Anybody Else Get This in the Mail?

Got a flashy large color postcard today from Home Video Studio promoting their "Show 'N Tell" in Las Vegas. The picture shows an extensive 3 rack setup with a G5 and I assume Avid Xpress (it's definately not FCP!) on a 2 monitor arrangement. Pictures are on the source and master (canvas) viewers, but nothing is on the timeline! There's a smaller picture of this on their website [www.homevideostudio.com]

They offer 3 different turnkey systems but I couldn't find any details. I suspect that this is a "Get Rich in Real Estate" meets "Home Video Editing" type of deal. According to their FAQ, you don't need to know anything about anything, just send them money, they'll train you, and then the money will come pouring in.

This "enterprise" was treated briefly on the dvcreators site: [www.dvcreators.net]

But why a G5?

Looks like utter madness to me. The only way you can make money like that is by selling systems and training (at very high prices) to the guillible....

Graeme



[www.nattress.com] - Plugins for FCP-X

Graeme I agree 100%. The only ones making money are these people. Clarence, please, do not buy the idea, just another mail scam.
It's sad that DVCreators sponsors these kind of things.

Whoa!! Lets be careful here. Clarence did NOT say DVCreators endorsed this enterprise. In FACT, they do not. Click on the link Alexander. These kinds of posts without double checking do damage to reputable people.



Michael Horton
-------------------

...looks like "Dave Del Dotto goes Hollywood" (remember him?). Pi$$ing money out the window.

- Joey



When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

I love the slogan for this product - "Serious Income, Fun Lifestyle!"

Bwahahhaha. These people have obviously not done editing for a living.

For truth in advertising, it should be something more like ..

"Moderate income, negotiated with people who wasted too much money on the shoot and think that what you do can be done by any bimbo with a computer, late-night, gritty-eyed, tight-deadline, swearing-like-a-trooper, too much take-away and coffee lifestyle.

Garsh! Jethro!! I did not know that this thing was so fun and easy!

Have I been do'in it wrong all these years?????

Can I edit parfessional video for 4 hours a day and eard those big bux??

HAR-Har-har!

This is not new. Stuff like this has been around for ages.

If this offer is typical, the thing to remember is - their business model probably does work - sort of. Although I'd divide any promised income figures by at least 10. If you spend as much time and energy promoting as their PR kit implies - you ARE actually likely to get orders.

What makes me so uncomfortable is that this type of business retails media and makes the process of doing a family DVD a one hour photo factory job with no soul. That just makes my skin crawl.

Those sure are easy to sell against on the jobs I WANT to do. It does drive home the importance of establishing value in all your client relationships - and on partnering with your clients to become a solution partner, not a cost of business.

Ian

"Fun lifestyles?"

I'm sure everybody on here does 14-hour editing work days as well. It becomes your life. "Fun" in terms of creative, yes. "Fun" in terms of Bermuda sun, sailboats, bikini ladies and huge fat bank accounts...no. Editors are one of the biggest families of likeable nerds on the film scene. It *is* always amusing to go to wrap parties and have the entire cast bug-eye you wondering "Who the hell is that and why does s/he act like s/he knows me better than my own mother?"

As for money, union rates are pretty great, but at the same time, you end up spending huge money on updating and repairing equipment as well.

To expand on Ian's point, just like an Amway meeting or a Real Estate Wealth infomercial, I'm sure the Las Vegas event is going to be replete with glowing testimonials from "folks just like you." From what I can tell from the photo, the equipment looks like fairly decent prosumer stuff. But I think that the one thing the prospective "buyers" will be naive about is the steep learning curve that lies ahead.

"the steep learning curve that lies ahead."

Perhaps not. I'd guess they will be handed paint by numbers templates and little preset check boxes to be filled. Think iDVD stream-lined aggressively.

Anything requiring thought takes time so it will be eliminated.


Ian

It looks like their business is not video editing, but all those little ancilliary things like dubs, format conversions, crappy standards conversions, make a dvd of this tape etc, and "editing", for them, is merely assembling video footage "in order". Interesting that on their website they denigrate wedding videos, but as we know, they require talent and skill.... What they are selling really is the no skill stuff, but you've got to put 110% behind selling yourself to do that. Indeed, all of these schemes really rely on selling yourself more than any particular product.

I think you're right Ian - this is real paint by numbers stuff. And the buy in price of nearly $100,000 is quite expensive. I guess most of it is profit for the franchiser, and then training, and then finally a small component for the gear.

Graeme



[www.nattress.com] - Plugins for FCP-X

Chances are if you're a professional in this field you take certain skills for granted...be it knowing how to light a set with a five ton package or three small fresnels or making a leaf dance against a cloudy sky using only keyframes and a sense of creativity in FCP. You didn't get into this silly business just to make money. The money thing has happened because you love what you do, you have passion to create great stuff...be it a wedding, corporate video, commercial or indie project. The desire to do something creative came first and the money thing followed. Compare that to the person who gets into the business to make big bucks will little regard to creativity and talent. Good clients know the difference. Bad clients don't matter.

Best
Chet Simmons

5. Do I have to be creative or technically minded?
Not at all. This business is not brain surgery.

lol

We already have a couple of outfits here doing this sort of thing. I know one of the guys and he makes ok money. His product is creatively bankrupt. I'm sure none of these guys paid anyone a franchise fee to get set up.