Pledged!
I think ultimately, the kick started is for the film but the purpose of the film is to show the major studios that Practical effects are still desired nowadays. It really is about practical effects getting squeezed out by CGI. Look at what happened with The Thing prequel. ADI made these fantastic creatures and then they went and pasted CGI over almost all the work they did. CGI is so much a part of film nowadays that practical FX is pretty much relegated to simple things. I have nothing against CGI and think if you utilize it properly, it'll be fantastic. Just look at what Lucas did with Star Wars. Lets film everything on green screen and CGI. Nothing can replace the old miniatures and prosthetics.
I mean if you think about it, the whole number one reason that people pledged money to this project is because of the fact that this will be a monster movie that doesn't use CGI. They pledged 1/3 of a million dollars just to see practical effects in a film. That's gotta say something to the studios.
Totally dig your points. I just hope the direction, acting and story will be at a high enough level that HB won't go down as the B movie of the century, with the coolest practical effects. I say it all the time, but I love Dennis Muren's "special effects aren't special anymore" line. What HB has going for it is that there's a groundedness and restriction with practical fx work that cgi lacks, which is one of the reasons cgi fails so often.
It's nice to see the funding came through, I had a look at the project a couple days ago and seriously thought they weren't going to get anywhere near the goal. It's reassuring to see such a devoted following to this art form, it looks like a lot of the backers upgraded their pledges as the final hours started winding down.
I too was tempted to up my pledge to $250 just so I had the chance to go visit ADI but I don't think I'd be able to afford it at this point. Not to mention adding in flights and it would cost a fortune.
Having just visited ADI and seen all the thing prequel stuff, its sad alot of it got replaced. Im pumped for this movie