WTF is blockchain? Crypto Documentary (With a Twist!) Pre-Production Funding

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Scott Collins

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Entity (Incorporated)

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

4

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language

No

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

Our narrative documentary will engage audiences through an entertaining exploration of how human instincts of the past still influence our involvement with cryptocurrency ecosystems of today.

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

No

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

No dependencies

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

Yes

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

The outcomes of this proposal will be open-source. It will be published on GitHub under the Apache 2.0 license.

[METADATA] Horizons

Education

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

Long View: We intend to produce a narrative documentary, told from the perspective of a small blockchain based project looking to establish a real business in the 21st Century, and avoid becoming a Ponzi scheme with a fan club.

Our documentary will feature a journey into learning about self-sovereignty, accountability, real-world utility, and economic opportunities. We will explore this through observing the words and actions of actual contributors to building blockchain ecosystems.

Pre-Production Funding: Prior to beginning the fundraising process for our documentary we are seeking to have a comprehensive legal and accounting opinion developed regarding what we can offer to those contributing, be it through traditional methods or via a tokenised representation of what their contribution offers.

This proposal is therefore seeking the funds to pay for this legal and accounting opinion, so we can proceed with the fundraising activities for our documentary project.

What are your reasons for approaching it in the way that you have?

Film is a popular and accessible medium for many people wanting to learn about different topics. By providing an entertaining and engaging story to help explain complex topics and understand new social phenomena. This documentary will engage audiences not normally interested in crypto and blockchain with engaging and entertaining narratives. Cardano is a compelling blockchain to focus on in our documentary because the work Cardano builders and community members are doing (ie. governance, transparent and immutable ledgers of information, “banking the unbanked”, “don’t trust, verify”, peer-reviewed research, etc) are areas of interest to regular people in an increasingly chaotic world.

Act I Scene I

“Something came into my social media feed. Crypto. I got curious and I spent some time investigating. It seems to be something entirely new, that doesn't just use the internet for convenience, but actually needs it to exist. A blockchain is a shared computing platform that lives on the internet. I listened to a few people on the internet proclaim a new social evolution would emerge from crypto. It seemed everyone had a large number of superstitious reasons why their crypto was the boss of all blockchains, yet scientific rigour seemed few and far between. And identities were persecuted daily, as if there were a medieval witch hunt in progress, not just succinct critiques, but rather damning proclamations…”

Who will your project engage?

Our documentary is aimed at people who are not currently blockchain users, and people with little knowledge of uses of Web3. It will also be entertaining for experienced blockchain users, and it will hopefully be thought provoking regardless of whether the viewer is familiar with blockchain or not. By helping explain the type of human interactions that currently happen in the cryptocurrency industry, we hope to help people see that there are ways to cut through the noise and identify the value blockchain has to offer.

This documentary will serve as a way to educate and therefore attract more people to cryptocurrency and Cardano.

How do you perceive the problem you are solving?

We perceive the problem we are solving as a saturation of technical and financial perspectives in the media, with a lack of engaging, entertaining storytelling in the documentary genre.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

The positive impacts we foresee include:

-The community will be provided with valuable information about tokenized fundraising for further content production

-Marketing, communicating and promoting ideas being built on Cardano. 

-Examining social behaviors in cryptocurrency and how it affects Cardano. 

-Raising awareness of aspects of Cardano, such as CIPs (namely CIP-1694) and governance

of the chain

Overall Project Success Metrics:

Project Completion Time

Compare the actual completion time of the entire research project with the initially estimated timeline to assess efficiency.

Budget Adherence

Evaluate the project's financial performance by comparing the actual expenditures with the budget allocation for each phase.

Long-Term Impact Metrics:

Community Engagement: Measure the level of engagement and feedback from the Cardano community regarding the documentary

Media Coverage: Track media coverage and mentions related to the project to gauge the documentary’s visibility and impact on the broader community.

Project Influence: Report the success level of the tokenomics on raising funds for documentary.

Policy Impact: Assess any impact on Cardano's policies or practices related to fundraising and blockchain development.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

Our team, composed of key members Scott Collins, Kristen Bouwman, and Phil Lewis are poised to deliver the project with a strong emphasis on trust and accountability.

Scott Collins has worked in video and documentary production, with a decade of experience. He has been engaged in Cardano since 2017, and has both user and developer skills and perspectives. Actively contributing to Cardano's community development, Scott has developed an NFT series previewed at Rare Bloom 2022 and Rare Evo 2023. It is still pre-launch. 

Kristen Bouwman is an adept community manager and participant in Cardano culture, who delights in fostering connections within the Cardano ecosystem. Regular attendance at events like NFTxLV, Rare Bloom/Rare Evo, and Intersect MBO events demonstrates her commitment to community growth, staying abreast of developments/cultural trends, and forming meaningful relationships with community members.    

  Phil Lewis is a skilled project analyst and has previously worked on other Cardano projects that have successfully used fungible and non-fungible tokens for fundraising and project delivery. He has previously received Catalyst funding, including Fund 5 and Fund 11, and successfully completed all aspects of the Catalyst process.

[PROJECT MILESTONES] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Research Phase: Conduct research on Tokenomics for fundraising using blockchain.

Research phase KPIs:

Number of hours dedicated to research.

Number of relevant sources identified and analyzed.

Literature review document on blockchain Tokenomics.

Output: Document that describes a review of the literature available for fundraising tokenomics.

Acceptance Criteria: A literature review of a minimum of 5 projects and their tokenomics 

Evidence: The literature review document will be shared with the milestone reviewers so they can verify the successful completion of this milestone.

Writing Phase: Develop a well-structured and informative document outlining Tokenomics for fundraising in blockchain.

Writing phase KPIs:

Number of drafts produced during the writing phase.

Word count and completeness of the document.

Inclusion of key elements such as token distribution, utility, and governance.

Output: A document outlining tokenomics for pre-production fundraising for documentary production on the topic of blockchain and Cardano.

Acceptance Criteria: A comprehensive document that outlines how we intend to raise funds for production, and post-production phases of the documentary production.

Evidence: The tokenomics document will be shared with the milestone reviewers so they can verify the successful completion of this milestone.

Accountant Review Phase: Ensure the financial aspects of Tokenomics are accurate and compliant.

Accountant review phase KPIs:

Number of consultations with the accountant to review financial aspects.

Accuracy of financial projections and models.

Compliance with financial regulations and best practices.

Output: Professional assessment and opinion of our tokenomics model

Acceptance Criteria: Opinion is sourced from an experienced industry accounting professional, experienced in blockchain.

Evidence: The professional assessment document will be shared with the milestone reviewers so they can verify the successful completion of this milestone.

Lawyer Review Phase: Ensure the legal aspects of Tokenomics are compliant and legally sound.

Lawyer review phase KPIs:

Number of legal consultations to review Tokenomics.

Identification and resolution of legal issues.

Compliance with relevant blockchain and financial regulations.

Output: Professional assessment and opinion of our tokenomics mode:

Acceptance Criteria: Opinion is sourced from an experienced industry legal professional, experienced in blockchain.

Evidence: The professional assessment document will be shared with the milestone reviewers so they can verify the successful completion of this milestone.

N/A

Present Final Report of Research: Present a summary of above findings

Begin Utilization KPIs:

Produce a summary report of Milestones 1-4

Set goal amounts for fundraising

Begin timeline of completion that will continue throughout production of the documentary

Output: Complete final report of research, accountant input, and legal input

Acceptance Criteria: A finalized summary document that will guide and inform team to make a sound fundraising plan

Evidence: The complete summary of research document will be shared with the milestone reviewers so they can verify the successful completion of this milestone.

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Scott Collins - Conducting tokenomics research, drafting tokenomics, arranging the peer-review process, drafting final product

Kristen Bouwman - Organizing research, drafting tokenomics, communications, drafting final product

Phil Lewis - Contribute to the evaluation of the fundraising research and applying the findings into our documentary pre-production fundraising approach.

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Budget considerations:

The costing is estimated at a legal/accounting team being valued at $225 per hour.

The time is estimated at 2 full days of a firm's time, 16 hours.

Each firm has been budgeted 16 Hours x $225/hr = $3,600.00 per firm.

We intend to engage a law firm and an accounting firm in Australia, and Europe.

4 firms in total will be engaged $3,600.00 x 4 = $14,400.00.

The cost of project team members' time is factored at $1600 each for their total time commitment. We have 3 team members. This is estimated at $200 per week, per team member, over 8 weeks (First 2 months of the project).

$200 x 8 weeks = $1600.00 per team member

3 team members = $4800.00

Budget Summary:

Milestone 1

Research

---Team $2400.00

Milestone 2

Report

---Team $2400.00

Milestone 3

Accounting

---Australia $3,600.00

---Europe $3,600.00

Milestone 4

Legal

---Australia $3,600.00

---Europe $3,600.00

Total budget: $19,200.00

$0.38 USD/ADA   

Total: 50,526.31579 (rounded to 50,527) ADA

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

We are seeking a minimum amount of Catalyst funds to support pre-production costs instead of requesting funds to complete the documentary itself. Through our proposal, we will be seeking legal and accounting opinions on our fundraising plan for production and post-production. This foundational phase will ensure we have the necessary resources to create a high-quality (filmed in 4K CineEI), entertaining narrative documentary without draining the treasury of its limited funds. Our findings will be available to the community so they, too, can have a springboard from which to develop fundraising plans for their own ventures.

By voting for this proposal, you will drive value for the Cardano ecosystem by helping establish the groundwork for a compelling documentary. This documentary aims to entertain and attract more people to blockchain and Cardano, showcasing its potential, fostering broader adoption, also bringing new attention and revenue streams into the ecosystem.