The Seed&Spark Blog

Film Crowdfunding
Our Favorite Pitch Videos of 2024: The Big List!

December 11, 2024

• Gabriella Bottoni

With nearly 1400 incredible projects crowdfunded on Seed&Spark in 2024, a short list of our favorite pitch videos felt nearly impossible to curate. Especially since we’re long overdue for sharing our selects! So this year, we’re delivering a BIG list of examples of compelling, creative pitch videos crafted by our community of impact storytellers to help inspire and inform creators of nearly every medium. Of course, there are so many more where these came from. 

 

We couldn’t be more grateful for every single one of you who crowdfunded with us so far, and we can’t wait to help you bring your projects to life in 2025. Happy watching! 

 

Shorts, Features, & Series

Let’s get visual! Visual! (In your opening)

Remember, videos too heavy on direct address to camera historically don’t do as well. Thus, one of the most cardinal rules of exemplary pitch making is to land a visual opening. In the first 15 seconds of your video, you should show your audience the stuff they're excited about first, and give them a sense of the visual tone and style of your project to hook them in. If you’re making a comedy, these crucial seconds should be funny. If you’re making a horror, scare us. If you’re doing sci-fi/fantasy, use those moments to take us briefly to another world! Take a look at how these creators met the mark.

  • BASTARD – Short Film, Comedy/Satire (Chandler, AZ): When two women turn up pregnant after government-sanctioned sex with a sterilized man, they turn to law enforcement to lock him up.
  • Death in Her Arms – Short Film, Horror/Thriller (Atlanta, GA): Death in Her Arms is a mind-bending, thriller/horror short film that addresses themes of grief, relational dynamics, and second chances, following two brothers who stop their heart to interrogate the dead in hopes to track their family's killer.
  • NEURO Short Film, Sci-Fi/Drama (Austin, TX): This retro, science fiction film seeks to ask big questions about memory loss, grief, and artificial intelligence, all while being told in an extremely stylistic approach by director Wes Ellis. 
  • El Trabajo No Para — Short Film, Family Drama (Los Angeles, CA): During the Great Recession in rural North Carolina, a laid-off office worker struggles to upstart his own business in order to pay bills and provide for his loving wife.
  • He's Typing — Short Film, Comedy/Drama (New York City, NY): Haunted by his disappearing typing bubble, Casey is visited by her self-doubt, ego, and anxiety as she tries to figure out why she's been left on read.

No footage? No problem!

If you’re worried about how you’ll “show and not tell” without having some (or even any!) of the footage shot that you’re funding for, don’t worry - we’ve got you! These filmmakers show how to ingeniously meet the visual variety requirement with no footage in the can, landing visually compelling pitches using everything from rehearsal footage, BTS material, family videos, location scouting, references from tonally similar films, on-brand graphics, and more to help show what their projects might look and feel like. 

  • Attaboy – Short Film, Drama (New York City, NY): A fictional coming-of-age short film about a spirited twelve-year-old navigating the complexities of growing up trans in the early 2000s. 
  • As We Leave, It Follows – Short Film, Drama (Houston, TX): Two immigrant friends return to their hometown of Houston to help their families prepare for a rapidly-approaching hurricane, while also confronting the reasons they left in the first place. 
  • Juliette's Miracle on St. Nick's – Short Film, Drama/Fantasy (New York, NY): When an elderly woman facing her final days receives a visit from a mystical feline figure, she's granted the chance to relive one enchanted night of her youth in Harlem, rediscovering the joy of dance and embracing the beauty of life's fleeting moments.
  • Announcements: A D'Lo Louis Story  – Short Film, Drama (Los Angeles, CA): Announcements is a powerful narrative that explores the harsh realities of youth violence, emphasizing empathy, resilience, and community. 

So much more than a trailer!

Alternatively, if you’ve already shot your project or are a more experienced filmmaker with LOTS of footage on hand, then deciding on how to work all of that great material into your pitch (while keeping it concise) may pose a different challenge! If you’re tempted to post your awesome teaser/trailer and call it a day, know that it's actually a misconception that they can effectively stand alone in this space (which is why we require that you incorporate pitch details for approval!) 

Remember, audiences want to learn what the project is about narratively, meet you the creator, understand why your project is special, why you're crowdfunding and what your long-term plans for the project are before they commit to you financially. Take a look at how these pitch videos expertly combine fantastic footage of previous works, completed proof of concepts, trailers, and teasers while still ensuring that their audiences understand all the necessary information.

  • Emerald Bay – Short Film, Drama (Los Angeles, CA): A poignant, drama short film that explores the complex relationship between people, power imbalances, and healing from hurt — both mentally and physically. How long can you hold onto compassion for someone who hurt you? How long until you snap?
  • Amongst the Starz – Short Film, Teen Drama (Long Beach, CA): Following a game of pick up, a mysterious new kid at the park persuades an easygoing teen to break free from her routine of practicing ball and watching space launches, and she reluctantly joins him.

Are you talking talking heads to me!?

Yes, visuals should be at the forefront of your video, but appearing on camera and letting the audience see you at some point is still an important piece of audience-building. But beware of the common pitfalls! Steer clear of unedited selfie videos, or sitting in long, uninterrupted stretches of direct address to camera, since they historically don’t do as well. So please…get creative with it! The talking heads in these videos understood the assignment by filming their pitches in the world of their projects, in costume, or even fully in character. 

  • The Corpses are Laughing – Short Film, War Satire (Los Angeles, CA): After getting the state-subsidized house they've long dreamed of, Anna and Gustav discover a family, the original owners of the house, hiding inside. Using satire, the film explores the renunciation of humanity in the face of self-interest.
  • Ti Blan – Series, Comedy/Drama (New York City, NY): The story follows a Haitian-American teen named Junior, who is sent to live with his estranged grandmother. Junior connects with his roots, but his past threatens his future.
  • Chicken House  – Short Film, Horror/Comedy (Rochester, NY): Frank has just moved to the suburbs when he begins to receive visits from hoards of people dressed in homemade chicken costumes. When he discovers the truth about his new house, he must confront both the chickens and his own trauma.
  • Forked – Series, Family/Comedy (New York City, NY): Forked is about a woman moving home newly sober, narrating smutty dragon fantasy books in her closet, and realizing she's living two very separate lives, until... 
  • Honestly – Short Film, Family Comedy (New York City, NY): An obsessively quirky woman towers over her family of short Italians, convinced that the roots of her family tree lead back to Vikings. An absurd comedy by women and LGBTQ+ people based on a true story of a secret sperm donation with a farcical outcome.
  • Thin Air – Short Film, Sci-Fi Horror (Los Angeles, CA): A beautiful, time travel horror piece that keeps your pulse pounding every step of the way.

Ok, so you don’t HAVE to be on camera

While we definitely recommend being in your pitch video to help you build a relationship with your audience, we understand that some creators simply don’t want to step out from behind the camera…and that’s okay! If this is you, here are a few stellar examples of how to avoid the traditional talking heads altogether, and put footage, visuals, and project tone at the forefront while still delivering on your pitch points. 

  • Manifest Destiny – Short Film, Horror/Thriller (Austin, TX): This spooky story explores the American Dream (Or is it Nightmare?), and ponders the role of race in America through the lens of folklore and family—and podcasts about the supernatural. 
  • Buffalo – Short Film, Experimental Horror (Fayetteville, AK): A folktale about growing up in Arkansas, family, and a few ghosts.
  • I Love You More Than Dinosaurs — Short Film, Romantic Comedy/Satire (Los Angeles, CA): With characters written as adults, but cast as 10-year-old children, ILYMTD is a simple story about the ugliness of love, told with a cute facade! 

Short n’ Sweet

Perhaps you’ve already paroozed our resource on how to make a perfect crowdfunding pitch video. If so, then you’ll recognize these videos as excellent examples of how to put your own unique stamp on our traditional best practices. Specifically, these videos reflect one of the most important learnings from the analytics and data behind the pitch: that audiences typically only watch for 90 seconds to 2 minutes! Remember to keep your pitch between 2:00-3:30 minutes to assure your audience walks away with everything they need to know. 

  • High Stakes – Short Film, Comedy/Drama (Chicago, IL): A stoner comedy set in 2012 about a high school outcast who decides to sell weed to increase his social status, without considering the consequences of his new gig. 
  • Sawtooth Mountain – Feature Film, Horror/Thriller (Vancouver, Canada): In the remote woods, two paranormal-obsessed brothers, Bobby and Clint, run a Bigfoot-themed cabin. A group of college friends, Kiera, Dillon and Liv, decide to rent the cabin for a weekend of fun but their journey into the supernatural will take a dark turn.
  • Every Man In New York is Named Andrew – Short Film, Romantic Comedy (New York City, NY): Margo has never been in a relationship, but she's decided that she'd be really good at being in one. Unfortunately, everywhere she looks, there's just another guy named Andrew.
  • Knock Knock Run – Short Film, Teen Thriller (Philadelphia, PA): Best friends Taylor and Miles film themselves doing neighborhood pranks while trying to impress the same girl.

Theater, Music, Podcasts & More!

And finally, for those of you funding a project in an otherwise footage-less medium, fear not! We have examples for you, too. Just like short films, features, and series, you should still be aiming to craft a visually compelling pitch, since this is in and of itself a visual medium. The projects below prove that you can use anything from rehearsal footage to simple, yet innovative graphics, animations, and sound design to help you get the job done right. 

  • AMEN: Hollywood Fringe Festival 2024 – Theater, Adventure Comedy (Los Angeles, CA): In a world not entirely unlike our own, a young man named Finn confronts God when his town spontaneously goes missing. Surprised by God's response, Finn embarks on a quest for truth with an unlikely companion. AMEN questions how things have been, and how we take back control over our narratives.
  • Bygones by A Darker Bright – Music Video, Experimental (Los Angeles, CA): A song about the patterns we carry that cause suffering and grief and the desire to let these delusions go to create a better life. 
  • A Harmony Boys Christmas Album – Music, Comedy (Los Angeles, CA): A whimsical blend of original songs, holiday classics, and plenty of irreverent humor; take a nutty nostalgia trip back to 1963 with the Harmony Boys! For anyone who believes we need more quirky content from fresh voices and intellectual silliness with a dash of heart.
  • A Blind Play, Season 3 – Radio/Podcasts, Drama/Satire (Atlanta, GA): In Season Three of A Blind Play, you will dance through the Brexit vote, talk to a falcon, escape from a cult, be arrested for domestic violence, meet a jumbie, barbecue with an Argentine dissident, dispose of a corpse, travel to Charleston, experience an alien talk show, and try to save the world.
  • RILKE - ONE MILLION WORDS – Theater, Experimental Drama (Los Angeles, CA): Ivo Müller interprets the poet’s struggles on stage, reflecting on his own experiences as an immigrant and artist in the U.S. Originally developed in Brazil, this one-person show will now be performed in English for the first time.
  • Oskuneru  – Theater, Adventure/History (Miami, FL): A powerful fictional story inspired by the resilience of the Surinamese Maroons, created by Sefanja R. Galon during the "Black Lives Matter Summer" of 2020. This play honors a legacy of resistance and survival, celebrating rich cultural heritage through African dance, Caribbean rhythms, and Brazilian Capoeira.

For more guidance, be sure to check out our resource on how to make a perfect crowdfunding pitch video. Can't wait to see what you come up with in 2025! And if you're getting started with your own crowdfunding journey, don't forget: we're here to help

Read more by

Gabriella Bottoni

Gab is Seed&Spark's Senior Manager of Creator Success, an improv comedian, filmmaker, singer, and weird babe from New Jersey currently living in Los Angeles. 

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