An Eagle’s View of Middle-earth – Kickstarters!

You’ve heard of Kickstarter, right? People who need funding for a creative project can showcase their idea on Kickstarter and attempt to secure backers with offers of rewards. Common rewards are items like a special thank you, a project T-shirt, a copy of the finished book or DVD, or a meet-and-greet or Skype call with the creator(s).

Hopefully, you are aware of the Kickstarter for Reclaiming the Blade: Sons of Fire, the sequel to Reclaiming the Blade. Middle-earth Network has partnered with Galatia Films to create a massive online event, called Reclaiming the Blade Day on August 3 to promote the Kickstarter campaign for this film.

And it just so happens that there are other great projects on Kickstarter that have a fantasy spin, and sometimes, even a connection to Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings. Here are a couple of worthy Kickstarter campaigns that I hope you’ll take a look at…

Kate Madison, director of the Lord of the Rings prequel Born of Hope, is spearheading a new exciting project. Ren is an action-packed fantasy webseries about a young woman named Ren, who lives in a small village with her father and younger brother. But not all is as idyllic as it seems.

When a sheltered young woman, Ren, is possessed and her face branded by a powerful ancient spirit, she becomes feared by all who see her. Even when far from home and hunted by the powerful ruling order of the Kah’Nath she refuses to accept her fate and journeys across the land to discover what she is and if there are any others like her. Joined on her perilous quest by a small band of outcasts, led by the charismatic Hunter, she discovers that the truths she has been taught may all have been lies.

The Kickstarter campaign is to create the first six 10 minute episodes. I could go on and on about the reasons this project deserves attention and the great rewards being offered, but I’ll let director Kate Madison take it from here:

http://youtu.be/PMVvVjj00bo

To learn more about the Ren Kickstarter campaign, click here.

If you have children, know children, or are a child yourself, I want to share another great project on Kickstarter that is sure to be a hit with kids and parents. Forge of Honor has created an line of plush swords, sturdy shields, and brave animal companions known as the Targimals to encourage safe and imaginative playtimes.

And based on hours of play-testing, they have thought of everything. The Targimals have a storied history of protecting children from monsters and attach to shields in two different ways–battle mode and pillow guard. That’s right, there’s even a pillow on the back of every shield.

This project has very nearly reached its funding goal, so new stretch goals have been announced. Check out the Forge of Honor Kickstarter page for more information about the project and the stretch goals.

Next week, we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled “Eagle’s View of Middle-earth” where the Middle-earth News team shares their awesome finds of the week with you. Remember, you can always contribute by using the Got News Precious link at the bottom of the page.