Book excerpt: This book provides guidance on how to build an independent, financially sustainable filmmaking career through channels such as crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, and community filmmaking concepts. Through real-life experiences, Marty Lang provides insight on how to use these key concepts through every stage of a film’s lifecycle – from distribution (the stage that should be figured out first), through development, screenwriting, prep, production and post, all the way through marketing and the film’s release. By thinking of filmmaking as a start-up company, and looking at how businesses make money, Lang creates a completely independent financial model for films, turning filmmakers into businesspeople, conscious of the needs of their audiences, and empowered to use their creative work to make their living. Using interviews with leaders in the field, case studies, and practical experience gained from 20 years of community filmmaking, this book unveils an exciting, new way to make films that prioritizes a collaborative, entrepreneurial mindset at every stage. This is an essential guide for aspiring and seasoned filmmakers alike looking to understand and apply crowdsourcing as an effective tool in their career.