The folks over at Distracted Media in Australia are trying something new in funding their independent film The Tunnel. They will be selling their movie off one frame at a time for $1 per frame. At 25 frames per second (if you're going that route), a 90 minute film will come to 135,000 frames, hence the project name.

Instead of the typical investing engine that drives Hollywood, and even the money raising methods used by most indie film makers, this option allows everyone to be a part of a big project... well big for indie projects. Whether it's a more affluent contributor who can afford a whole minute, or someone who simply wants to contribute in a small way, this let's everyone become a part of movie history.

According to the Terms and Conditions listed on the movie website the contributors don't retain any copyright or directorial rights. Instead, they own the frame or frames they have purchased. As an additional incentive, one lucky donor will receive one percent of the film's profits. While the value of that %1 is up to speculation, most will be satisfied in their involvement in the final product.

Unfortunately I will not likely recommend the film because the horror genre is difficult to align with Biblical teachings. I do, however, applaud the introduction of a brilliant funding scheme. I will strongly consider this method for funding my upcoming film Implant.

For you indie Christian filmmakers out there, consider using this method to fund your next film. $1 per frame actually works out well for low budget projects. Larger films will be require more money, but conveniently will end up with more frames.

The only issue is how you will handle the difference between what level of funding you're looking for and the number of frames of the final project. This is why I'm going to be tightening down my script length before I get my funding underway.

God bless you in your fund raising efforts, they can be overwhelming.

Read the Torrent Freak article for more information.