With 8 days to go on its Kickstarter, Kosmo Foto’s new Agent Shadow film is getting very close to success, but needs a little push to get it over the line. At the time of me writing this, it has had £32,498 pledged of its £37,500 goal with 664 backers. It is a success, it just needs that final nudge.
I know Stephen Dowling, the man behind Kosmo Foto quite well, and I know how much time and effort he has put into this project over the last year or so. I also know how much effort he has expelled on Kosmo Foto Mono 100, over the last few years, how many people enjoy shooting the film and totally buy into the brand and what it stands for. I do too, and want to support Steve in his endeavours to push the film community forward. Hence this little post.
For me, projects like this are about supporting the film photography community and industry. They are about promoting it’s growth, supporting a small independent brand, supporting the supply chain, and promoting film photography to new people.
If those are ideals you can get behind, then get yourself over to Kickstarter, and punt as little as £23 at four rolls of film, or spend a little bit more and get yourself the Agent Shadow Briefcase Box 5 rolls of Agent Shadow 35mm film, ‘The 36 Frames’ graphic novella, Luxury magnetic-seal Briefcase Box – that’s what I’ve gone for!
I think the point for me, personally, is that while all the Kosmo Foto marketing and extra fluff is cute, at the end of the day you still have in your hands only a relabeled film that is already on the market, and can be bought at half the price.
It is no secret that Kosmo Foto Mono 100 is relabeled Fomapan 100. If Agent Shadow follows a similar marketing strategy, I do not understand the appeal?
Like most products, it’s not for everyone. And I do think because of the nature of these films as rebrands, they will always have their detractors.
But for me, this sort of thing is about the bigger picture. As I’ve said in the article, this sort of branding will appeal to audiences that might otherwise overlook certain films, or even film photography as a whole. There’s also, as I have said, the benefits to the supply chain and wider industry. People also like to be part of something – in this case a group of photographers who use the Kosmo Foto films, share their experiences, write about them on the Kosmo Foto website etc. Lastly, and more specifically to this film, Steve is promoting how Agent Shadow can be used very effectively at much higher ISO ratings. Users of even the original film might not even be aware that it can be used like this. In summary, whilst I can totally see why some not see appeal, there is a value-add in the brand that positively impacts the industry, community, and individual users… so for my money, I am happy to support it!
I am 100% convinced by the Kosmo marketing proposition and the very clear vision they have about their products (old school B&W with the potential for much higher ISO’s). I absolutely don’t care (ok too many superlatives already!) that it is a rebranded something else. It is a compelling and amusing story that is well communicated that might attract new folk to this particular B&W world regardless of the brand. I signed up early and really hope they make the remaining dollars to go ahead. Come on, support a clever innovative business. Oh, and get some great B&W film to experiment with !! Bravo Stephen Dowling.