Funding gap to pay for a video editor and scriptwriter
Funding gap to pay for a video editor and scriptwriter
People
Updated 06/10/26By grantmaking.aicreator
Funding Details
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Project Details
Updated 06/10/26By grantmaking.aiI'm producing a video about the Google DeepMind hunger strike, which I led in September 2024 and received coverage in The Verge, The Telegraph, Sky News and Le Monde. I need $3,100 to complete it. I've already secured $2,700 from a private donor and am contributing my own time.
Budget needed:
- Video editor: $6,750 (25 minutes of video edited at $270 / edited minute)
- $2,700 already funded => $6,750 - $2,700 = $4,050 needed
- Scriptwriter: $900 - $900 needed
- Total ask: $4,950
The editor and scriptwriter have worked with Drew Spartz on videos with millions of views and other YouTube channels with billions of views.
Grants Received
Updated 06/10/26By grantmaking.aiDiscussion
A 50%, or even 5% chance of you and everyone you know dying is insanely bad! It's obviously reasonable to take significant risks to try to prevent that. I want to make people feel supported to take significant risks in the AI safety space, and the hunger strike was one step in that direction.
Approving this project! I've been a supporter of Michael's past work (especially the SB1047 documentary) and hope that he continues to produce good videos for AI safety.
[Final report]
Description of subprojects and results, including major changes from the original proposal
Documentary was quite successful! Main impact for me has been that about a couple weeks after publishing the video, Demis Hassabis said he would pause if everyone else also pauses.
Video got 87k views, 900 likes, 2.6k hours of watch time.
I received many comments from my DeepMind friends after the video was published, which I assume means the video was watched internally and pressured Demis to make that comment (or lead to the journalist being asked that question to him).
Spending breakdown
The total video cost was about $13.5k in contractors. From that, $4.5k were covered by Manifund & a private donnor.
Most of the spending was editing (about $8k). Scriptwriting was about $1.5k. The rest ($4k) was thumbnail design, sound mixing, and voice-over costs.
I think we're still underinvesting in media. A mass movement could secure human survival, and we should be spreading the message by all means.