Help Make the Rap Guide to Evolution DVD More Awesome

Baba Brinkman just announced a crowdfunding challenge for the upcoming DVD for his Rap Guide to Evolution.  The videos for the songs are being filmed – a grant from the Wellcome Trust is enough to support basic production costs.  But to be an effective educational (and entertainment) tool, the videos could use more in the way of animations, multimedia, and other material.

Given the groundswell of support for Brinkman and his science-themed projects, he is appealing for folks to essentially pre-purchase the DVD.  But it’s a bit more involved than that.  His crowdfunding challenge is to raise 10 thousand pounds in 60 days (by January 21).  Donors can contribute at different levels, and will get the following depending on their donation:

“Invest £10 and get

A free digital download of all 12 music videos when they are completed, and your name included in the credits and thanks at the end of the videos.

Invest £20 and get

A copy of the physical DVD mailed to you when it is finished, and your name included in the credits and thanks at the end of the videos.

Invest £30 and get

Your photo will be used somewhere in the videos as part of the digital animation, a branch on the human family tree! Also, a copy of the physical DVD mailed to you and your name in the credits.

Invest £1000 and get

All of the above, and you book Baba to perform the Rap Guide at your venue in 2011. Note: this is subject to availability and does not include travel costs. Email info@babasword.com to inquire”

Here’s a trailer for the project:

As of this posting, Brinkman’s challenge has already gathered nearly fifteen hundred pounds (it’ll go over that amount once my investment clears), with an average donation just south of thirty pounds.  Since both the Rap Guide to Evolution and the Rap Guide to Human Nature are available for free, a healthy donation to this project seems a reasonable course of action to support a talented fellow seeking to support science.

To donate you’ll have to register with Crowdfunder, and for those outside the U.K., Paypal can handle the currency differences.  There will be a small Paypal fee.  Should Brinkman not make the goal, all money will be refunded.  Since the videos are shot and edited with the Wellcome Trust grant, all that will be lost is what will boost the videos from cool to awesome.