is it?! Let's hope so...
So today I thank Maddy from Permaculture News and Sarah, Rima and Daren for helping us to get this far.
I hope you are doing something fun for the August Bank Holiday. I might just take a break from the edit suite and get some fresh air.
Enjoy!
Have you watched the new trailer? I've put in some clips from interviews with Lammas residents which appear in the film. Let me know if you like it!
Donation thanks today go to Marsha Emerman in Melbourne and her husband Bob: http://www.fruitfulfilms.com.au/about. Thank-you!
This is a message from our latest sponsor, Dennis.
"Just so you know that your series inspired me to go to Wales and visit
the Lammas Settlement in 2009, which turned my life around. So this
donation is just a small token of my gratitude and I asked my Facebook
friends to do the same."
Thanks Dennis :)
You can check out his project here : http://www.recycledhouse.info
I was warned that this crowd funding business would be hard work, but I wasn't told how the help could come from all sides, in all sorts of ways.
I suppose once the call is out there, people can be inspired to offer not just financial assistance, but practical help too.
So far, we have had several messages with useful ideas on how we can spread the word and make our campaign more effective.
We have a welcome offer of web support from Ben Dwyer and some invaluable marketing advice from Oliver Swann of Natural Homes.
The campaign is a journey and I'm glad you are all along with me for the ride!
This morning, we had a donation from Georgia in the USA- thanks Stephanie- which has given me a good start to Tuesday-along with some yoga in the garden in the sunshine.
The editing is going well, too and I'll be back to the edit suite just as soon as I've had my muesli :)
Today, I've been mostly editing. I'm acutely aware that this film will eat my hours, days, weeks and months and soon it will be December and I have promised to finish it by then!
The funding appeal got off to a good start, but after that inital rush, it's slow and it takes a lot of energy to both push for money and edit the film.
I'll be editing most of this week, so I hope we get a few donations to boost my flagging energy.
I read some research that says I need to ask people an average of 7 times before they will donate. 7 times! Do I have that much cheek??!
Living in the Future are at this Festival this weekend:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPopOCAZzuw
We'll be doing workshops, showing films and trying to drum up some more donations!
I'm hoping there will be some activity here while I'm gone,
or maybe you'll be out and about yourselves- maybe in your garden.
I had a delicious dinner last night- spinach and beans from my garden,
onions and courgettes from Lammas. Yum.
I'd share the picture but the file is apparently too big and I've got to rush off.
Technology, eh? Sometimes I'd rather be in the garden...
Thursday 2nd August, 8.30 pm
Well, that £100 donation gave me power to get another 5 minutes of film edited, which means I'm 10 minutes in to a rough edit.
It feels as though starting the campaign has been like a promise to all the people who support us to get the film finished.
Time to go home now. I'm hungry!
Thursday 2nd August 2012.
I'm amazed. Some super kind person has just donated £100 and got themselves a signed DVD and a credit on the film.
They also made me very happy. Thank-you!
I feel like this :))))))))))
