Ulule

Testin’ the waters of crowdfunding Down Under

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:44:57 -0500

Hello there,

I’m Laura, one of the community / project managers working behind the screen of Ulule. I just moved to beautiful Australia and will be working freelance from here for a little while.

So the word is out mates ! If you’re an Aussie filmaker, artist, musician, inventor, designer, acrobate, social entrepreneur or even a fortune-teller and would like to launch a crowdfunding campaign, i’ll be your main liaison.

I just spent the past week in Melbourne and I am heading to Sydney anytime now. Not sure of where i will end up settling down yet but if you guys have suggestions on things to do, see, people to meet or places to check out I’ll be happy to make plans accordingly to what the community here suggests.

Went to the excellent Sugar Mountain Festival held at the Forum Theater, downtown Melbourne. Also saw some mind blowing films by Vincent Moon from the Petites Planètes collection at the ACMI.

Met very nice designers that let me use their studio wireless connection to work for the past week. Check them out : http://www.quickanddead.com/

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you wish. I will be more than happy to meet you or chat a bit about crowdfunding, your projects or just life in general: laura@ulule.com

Cheers everyone,

Wishing you all the best for 2012.

Laura

How does the Ulule Wallet work?

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 06:00:00 -0500

The new wallet has arrived!

From now on, when you support a project in Euros, your Ulule Wallet is automatically created.

This new feature has been made possible thanks to our partner Leetchi. It offers a legal ad hoc setting and a total securisation of your payments (Crédit Mutuel / Payline).

The concept:

When you support a project on Ulule, you can, at any time, cancel your support, transfer it to another project, or ask for a reimbursement.

All of this is available on the “My transactions” tab, you can find in the top right menu of all pages on Ulule:

How do I cancel a support?

In the Historic of your transactions, select the contribution you wish to cancel and click on “Cancel a support”.

The amount of your contribution is automatically added to your Ulule wallet.

The total sum contained in your wallet is now displayed on your “My Transactions” page.

How do I transfer my support on another project?

Thanks to the Wallet system, you can choose to give these sums to other projects currently being funded on Ulule.

And this is very simple! You just have to go to the page of the project you’re interested in and choose the reward you wish to receive.

If the value of this reward is inferior to the amount in your wallet, the sum will be automatically debited of your wallet.

If the value of this reward is superior to the amount in your wallet, you can pay what’s left (and only what’s left) by credit card.

How do I get reimbursed?

Two types of reimbursements are possible:

Project by project: You’ll be directly reimbursed on your credit card. Fast and simple.
All the money of your wallet: make sure you enter your RIB. Your account will be re-credit in a 48 hour delay.

PS. All the reimbursements are free of charge of course!

A question? A shady area?

Go straight to the FAQ or ask your question directly on the forum!

Thank you for your attention and happy wallets !

Ululer of the week : Sarah Beetson

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 09:16:00 -0500

Sarah Beetson is British through and through. Talented, funny, fabulously eccentric and a perfect mixture of naive and controversial to make her work so full of spice. She came to Ulule with her “Sluts” project a few weeks ago, a set of cards based on her work about vintage pornography and a trip to Japan. Sarah is a freelance artist, graphic designer and illustrator now based in Australia, who has seen her work featured around the world.

What are your influences and inspirations ?

My biggest influences are cult film, fashion, rock music and American literature. I count film director John Waters, designer John Galliano, fashion writer Anna Piaggi, artists Pierre et Gilles, illustrator Julie Verhoeven, musican Jeffrey Lee Pierce, novelist Richard Brautigan and poet Fran Landesman as just a few of my inspirations.

We feel like your work is very much focused on women, can you explain why ?

It’s funny that people so often say this yet I’m not sure how conscious of a decision that is. In a commercial sense, my illustrations are very often commissioned with a sway towards girls. Yet I’d say that probably 60 or even 70% of my influences are drawn from male sources - but I think this is purely a result of the creative industry being dominated by men, even now, as opposed to any kind of particular synonimity with either sex.

I have always been fascinated by gender and all of its ambiguity; sexuality and it’s colourful subcultures.

What’s your favourite step of your creative process ?

I do love the initial period of research involved in any project, particularly when I am beginning to think about working towards a solo exhibition. I delight in a rigid, strenuous process of creation, so each stage has its rewards. If I had to chose, I think the final stages of creating a piece are the most rewarding - when all the elements have been married together and all that’s left is the cherry on top of the cake.

Why did you move to Australia ?

The decision was initially made on a visit to Melbourne when I looked at the comparatively low cost of living next to London, next to a rich arts hub and year-round sunshine. Then I met my Aussie cowboy and the move turned into a permanent one! I still spend 3-6 months at a time in London as often as I can, where my wonderful performer friend Ruby Blues rents me a cabin on her Motor Torpedo boat moored on The Thames.

What are your next projects ?

I am currently working on a keep fit map of the USA for a client in Canada. I’m waiting to hear about a Live Art project at my local amusement park, and I’m in preparations for a terribly exciting exhibition at a very exclusive London address that I’m not yet to mention, in March 2012! I’m also drawing a fashion series as an homage to John Galliano’s work at Dior. A new foray into the world of comic books is also on the cards. Then after that I’ll begin work on my next solo exhibition, working title; “All Of The Places That I have Lived”.

What do you think of crowdfunding ?

It seems to be working awfully well for me so far! Massive thanks are due to the Facebook and social media revolution.

Could you tell us about another project or presale on Ulule you like, support or follow ?

My friend Empress Stah recently funded her project to train to fulfil her lifelong ambition of performing in outer space, which I supported:

http://www.ulule.com/empress-stah-in-space/

This was actually how I was introduced to Ulule and realised it’s potential to help me in my practice.

Find out more about Sarah’s project on Ulule here. All additional funds are goind to be donated to Macmillan Cancer Support http://www.macmillan.org.uk

Ululer of the week : Mats Jørgen Sivertsen

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 11:02:00 -0400

Mats is an inspired mixed media artist from Norway. He came to Ulule with a project called ” Just King ” , an 80 pages graphic tale he started over 10 years ago. We asked him a few questions about his work and creative process. Check out what he had to say…

Could you give us some insight on your background ?

My father was an animator and illustrator, so I suppose it’s almost in my blood. He did a few cartoons and a couple of underground comics (from which I stole the Norwegian title to Just King, which is “Kong Lov”). I have done comics and cartoons since I was around 5, probably. Later I started a BA in Graphic Design at Middlesex University in London, but changed to Illustration half way through. I found I could put more of myself in the projects, more of my own ideas. I also learned how to work to a brief and be creative within set boundaries. Afterwards I worked as a designer and animator in an agency. Did a lot of Flash animation stuff. Worked with e-learning. But I dreamed of being a writer. Just King surfaced as a project where I could both address the quasi-intellectual stuff I wanted to write about, as well as draw and design.

You have worked on “Just King” for the past 10 years, what were the ups and downs ?

I never dreamed it would take this long. In fairness I only worked on it continually for around 4 years. Then I took a long break to do my MA in Digital Art in Baltimore and other projects. The challenge was finding time alongside my design job. I worked maybe 2-3 hours on it, three days a week.

In that situation it was hard seeing any progress from day to day, week to week. I also had high, but diffuse ambitions. Wanted to address everything that I had on my mind. It was hard distilling it, cutting to the core. Finding the story in all the metaphorical stuff.

What is your favourite part of the creative process ?

Usually I like the beginning, when everything is still possible. Then it kind of turns into crap, because everything looks like something YOU did, rather than this “otherworldly” thing you had in your head. I do find it inspiring to address concrete problems though, like technical stuff, learning new software, trying new techniques. I find that this sort of “low level”, everyday inspiration is important to finish huge projects like this since you can’t feel the inspiration for the story and the theme the same way after a while. You need substitute inspiration to be able to finish.

We are very intrigued by this project
subConch demonstration

Could you tell us more about it ?

This is the subConch, an interactive installation I’m working on. Emotiv Systems put out a consumer priced BCI (brain control interface) headset a while back. I saw this thing on CNN about it, an immediately decided to to some kind of art work with it. I joined an early developer team and created this software that lets you control pitch and other sound characteristics by just thinking it. It’s available as freeware. Now I’m using the software to create a gallery installation.

From your artist perspective, how did you react to the terrorist attack / mass murders in Oslo ?

That’s a difficult question. It’s still very fresh and sensitive. I would say I reacted more as a human being than as an artist. Shock, disbelief, outrage, grief. Reflecting now as an artist I suppose I feel powerless. Xenophobia is one of the issues I’m trying to address in Just King, but I doubt it’s going to make a lot of difference. It’s a narrow and strange take on the subject, but of course one hopes it will ring true for some readers.

Could you tell us about another project you like, follow or support on Ulule ?

To be honest I haven’t had time to look at too many of the other projects, but I found this kind of fun: http://www.ulule.com/blarg/ and this thing also: http://www.ulule.com/superstreetfire/ I wouldn’t mind trying out.

Find out more about Mats’s work on his website, visit his project on Ulule and you might end up with your name in one of those bubbles…

Ululer of the week : Marie France & the Phantoms

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 05:48:25 -0400

Phantom is a bluesy garage rock group with members both belgian and english. Marie-France is a parisian singer and an icon from the 1970’s and 1980’s Palace era. In 2008, they released their first album together which was a great success. Today they are back with new songs written by Miam Monster-Miam and Jacques Duvall (who also writes for Jane Birkin, Lio, Alain Chamfort and the Runaways…) The album is a mix of fuzzy guitars, garage punk, surf rock and was founded just a few days after the collect was launched !

Photo : Marc Wathier

How did you guys meet ?

Miam MonsterMiam : We met on stage ! Jacques Duvall (singer songwriter) invited Marie-France on stage with the Phantoms, it was at the Klub in Paris in 2006 if I remember well. Marie-France came to sing her first 12” maxi, which became cult in Belgium for the punk fans : Daisy / Déréglée. It was great, and it gave us the idea to collaborate on an album. In 2008, we recorded it in a belgian farm in just a couple of days.

Marie-France : yes it was on stage. The day before, Duvall called me to ask if I wanted to come and sing our first two songs that we recorded them in a bathroom in Bruxelles. Il was back in 1976 and this is when I become a rock addict ! Of course then I accepted the invitation. Coming back to pure rock had been in my mind for quite some time actually. During the soundcheck, a couple hours before the show, the Phantoms and I really connected, and things just really naturally evolved since then.

Photo : Richard Dumas

How did you come this new collaboration Marie France / Phantom ?

Miam : In 2009 after the Lio tour for the record Phantom feat Lio -Lio being another of Duvall’s muse- we wanted to stop the Phantoms. We had a last concert set in London near Hoxton and we asked Marie-France if she’d like to come and sing a few songs with us. We knew that english people love her ! It was an amazing concert. Martin Gore, co-founder of Depeche Mode was there and he loved it. This is how we decided to make a new album together. Fans were also asking for it, Marie-France really has faithful fans !

Marie : I did not expect it, the Phantoms wanted to stop after Lio. And then, to my great pleasure, they offered me to come to London. There was this same great energy between us and I am so happy that our adventure continues with this new album ! With Jacques Duvall writing songs and Miam MonsterMiam writing music, I am totally comfortable. I love the melodies, the riffs, the team is great… There is a great mix of humour, sensitivity, fervor, musicality.

Photo : Pierre et Gilles

Who are your heroes, inspirations, references, mentors ?

Miam : To sum up : in music there are Phil Spector, Joe Meek, Lee Hazlewood. For comics, it is very simple : Crumb, crumb et crumb. For my life : my baker who makes the most amazing bread !

Marie : I don’t have heroes or better, there are too many of them ! I am pretty much into everything, I believe making a list would be too long. Hmmm I don’t eat bread, but I really love the guy who sells me vegetables ! And I must confess, my lady-chihuahua really inspires me !

What is your favorite part in the creative process ?

Miam : Recording a band which plays live and seeing ideas becoming great songs !

Marie : Aaaahhh… Receiving new songs in my mailbox, discovering them, absorbing them and making them come true. These are the cherries on top of my life’s cake ! Amazing gifts ! Of course there are also the concerts, sharing with the public, the stage, the adrenalin, the lights and music on my body…

Photo : Myla Reynaud

This new album really is a teamwork but who has the last word ?

Miam : We decide everything together. That being said, everybody is bringing its personal touch : Duvall with the texts, the group with the arrangements, Marie-France with a personal style and myslef with the melodies… The key is that we trust each and it allows us to be very independent.

Marie : They know what they do. They are specialists. As long as I can sing within my tanolity, I am in complete confidence. With the Phantoms and Jacques Duvall I know I’m in good hands. Whether I’m wearing a dress or just a panty, it is delightfull ! If I have a suggestion, the team listens to me and we make the decision together.

Photo : Pierre et Gilles

Marie, as you said you are really into everything and changed styles a lot. How do you explain this come back to pure rock ? A refusal to quieten down ?

Marie : I am first and foremost an interpreter. No matter what type of music I play, what matters is the pleasure I get. I am wiser than I was before but when I am on stage I can go crazy ! I feel I’m now more balanced and I avoid the excesses that I fell into in the past.

Photo : Jean-Baptiste Mondino

What do you guys listen to these days ?

Miam : Cortex, a french band of 70ies funk. Smile by the Beach Boys. Some old Black Sabbath. The Stranglers and the Jams always ! And the NUGGETS box.

Marie : Not very original, but, the poor and sublime Amy Winehouse…

Photo : Pascal Schyns - Sofam

Can you tell us more about a Ulule’s project you support, follow or like ?

Miam : The project of SAB , a singer songwriter, he is also our stage tech with Duvall.

Marie : I haven’t supported a project yet, but it will come. I congratulate Ulule for their great idea to help creativity !

Thank you Marie-France, Thank you Miam Monster-Miam !

Retrouvez le projet Marie-France et les Phantoms sur Ulule.

Ululer of the week : Miss Buffet Froid

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 12:41:00 -0400

Miss Buffet Froid (her name is a reference to Bertand Blier’s movie, which was released the year she was born) is an inspired French photographer : a boiling magma of ideas and fun projects, you can give them a look here.
Miss Buffet Froid is a representation and image lover. Her favourite game ? Questionning identities, inviting the audience to think about the transgression of moral and social borders. It is in fact, quite a fun game to play !

Can you tell us more about your work, Miss Buffet Froid ?

I like to believe I create “concepts” that strive for discovering others, understanding derision or arrogance. It is the unfolding of a prism of vision, a real want to express myself. I like to play with the way people look at their routine, to daydream like a child, or to take the bad kid’s point of view… My work is about creating, sharing, playing with the limits, discovering about others, fighting also.

How did you get to photography ?
I think I always was fascinated by photography without knowing it. As a child I was already cutting through images, I was litteraly staring at movies, music videos, people dancing, etc. I have realized that something was strongly linking me to it just recently.

What do you think about when you’re shooting ?

It really depends… I am always very concentrated when I work. I’m obsessed with the lighting, the frame, etc. When I model, I like to let myself be guided by the transformation I am trying to embody. I sometime fall into a trance. I look at it as a performance, it helps me question myself about what identity is all about, what beauty really means.

What do you find inspiring ?
Life with all its paradoxes, encounters, humans, routine… And also artists such as Erwin Olaf, Steven Klein, Saudek, Manu Larcenet, Desproges, Tool, Ez3kiel (…)

What is your favourite step of the creative process ?

Choosing the good pictures after a shoot is something I love as much as I fear. When I select the images I really find out if a shoot was successful or not. Sometimes I find gold nuggets, unexpected surprises. It’s like a treasure hunt.

What is the last exhibition that you saw ?
I am a big fan of Sacha Goldgerber with Mamika.

Can you tell us about another project on Ulule that you like, follow or support ?

I have discovered Ulule when I supported my friend Gabriel Michel. And then I also supported Insousciance. More recently, I discovered the incredible project of World Wide Triangular.

Thanks Miss Buffet Froid !
Find out more about Miss Buffet Froid on Ulule.

Ululer of the Week: Shana & Tim Massett, 5 points theater

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 08:58:00 -0400

Shana and Tim Massett are from Jacksonville, Florida and have an ambitious project for their town : renovating an old movie theater, the 5 Points to improve the cinema experience of every customers, film lovers and members of the community. It will sure become the best place to take a girl on a first date !

Where does your passion for movies and cinema come from ?

Shana: My favorite early movie memory was when my dad took me to a double feature of the sci-fi classics Alien and Aliens. I must have been about six or seven, and I loved the feeling I got when the really scary parts drew me into the film. I remember the intermission between the two movies so clearly, the excitement of the people in the lobby, and clearly recall being a lot shorter than everyone else!

Going to the movies was a big part of my life as a kid, and then all the way through college in Boston, a city that has some great cinemas. Since then I’ve developed a passion for watching people go to the movies. It’s really rewarding talking to regulars when I’m scooping popcorn and asking what they thought of a film they saw. Everyone’s there to have a good time, and it makes the movie theater a nice place to be!

How do you think the 5 points Theatre project will contribute to the Jacksonville community ?

Shana and Tim: It’s going to make people really proud to have such an awesome cinema in their town. The 5 Points Theatre is going to very quickly become the city’s new favorite place to watch a movie. Not only will the movie sound and look great, the community will be wooed by our tasty menu and fun preshows. Also, the crowd sourcing component will give local movie fans who invested in the startup of the business a real sense of ownership that they can’t get at any other theatre.

What is the last movie you saw ? What did you think of it ?

Shana: I am slightly embarrassed to say that the last film I saw was The Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It was entirely silly, but I was totally engaged. I also just saw and really enjoyed the new Errol Morris documentary Tabloid.

Who is your favourite director of all times ?

Tim: Randy Walker and Jennifer Shainin at Foreign American Pictures.

Shana: I’m a pretty big David Lynch fan.

Do you have a hero ?

Tim: Definitely Craig Baldwin

Could you tell us about another project you like, follow or support on Ulule ?

Shana and Tim: The Just King project looks great but we can’t wait for the project the same artist has in development that involves manipulating sounds with brainwaves.

Want to add something ?

Yes! We want to thank Ulule for their awesome support and encouragement! We were planning to use a different crowdsourcing platform that I won’t name because I’m so ticked with them, but our proposal — or what you could call a proposal since it was limited to 750 characters — was greeted within about ten minutes with a rejection form letter. It was really clear that they were not interested in taking the time to work with artists, musicians, and entrepreneurs in the way that Ulule has. Thanks Tiny Owl!

Ululer of the week: Mélanie Delloye

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 07:23:00 -0400

Welcome to the Ulule blog’s new column ! Ululer of the week enlightens a project owner currently fundraising on Ulule… A new way to discover and find out more about the talented people hidden behind all the sites’s good ideas.

Mélanie Delloye

Mélanie is both French and Colombian. After studying Russian and Philosophy in Paris, she moved to New York to follow NYU Graduate Film Program. Anna and Jérôme is her final graduate project, a road movie born from the encounter of two characters, a woman and a little boy…

Anna and Jérôme teaser

How did you meet the French actress Élodie Bouchez ?

I started looking into meeting Elodie right after I finished writing the script. I really wrote the story thinking of her to embody Anna. I got in touch with her through a friend, I sent her the script and we simply got coffee together to talk about the project. Elodie liked it, I guess she was moved by the character.. It was a beautiful first encounter and that is how it all started…

How is the casting going for Jerome ?

We are in the process of looking for him nearby Fécamp where the film will be shot in Normandy. It is a very important step as the little boy that will play Jerome will influence the movie with his personality.

Can you tell us more about your previous work “Anarchy” ?

Anarchy is a music video I shot in New York last december for the Stumblebums. We wanted to simply tell the story of a break-up.

The project comes from a collaboration between the NYU and Sony, who were preparing the launch of a new camera: the Sony PMW-F3. The chief cameraman that worked on Anarchy is Leonardo D’Antoni and he will be directing the photography of Anna and Jérôme.

Where do you find inspiration ?

Sometimes a simple image, or a memory can be a source of inspiration. I realize that what moves me the most is often linked with childhood, family relations, travels and also identity. Themes I find in the stories I write and that I want to keep on exploring.

Which step of the creative process do you enjoy the most ?

From the moment I get the idea, to script writing, and then the shooting and editing, there are so many things going on ! I think that what I like the most in cinema, are the collaborations and the dialogue with actors and crew members. In the end, the first story I imagined will evolve with other people’s ideas, it is from the exchange with others that the idea finally transform and comes to life. Right now I am going through an important step in the creative process since the writing is finalized, I start sharing it with the chief cameraman, the production designer, my assistant, etc.

I am just back from Fécamp, the little town in Normandy where the movie will be shot, I checked locations for a week and absorbed the atmosphere of Anna and Jérôme to visualize the first images of the movie!

What is the last movie you saw ? What did you think of it ?

I really liked A Separation, an Iranian movie by Asghar Farhadi. He films the characters with such simplicity. It creates an interesting and beautiful contrast with the complexity of emotions. I was also very impressed by his work directing the children that play in the movie.

Can you tell us more about a Ulule project you like, follow or support ?

I discovered Ulule through my producer, Robin Robles. I really liked the projects’ diversity represented on the website. I was moved by the documentary project A parallel world by Shei Tan on the Sikerei tribe of Indonesia. The images are beautiful and the interviews make me want to discover more about this culture. I hope to see the finalized documentary one day !

Can you tell us a story of an owl ?

I know a french tongue twister with an owl…if I translate it, it goes : The magpie nests high. The goose nests low. Where does the owl nest ? The owl nests neither high nor low.

Find out more about Anna and Jérôme, Mélanie Delloye’s project on Ulule.

2011 Paris Homeless Word Cup is looking for cameramen and soccer commentators

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 11:01:10 -0400

As you know, Ulule is a partner of the 2011 Homeless Word Cup, to be held in August on the Champ de Mars in Paris. For the occasion, you can support the event or one of the competing teams, and receive T-shirts, Nike special edition. Check out the event on video, presented by Eric Cantona.

Beyond the support and word-of-mouth, the 2011 Homeless World Cup are also looking for cameramen and commentators for the matches, which will be broadcast live over the Internet. We give them the floor:

“The Paris 2011 Homeless World Cup is just around the corner and we are busy preparing for the tournament and the launch of our new Web TV project. We are thrilled to announce that Paris 2011 will feature robust Video on Demand viewing of all 392 matches available on the Homeless World Cup website. We are hoping that each of the matches will be accompanied by commentary in up to 3 language options including English, Spanish, French, German, Russian and Portuguese.

We are looking for 6 camera men/women to film the matches from the 21-28 August. We are also looking for 6 commentators in English and French and if possible some of the other languages mentioned above.

If you or anyone else you know are interested please let us know by sending a mail to projects@ulule.com. This is a really exciting opportunity and we would love for you to be a part of this fantastic event. Thanks and we are looking forward to hearing from you.”

Camera friends, pass the word around!

Ulule is proud to be a partner of the Homeless World Cup 2011 in Paris

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 10:57:00 -0400

The Homeless World Cup (soccer world cup for homeless people) is a grand soccer tournament, where more than 70 national teams of homeless people play together.

Created in 2003 in Edinburgh, by the social entrepreneur Mel Young, huge soccer fan but “very bad player”, the first Homeless World Cup has gathered together 18 teams of homeless people with the help of local nonprofits organization. The first edition of the Homeless World Cup was meant to give disadvantaged persons a chance to participate in an event where the value of sharing was central. The Homeless World Cup revives hope and envy for the players and their families, to help them getting their life back together.

To this day, 7 world cups have been organized, from Graz (2003) to Rio de Janeiro (2010). Now, over 70 national teams participate to the event. Over 70% of the players have changed the path of their lifes thanks to the nonprofits that helped them make it to the tournament.

“It’s unbelievable, you can see them change in front of you. Most of the time, these men and women keep their heads low”, Mel imitates the gesture. “Then, when it’s time to sing their national anthem, they suddenly straighten up and stand proud. Some people even ask them for autographs, the same people that would have changed sidewalks a few weeks earlier if they would have seen them on the streets.“

The 8th edition of the Homeless World Cup will be held in August, in Paris. The stadium will be the Champ de Mars at the feet of the Eiffel Tower. An event of sports and social share, sponsored by Eric Cantona.

Ulule is part of the game as well. As a partner of the Homeless World Cup 2011, we created special fundraisings to help 5 teams make it to the event:

- The Happy Football Club of Cambodia
- The Palestinian team
- The Girls only team of Malawi
- The Paraguayan team
- The Kenyan team

Each teams need 2500€ in order to pay for the traveling costs.

That is how you can get involved and help the homeless teams. Just like for any other project on Ulule, if you support a team you will recieve a special reward, such as a signed picture of the team or an offical Nike T-Shirt of the event “Homeless World Cup 2011”.

Do not hesitate, wether you’re a soccer fan or not, it’s an ideal time for you to be part of the game of solidarity as well. Remember, the occasion is here for you to pass the ball, that’s how we can make it happen.

Ulule Presales launch!

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:53:00 -0400

We promised that the new version of Ulule still had surprises to come…And here they are! After the Official Users programme, aimed at giving creative projects even more credibility, we now have a brand new mode of funding: Ulule Presales, click and discover!

Ulule Presales, how does it work?

Simply and easily. In presale mode, it’s not about collecting a certain amount of money. The aim of Ulule presales is more to unite enough subscribers to launch the production / delivery of your product.

But fret not! We are not abandoning the flexibility of the Ulule rewards system. Here’s how we have adapted it to the Presale mode: in addition to the base price of your subscription, you can add two types of products.

- “collectors” : vinyl records, signed prints…everything that makes your Presale shine.

- “extras” : the bonus products (big or small) that you can add to your presale to give fate a helping hand by benefiting your subscribers with exclusive bonuses.

Some examples of Ulule Presales

Detraform, a group of Canadian designers lead by Joel Blair, have reinvented the fixed home telephone with Detraform 500. A classic design for a product with a lifespan of 20…years!

Alive, Tattoo Portraits, is a project by Editions Eyrolles. Photographer Julien Lachaussée spent months immerged in the world of French tattoing to release a book of sublime photographs, with models covered in ink all over their skin.

Our good friends at Madmoizelle.com have joined forces with with T-shirt creator Monsieur Poulet, for a feminine version of the Space Invaders series!

The electro-dub group Jarring Effect (EZ3kiel, Playdoe, Vox Populi…) celebrates the release of its 100th record with a magnificent collectors box on Ulule, available on CD and vinyl!

Now it’s time to discover all that for yourself. Go take a look around Ulule Presales, and if the concept interests you for your own project, you can submit to the Ulule team here!

See you soon!

thingsorganizedneatly: Introducing the Detraform model 500...

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:14:19 -0400

thingsorganizedneatly:

Introducing the Detraform model 500 telephone. Photo by Will Lew.

Crowdfunding and community management

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 05:34:23 -0400

It’s becoming more and more popular and you must have a vague idea of what it’s all about, but are you familiar with the precise definitions? Let’s try to make things a little clearer for you.

Crowdfunding: after all the time we have spent going on about it, by now you must have a pretty accurate idea of what it is. Crowdfunding is what we all do together at Ulule: go in search of funding for you and visitors to…to…to “make good things happen”, yes, bravo!

Community management: as with all relatively new professions, this one is still quite vaguely defined. People are generally agreed that it’s about a creator and/or community animator, whose goal is to ensure a permanent link between the brand or project for whom he works and the community associated with it.

You’re beginning to understand the relationship between the two, right? After submitting your project to Ulule, you’re going to quickly find yourself Community Manager of your project, so your different missions will be to:

- gather your existing community around your project (your friends, family, followers etc…), as we explain in our presentation of the 3 Crowdfunding Circles.

- create communication media: new elements to refresh the way you talk about your project. This could be a poster, a film, a teaser, an extract…but also any sort of news and announcements! A new collaborator, ‘behind the scenes’ photo coverage, a brilliant new idea, a particular aspect of your project you want to detail, information on the rewards, a hurdle you have passed (50% for example), or simply something amusing.

For fear of stating the obvious, it’s essential for community managers to constantly renew and refresh their project page to keep their community interested. For example if you have a great site but talk about it without much enthusiasm, you’re not going to convince many people to go take a look at it. It’s the same with Ulule: if your only message is to “support my project” without any additional news, you risk talking in a vacuum…simply because your message is empty.

- Enlarge your community THANKS to this pretty communication media that you have just created. Find sexy angles, catchy titles, interesting content. These are introductions + the “value” of your project which will enable you to reach new people. As community managers, you are at the triple frontier of: the editorial (you must select and create content), the communication (you must diffuse and make your content known) and the community (you must be constantly present among your community, respond to them, motive them, keep them up to date).

- Be creative! (that always works better)

But…perhaps with all that, you ask yourself how the Community managers at Ulule work? Hmmm, we’ll come back to that soon, it’s a whole different (and passionate) story…

Ulule presents its summer dance!

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 10:00:06 -0400

It’s exclusive, it’s well ahead of the rest of the world (and well before summer)…it’s the Ulule summer dance! The Air Ivre dance company (website) are to thank for this little marvel: a great presentation video for their project, all in dance, and which brings a ray of sunshine to your day. See it for yourselves!

The Air Ivre project (the funding for their new creation) is already at 99% after just two week of fundraising, and everything seems to indicate that the project will be funded weeks in advance.

Once again, this demonstrates the power of video communication on crowdfunding projects. The Air Ivre dancers had prepared their video well before launching their project (they Tweeted it before even submitting their project to Ulule).

2 hours of filming with the whole team, under the direction of choreograph Aurélie Delarue, then 4 days of editing and work under the fairy fingers of Cindy Séchet…”The company didn’t want to launch the project without having this great video as a motor” explains Marie, who is in charge of the project.

And at the launch, everything was already there: the company dancers were ready to promote, the project page was well presented with a super cool video to easily and effectively communicate the project.

With such enthusiastic preparation, the Air Ivre project could only take off with flying colours. Congratulations from all the team and see you soon…on the other side of 100%!

Ulule V2!

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 05:59:45 -0400

As you must have noticed, the beautiful Ulule is adorned in a brand new robe. Version 2 of the site has been online for just over a week now…the last bolts have been tightened and Spring Ulule is ready to spread her wings!

Things will continue to chance in the weeks to come…We won’t tell you everything now, but we’ll let you know this much: some great surprises are in store for you!

What is changing on Ulule V2?

- The graphics and ergonomics have been refreshed.

- You now have the possibility of “following” projects and a page which summarises the projects you are “following” and the projects you have supported.

-You can now navigate around the projects being finded by using a series of fliters.

“Our selection” : the equivalent of the oldHomepage.

“Almost finished” : the projects which are finishing in the next 5 days.

“Brand new” : the projects which have been published within the last 15 days.

“Most popular” : projects which have collected the most support in the last 5 days.

“Funded” : the page for the projects successfully funded…But now it adds them up automatically!

We have also introduced some little cosmetic changes to add some pretty pictures on Ulule V2.For example: the project descriptions now appear when you scroll over the pictures.

And many other little details have been updated…Please don’t hesitate to share your opinions of the new Ulule with us, here or on Facebook or Twitter. Feedback is always welcome!

Grand re-opening: we are all ears!

Wed, 11 May 2011 10:14:35 -0400

Hello Ululer friends!

After hibernating for a few months, the Ulule blog awakes, stretching out in the sun.

Meanwhile, an abundance of projects have arrived: awesome projects have been born and spread their wings, plenty of Ulule soirées have been organised, the 100th project funded has been celebrated (followed by another 50 new successes in its wake). Contacts have been acquired, friendships formed, collaborations established…

There are so many reasons to come back to a format which is both cooler and easier to follow, to keep you up to date with all the hot Ululesque news: our blog!

And while we’re here, let’s take the opportunity to ask you about your Ulule experience. We have created a short little satisfaction questionnaire to receive your suggestions as project supporters, fans or visitors on Ulule.

We would be very grateful if you offered your feedback to help us improve the site, so that it responds as best as possible to your needs! So if you can spare a mere couple of minutes of your time, please click here.

So welcome (back) to the Ulule blog.

Come again soon, we have so much to tell you!

Bye bye Blog!

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 13:32:00 -0400

There was a short while when this blog wasn’t updated… It’s not surprising, as we post now all our news on Ulule Vox. This little blog will therefore soon be closed.

You will find our news, improvements, guides and tips for managing and succeeding in your crowdfunding campaigns on Vox: rubrique Ulule ! It’s a place to share and discuss great ideas in excellent mutual understanding.

See you soon!
Clic clic

Hatching of a project: The Doodlemeisters

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:57:00 -0400

Judy was one of the very first project owners who contacted us. At this time, the website barely existed, we were coding full time and preparing for the first beta release.

Her project was among the 6 first projects on the site. She mailed her friends, did some promoting and quickly raised the funds she (and her co-teachers) needed for this great project : The Doodlemeisters, free art classes for foster children.

We asked her to talk about her project and she was kind enough to give us this little interview. Here we go…

Becca and Judy, two teachers for The Doodlemeisters.

How did you get the idea for these art classes ? And why did you focus on foster children ?

When I was younger my grandmother was diagnosed with terminal cancer and came to live with us. As the disease progressed I noticed that not only did my grandma’s health deteriorate, but also her mood. But when a musically-inclined family friend began coming over to our house to play piano with her, the change was almost instantaneous. Now that she was playing the piano again, she smiled through every day. It was at this point I realized that art could do more than just entertain—it could improve a person’s quality of life.

This year I had the opportunity to volunteer with an art therapist in Los Angeles. She taught me how to use these ideas in concrete ways that would benefit everyone. I mean after all, who doesn’t love arts and crafts time? It’s just another outlet for all the stress and tensions that we let build up inside of us.

The idea to work with foster children sort of fell perfectly into our laps. I talked to my friends and we knew we wanted to do an arts project, but we didn’t know what group of people we should work with. We all loved kids so that was a definite. And after talking to my mentor (who has had several foster brothers/sisters over the years), I realized we had the networks in place to work with this population. The more I thought about it the more perfect it seemed—there aren’t that many programs that support the emotional and/or recreational sides of these kids, and that’s something that every child needs. So we decided to take a leap of faith and jump into a world only a few of us had ventured into before.

How did you bring the Doodlemeisters team together ?

As the conundrum of how to combine arts programs with social projects overwhelmed my mind, I began to realize how many of my friends are incredibly talented and passionate about the arts. I talked to two of my best friends, Becca and Alyssa, who have worked extensively with children over the years, and they loved the idea. Together we began to reach out to our various networks, really recruiting people from all over the country to get involved. I think that’s one of the coolest parts of this project, is how many people from all over the world ended up caring about it.

How did you manage to promote the project?

Our first move was to create a Facebook group, just to let all our friends know about this vision we had. I have to say that I was overwhelmed by the positive responses to the idea.

We send out more Facebook messages, emails, created a website, and even passed around fliers. And, of course, posted on Ulule. I have to say that the support from Ulule has been so incredible.

How did you find Ulule ? :)

Well for this project we already had all the labor we needed, so we knew that would not be an issue. What was troubling, however, were the prices of art supplies. I began feeling overwhelmed by the numbers coming up and in a state of panic I literally googled “how to get money for your arts projects.” I believe it was truly fate that landed me at Ulule because I really don’t know how we would have procured the funds otherwise. Like I said before, we never expected that this little dream of ours would ever catch fire so quickly or so passionately and I am so grateful to everyone who helped us out along the way.

Thanks Judy ! Good luck !

Ulule.com: released!

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 05:26:00 -0400

Since Monday, Ulule came out of its nest!

Just starting, fresh and nice projects: music, animation, photography, satire, journalism… A little lot of good ideas, just a clic away.

The tour continues on Ulule Vox with tips, advices, and feverish discussions.

You have a project, or you know someone who could use the service for his/her ideas? Feel free to spread the address. We will be there all summer, refining our plumage and answering all of your questions.

Enjoy your visit, and have a nice summer,

The Ulule Team

Ulule takes its flight: opening monday, July 5!

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 11:54:00 -0400

This is it, the official opening is Monday!

Everything has been well prepared, we resolved (almost) all the bugs, we went on a chase for any page not found and here we are … after all those months, the bird is ready to leave the nest.

Monday, July 5, then. The first projects are ready, their owners are very motivated, and we ourselves are of course excited by the opening. Hopefully, you too!

Because Ulule is also your website: a great place to find projects that you like, with which you can personally commit, to establish contact with people whose ideas you enjoy… and receive rewards directly issued from the projects you support!

It’s also a place for discussion and exchange: Vox is yours. Your ideas, your questions, your tips, your passions, your style!

Basically, this is what Ulule is about. A site that cares for your opinion, respects your privacy and offers you to have a decisive action on the presented projects.

Ulule: a site to make good things happen.

So… See you on Monday!

PS: should you be in Paris this monday, feel free to send a mail to cedric(at)ulule.com to share the champagne with us!