In old-world media meeting the new, the New York Times debuts its Made with Kickstarter series today with its first documentary short “Strike: The Greatest Bowling Story Ever Told.”
The series will feature six documentary shorts by filmmakers, each piece funded partially with Kickstarter campaigns. A new film will debut every week over the next six weeks on NYTimes.com’s video page.
Topics include an ice merchant in Ecuador to the first film’s bowler, Bill Fong, a regular guy who became a “human robot” to bowl a 900 series, three perfect games in a row.
“We wanted these films to feel like they had a home on NYTimes.com,” Kareem Rahma, growth strategy editor for video at the New York Times, told the Hollywood Reporter. “We also pulled stories that we normally wouldn’t do, not because we’re too busy but because it’s a unique perspective that the Times wouldn’t have been able to offer.”
With traditional media companies’ budgets and resources dwindling, this is a unique approach to storytelling using Kickstarter as a fund-raising platform.
If you love inside looks at everyday people doing extraordinary things, check out the first film below:
