Wednesday 30 November 2011

Crowdfunding: a blog!

Hello to you all,

My name is Ed Casey and I am a PhD student based at the University of Wales, Newport. I have a background as a short film producer and won a BAFTA Cymru award for best short film in 2006. I have a BA in Film from University of Wales, Newport; an MA in Film Producing and Business Management from University of Glamorgan and have studied under Andrzej Wajda at his prestigious film school in Warsaw, Poland.

I have just started a three year investigation into crowdfunding. More specifically, I will be looking at crowdfunding for film and digital media. Over the next three years I intend to look at how crowdfunding is revolutionising the production of digital media and how this phenomena is being utilised by film makers. More on that soon...

The blog is intended to act as a reflective journal; a space for me to talk about some of my findings and to try to think critically about them. I also hope to engage with other people researching in this field and those who are most effected by it: the filmmakers, producers and their investors - the crowd!

A word on my study. I am a KESS (Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarship) student and the programme is funded through the European Social Fund. One of the conditions of my participation is that I work alongside businesses based in the Convergence Area of West Wales and the Valleys (http://wefo.wales.gov.uk/programmes/convergence/areamap/?lang=en).