VIDEO MARKETING LETTER &ndash JULY 1990 &ndash JUNE 1991. Profi (Catlett, VA)

VIDEO MARKETING LETTER &ndash JULY 1990 &ndash JUNE 1991. Profi

Local pick-up preferred (please call first) but will ship at the buyer s expense.Kingston Books 15 IMG_7816Please Note The publication date for the newsletter is from the early 1990 s. Many of the phone numbers may not be in service any longer. If you are inclined to call any of them don t be surprised.IllustratedSo now The VIDEO MARKETING LETTER Publisher Group M 100 Bridge Street 27 Hot Springs Ar. 71901Contents (in brief)CHAPTER 1 Dear Friend & Subscriber .. (page 1) It was much pleasanter at home thought poor Alice when one wasn t always growing larger and smaller and being ordered around by mice and Rabbits. I almost wish I hadn t gone down that rabbit hole and yet--and yet it s rather curious you know this sort of Life from Alice in Wonderland by Lewis CarrollAnd that is the bait of the trap your ego.And this was a BIG mistake 10 000 a month is not enough if you spend 12 000 a month to make it .....(page 2)But I fell into the trapNot knowing when to say no .And that is not one of my goals to end up poor So it s back to guerilla videos for me. And time to take my video marketing efforts off auto-pilotIt s Almost Christmas .. (page 3)Which means if you want to get in on the 1990 Christmas season you better start working on your ads now.Getting Your Ads In How to Make 500 a Day Everyday ..(page 4)Don t Forget the Press Releases FREE PUBLICITY COSTS A LOT LESSSo Let s talk About Press Releases.Here s a Template you can use for your Press Releases. ..(page 5)Print For Immediate Release above the headline.ALWAYS SEND A PHOTO WITH YOUR PRESS RELEASE .....(page 6)Why All This Work Success requires a lot of Personal Attention Video Developments ..(page 7)Guerilla Video ProducersGuerilla Video Producers Network (GVPN)Video ToasterComputabilityTV TraderGlobal WarmingMarket tapes in EuropeClosing Comments ..(page 8)Next Month Chapter 2 Dear Friend & Subscriber..... (page 1) In last month s letter in the closing coments. I said this But don t despairTimes of adversity Create Opportunity ..(page 2)That s the group you want to be in the survivors.Which may mean that if we get into a recession (or worse) the guerilla video business could actually get better What advantage in selling could Gary Halbert want that would allow him to sell the most burgers even if the odds were stacked against him .....(page 3)If you can Identify A Group Of People Who Are Starving For Certain Information You Will Have Accomplished The Most Difficult And Profitable Task In Developing A Successful Video Tape.Are you producing video topics for starving crowds Finding Your Own Starving Crowd ..Now would you pay 100 to know if an earthquake were going to hit your home on December 3rd 1990 .....(page 4)But wait a minute It is the Topic of this Video that Generates the Cashflow But wait a minute didn t I say earlier that all you need is a starving crowd Now I say you need a good topic What do I really mean Consider the topic consider the target market and then JUST DO IT ..... (page 5)MAKE MONEY SELLING EARTHWORMS. Call for free details. And there s probably nothing easier than raising earthworms except selling videos to people who want to know how to make money raising them.You Won t See Worm Farmers on FREE TV ..... (page 6)And you probably won t have to worry about any of the major networks running any in-depth shows about worm-farming It s Such a Good Life And .Keep it SimpleHere s a few basic rules for Guerilla Video Limit the production to 60 minutes or less Break the tape up into individual segments each 5 minutes or less Use a simple graphic to introduce each segment. Limit Camera shots to 30 seconds when possible. Use two audio tracks one for natural sound the other for background music. Add graphics when editing not when taping. It s easier & looks better. Use insert editing to create your master tape rather than assembly or butt editing. Don t forget the basics Use a professional lighting system seamless paper for backdrops good quality tape a tripod a lapel (laviler) mike. Use manual focus set up your white balance manually and before you start get the colors on your monitors set up correctly. Let s Talk Video ..(page 7)Steadicam JR from Cinema ProductsCanon AE-1 MKII Hi-8 camcorderA less expensive but necessary accessory you should add to your video system is an Accu-Chart Color Bar Reference Chart.Another useful addition to your video system is a Sync Generator. We purchased a Horita BSG-50 Black Burst Sync Pulse Audio Tone GeneratorClosing Comments .. (page 8)Next Month .CHAPTER 3 Dear Friend & Subscriber ..(page 1) One Hundred Forty-Six Million three hundred thousand to one That s the odds of your winning the 1990 Reader s Digest Sweepstakes But it s not going to happen this year. Or next. Or in your lifetime.The Homes Gallery Video Magazine ..(page 2) But there is a better way and this creates an opportunity for VideoLaying out the Plan Because I make my 5 000 up Front .....( page 3)A look at the nuts & bolts of this operation The way I see it I have 60 minutes to work with. I fill it as follows Intro Title Welcome Graphic Slideshow type presentation ..(page 4) Title Graphic The Homes The Meat of the Video A Short Break End of the tape Final Graphic Things you will want to know VHS tape Vinyl Box Cover Art (a sample of one of mine) ..(page 5)Using a Teaser Cover .. (page 6)Guerilla Video Information .. (page 7)Buy Out Music Music Bakery Public Domain Video Footage Blank Tape Sources spoof a familiar commercial press releases Guerilla Video Producers Network Best guerilla video of the monthClosing Comments .. (page 8)VIDEO RELEASE .. (page 9)TALENT RELEASE .. (page 10INSURANCE PHOTO VIDEO CHECKLIST & RECORD .. (page 11)VIDEOGRAPHY JOB CONRACT ..(page 12)CHAPTER 4 Dear Friend & Subscriber ..(page 1) Even if you are on the right track you re apt to get run over if you just sit there. Will Rogers And a tape I could not produce Bill s Rules of Profitable Video Marketing .. (page 2) Boy was I wrong What did I do wrong Now a story of Success (page 3)Going Forth from HereGuerilla Video and Direct Mail .(page 4)Are you earning 250 000 a year If not you should be reading the Video Marketing Letter. Call for a free sample. 1-501-321-1845.The problems with the classified method of attracting new customers are Our Methods and the Cost.The Guerilla Video that can save your life during the turbulent times ahead ..PERSONAL SURVIVAL IN A COLLAPSING SOCIETY ..(page 5)The numbers look like this ..(page 6)A Few Final Notes on Direct Mail Guerillia Video Information ..(page 7)Chroma-Key for the AmigaInclude this in your Titles Volume One Cannon s New A1Public Domain VideoThe Video Marketing LetterTV Trader ContractDesktop Video for Profit IIGuerilla Video Producers NetworkAmiga MusicMail Order Amigas .. (page 8)Bargain of the MonthNext Month CHAPTER 5 Dear Friend & Subscriber ..(page 1)They are the professionals who make a living by showing people how to market products.How I got in the 7 000 Seminar Without Paying a Dime ..(page 2)An Easy Way to Market Your Tapes in Classified Ads...Creating Video Catalogs .. (page 3) And video seems to be the wayAnd 1 500 is not bad income for eight hours of work.Things that start out small can grow rapidly .. (page 4)Now Back to More of What I Learned at the Seminar 900 Numbers Can Be a GoldMineOne of the Most Important Things I Learned at Gary s Seminar .(page 5)The demand for video services is about to explode through the roof Just how do you let people know about your video business Use a video to Promote Yourself.If you are good at video. Good at graphics. Good at animation. Don t just tell people. Show them. With a Video. You must capture the viewer in the first 20 seconds or he s gone (page 6)One of the hottest items at Gary Halbert s 7.000 Marketing Seminar was the list of Guerilla Video Producer s brought by a guy from the backwoods of Arkansas me.Now guess what I got in the mail today Your Own.Now on to the video Side of Video Marketing ..( page 7)A King Pelican Camera CaseA Citizen s brand LCD color 2.9 (diagonal) monitorA TV GenieWORTH NOTING Steadi-Cam JRVidtechCNNZip VideoBudget Films...... (page 8)Closing Notes And we made money. And had a pretty god time doing it.CHAPTER 6 Dear Friend & Subscriber ..(page 1) Money. It turned out was exactly like sex. You thought of nothing else if you didn t have it and thought of other things if you did. James BaldwinMoney and SexAnd at least in this issue of this newsletter words that we won t be using too much. Because It means that given the proper tools almost anyone can put together a video. ..(page 2)We are using the wrong tools The Right Tools for the Job. ..(page 3)Video Acquisition EquipmentVideo is light reflection. The more light the camera can effectively use the better the results. The more light a camera needs the more effort the camera operator must put in to get good results.Now Here s a little More on How We Acquire Video.Now a little about audio. .. (page 4)EditingBut I learned.They all use equipment designed for the professional editing environment.Back to Equipment .. (page 5)At 150.00 a day it pays for itself in 38 days of rentalBut be warned ..(page 6)Your Video Graphics SystemA good genlock. Either a Super Gen from Progressive Peripherals or a Video Master from Vidtech.OK Now for the Icing on the Cake Software and Fun StuffFirst get Pro Video Post Character generator software to produce all your on-screen titles graphics and credits.Then get a copy of Deluxe Paint III to create special backgrounds and animations.How about Digi-View 4.0 from Newtek and a digitizer .. (page 7)And then there s TV TEXT and Movie Setter and Deluxe Video and Disney Animator and the Toaster. And that s almost it.Amiga Desktop Video GuideA Beginner s Guide to Producing TVVideo Production HandbookDirecting the DocumentaryMarketing BooksAdditional Reference BooksThe Writer s Yellow Pages1990 Writer s Market1001 Ways to Market Your BooksOxbridge Directory of NewslettersThat s Enough Back to work Nothing s so likely to undermine your conf idence in a product as knowing that the commercial selling it has been approved by the company that makes it. Next MonthCHAPTER 7 Dear Friend & Subscriber ..(page 1) Television can teach it can illuminate and yes it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely lights and wires in a box . Edward R. Murrow 1958Bart Simpson ..(page 2)That simple little 3 minute video of (Do the Bart Man sold over ONE MILLION COPIES IN THE FIRST 10 days of release HALF BILLION DOLLARSAnimation for Profit.So What s the Point Secrets of a Lazy Animator .. (page 3)CLIP ART is your friend. Backgrounds are important and Pro-Fills is a package of really neat patterns and textures that can be used as paint brushes to create nice backgrounds for your titles graphics and animations they make a difference.Deluxe Paint III is your basic engine used to create and combine all your artwork into interlaced format.Pro Video Post is your production suite.B-Graphics from TRSL is a program that costs too much and you won t use all the time but when you need it you need it as it can quickly produce over 20 different types of graphs including bar pie and line. Mail order price is around 120.The Big Secret of Business Animation Want to know what ruins most video productions done by people on your level They don t use professional announcers to narrate the script.So where do you find professional narrators and how much do they cost You find great voice over people all over the country. But the easiest place to find them is down at the local FM radio station. DJ s make their living using their voice and they are usually quite willing to work with you on your productions. For a very small fee. Around here a professional typically charges 20 to create a 30 second voice-over for a TV commercial .. (page 4) And usually that price includes doing the narration in their own studio using their own equipment. For the 12 minute animation I did the price was 50. And boy did that deep FM voice add credibility to the words being spoken. It really made the client happy with the production. But I learned something during the process Get all the clients you want On the next 4 pages you ll see a complete ready to use 4 page newsletter that you can mail to your prospective clients. All you will have to do is change a few words to reflect your business name and prices. And you will get my permission to use it anyway you choose. At no cost. And if you want I ll be glad to customize the newsletter for you and send you a camera ready master (for a very small fee)..Using the Mail-OrderRepeat. Don t send this package out to hundreds of customers. .. (page 5You won t be able to handle the response.And Guerilla Video will still be where you will make the most money.About 75% of unsolicited mail never gets opened.OK Lets Look at the Cover Letter.The Cover Letter..... (page 6)OK you probably figured out what kind of device I included in the cover letter. I included the best kind .. (page 7)of device you can send anyone Something with their name on it.In this case I sent an empty tape case with their name of the prospect and his company printed o the cover just like it was a real tape. An inside the case no tape. Just a post-it note from me saying The tape mentioned on the cover doesn t exist yet but could by calling me. Signed Bill Myers. 1-501-321-1845 .Now Some Hints Have you ever seen a video catalog If not how can you expect to sell your client on the idea of one And Now Technical Stuff Best New Book on Amiga Video Production The Amiga Desktop Video Workbook by Jay Gross. 34.95 from MicrosearchImportant Phone Numbers Amiga repair service from Commodore - Commodore Express for Amiga 500 s (1-800-448-9987 for Amiga 2000 the number is 1-215-436-4200. These are direct numbers to Commodore technical repair facilities. They do great work at good prices. Don t tell them you got the number from me.Opportunities .. (page 8)Closing Comments CHAPTER 8 Dear Friend & Subscriber ..(page 1) It was 44 hours into the bombardment of Iraq. In a Top-Security room at the Pentagon the President of the United States wanted some answers. George Bush needed to know what was really going on in Baghdad. So like millions of other Americans the President of the United States along with his chiefs of war tuned into CNN From the White House Press PoolIt has startedI can show you how to get your commercial or your client s on CNN for less than 7.00 each 30 second spot Because knowing the rates can make you money ..... (page 2)I have not been using TV commercials to market my videos.But First A Short Story (read it on page 2)Imagine the phones ringing so fast with people anxious to find out more about your product .. (page 3)that you can t get to all the calls even with 6 incoming lines With each new opportunity or adventure we learn something that gives us the confidence we need to keep going even in bad times.You can give people what the want ..... (page 5)Live Via Satellite THINK BIG.So How Do I Get Involved In All This Getting Involved .. (page 6)If you have a product to sell or you have a commercial you want to test I ll be glad to let you test it on my program for FREEOpening Your Eyes So I m going to do it. And it might no be successful. And I might fail.Now Back To Reality It s Toaster Time ..(page 7)But If You Are Still Toaster Bound Here Are Some Things You Need To Know.7 Important FactsMoney Counts .. (page 8)Next monthCHAPTER 9 Dear Friend & Subscriber ..(page 1) Give the public what they want. Most people don t want works of art. They want cups of tea and donkey rides. Duke of Bedford. Saturday Evening Post July 11 1959Life does not center around moneyLet us tell you about the Alvin Hotel ..pages 1 2 and 3)The Marketing of Your Video Productions ..(page 3)If you aren t buying many tapes (or much of anything else for that matter) why would you want to try to sell tapes to someone who thinks just like you So who are the people spending money ..... (page 4)But this is not the way most people think about money.Most people in our society have no concept of what money really is. They don t connect money with work. All they know is that come the first of the month rain or shine they get a check in the mail from good old Uncle Sugar the U.S. Government. It s a fact. In March of 1991 over 60% of the U.S. population received a direct monthly payment from the U.S.government courtesy of you the taxpayer. That means over half of this country is on the dole Now I m not going to get into politics of a government that thinks it can buy its way out of social problems. But if you want to make a living in this great society you must know your market. And a large part of your market includes the two generations of people who have gotten government checks from birth and who believe that it s a natural thing to get this free money. And since they see no end in sight to this steady stream of money they spend it.Because if they spend all their money this month there ll be another check next month. And the month after that. Forever and ever. No matter what they do the checks always come. And over time they get bigger and bigger. Even if they refuse to work. So they spend. And spend. And spend.And since they are going to spend their money (your money ) anyway it is your responsibility your moral obligation to give them a worthwhile product to spend money on.And here s how you can get them to spend their money with you...First Find out what these People want.Which means keeping your eyes and ears open looking for the hot buttons which get these people excited about spending their money And then Give it to them ..... (page 5)You will win almost every time you play Be selfish with your time. So selfish that you refuse to play games you can t win.OK. Now ley s talk about somebody who has learned to play the game quite well Start back here only after you have read Dr. John s letter (the letter appears over the next 6 pages Note they are numbered outside the page number sequence of the chapters).OK What did you think Did the letter get your interest I bet it did. And I bet you either loved it(and would buy the tape if you weren t so tight with your money) or you hated everything the letter had to say. In either case it produced an emotional response (page 6) For the right audience this letter is going to create instant desire. The desire to have the tapes the desire to have the knowledge. The desire to have the power Now on to the second letter One of the most powerful ways to market any product is to work on a joint venture deal with someone else who is already sending something to the audience you want to reach.This brings us to the second letter included with this issue. It is from Gary Halbert the marketing genius that helped me get my business off the ground with his book Maximum Money in Minimum Time. Gary has a message he wants to get out to intelligent motivated entrepreneurs and he knows that this letter reaches a lot of them. So he asked me to insert his message with this issue of the Video Marketing Letter. And I agreed because his letter is a great example of how to create a good offer for a valuable product (Gary s letter writing ability is legendary). And because I like his product and approach. And Gary is going to help me out on a project I m working on later in return for the favor.OK. Enough about marketing. Let s get on to the video side of this letter Toaster Madness Part II ..(page 7)Last month I mentioned we had our Video Toaster in place but were having difficulty in getting it to do its thing. We tried everything and couldn t keep the thing from crashing so in desperation we took the Toaster out of our Amiga 2000 (9 Mbytes GVP SCSI 8 Syquest hard drive) and put it into a STOCK Amiga 2000. And miracle of all miracles it worked. No bugs no glitches and no guru messages. It finally worked. (But we don t know why it wouldn t work in our other machine).Other Video Amiga InfoChromaKey Switcher from Microsearch (1 713-988-2819)IFF HAM Format Materials Texture Library from MicrosearchThe new Markertek Video Supply Catalog is now available. (1-800-522-2025)Blank Video Tape prices are on the way down VU Videos is offering T-15 s for as low as 1.10 T-60 s for 1 52 and T-120 s for 2.08. They also offer great prices on duplicating (even in lots of 10). For more information call David Butler at 1-800-637-4336Digital Video a Reality Panasonic has released its line of digital video equipment including a full digital camcorder and it looks like S-VHS may be an immediate loser.Staying Motivated Enough to Work .. (page 8)One of the bad things about guerilla video is that once you have a successful tape in the market place with all your ads and promotions in place orders for the tape can keep coming for years. Which means that with a few tapes out there you really don t have to work to keep the money coming in. As long as you have someone to answer the phones and ship the orders the money continues to flow. And this can make you lazy. Like me..Closing Comments If you don t already have a passport here s why you should apply for one tomorrow CHAPTER 10 Dear Friend & Subscriber .. (page 1)Boy did I ever make a mistake.And boy did I ever make a mistake.And that s the good part. And we were wrong.YOU CAN START MAKING 1 200 IN JUST 5 DAYS .....Page 2)A Fish Story THEY LL BE SPENDING BIG BUCKSReally big bucks. Last year sport fishermen in the U.S. spent over 20 Billion Dollars to support their habit.That s TWENTY BILLION DOLLARS to support the fishing fever monkey on their back. And where does that money go Today the typical fisherman spends over 250 before he even sees water. And that is just for the very basic stuff. You see even a plain plastic fishing lure costs more than 5.00. Just for one lure. And most fishermen have boxes full of lures. And swivels and sinkers and bobbers and lines and weights and hooks and knives and other expensive stuff. Even live bait is expensive. A minnow bucket full of live minnows an cost over 12.00. Earthworms (flown in from exotic places) sell for 300 a cup.THEY WANT IT .. (page 3)People lust after all this expensive gear. They really look forward to the opportunity of spending money on anything that will support their fishing hobby. They even look for reasons to spend money for fishing..Frankly some people enjoy spending money on fishing gear more than they enjoy fishing. It gives them a special purpose in life.Amazing isn t it But what does fishing fever have to do with video marketing and why have I spent the first three pages of this letter writing about fishing Well I wanted you to understand the thought process behind identifying and understanding a very important kind of people. The kind of people that can change your life. The kind of people that have money and want and like to spend it for a specific purpose. Identifying a group of people with these two characteristics is probably the most important part of video (or any other kind) marketing. Because once you have identified people that have money and want to spend it .YOU HAVE COMPLETED ABOUT 90% OF THE WORK REQUIRED TO MAKE MONEY WITH ANY MARKETING PROJECT.No kidding FINDING THE GOLD IN THE FIRST PLACE And now I have identified the goldmine of people that have money wanting to buy fishing related products I m going to show you how to pick up your share of the golden nuggets available in your local market.And it only involves creating sixty seconds of video The Real Secret of Caching Fish ..(page 4)OK. There s only two things you need to catch fish. And they are You Need to Know Where the Fish Are and You Need to Know What the Fish Want as in bait. That s all. If you know these answers and use the information wisely you will catch fish every time you try. And this is the information that fishermen will gladly will gladly pay you for.Fish Commercial Script HERE OK. Did you read the script If you did you probably figured out that the commercial ia not trying to sell a video tape. It is instead offering a map and a guidebook. The map shows where to find fish and a guidebook that shows the bait to use and provides practical hints on how to get to the locations on the map. Kind of like a treasure map with instructions. A treasure map that instead of leading to a pot of gold leads to a pot of fish And this treasure map is customized to the local area. So if you live in Tilamook the map and guidebook is specific to Tilamook. And if you live in Lebanon (MO). And if you live in Hot Springs you customize it for Hot Springs. See that s what gets the fisherman s attention. The map and the guidebook is specific to his favorite fishing area.. That s the key (page 5)And that s the entire product. Secrets. On Paper For 19.95. And assuming reasonable printing and binding costs your map and guidebook should cost you less than 2.50- to print and mail. Which means you should net about 17.00 for each map and guidebook that you deliver which is an estimated profit of 750%.But wait how do you get the information on the best places to fish (I really shouldn t have t tell you this but I will anyway). The best places to get this kind of information you need is bait shops. That s where all the fishermen go to get their daily supplies and where they swap fish stories. Running Your Fish CommercialA couple of months back I shared with you how to run commercials on CNN for as low as 2.50 a spot. Since then I ve found places to run 30 second spots on CNN & ESPN for 1.00 a spot. But there is a catch. You must run a minimum of four commercials a day for a minimum of 30 days. That means it ll cost 120 for 120 commercials. And that s not a bad price to test any product except this fish map.Because it needs to be tested on your local cable system. Because your customers are the people watching the lcal cable channels. So you ll have to call the local cable channels and ask for the sales manager. When you get him on the phone tell him you want to test a 60 second commercial and ask him if he has any time available on the weekends. Since he is in the business to sell commercial time he ll be real happy to hear from you and you and you should be able to work out a real good per-spot deal. Of course it won t hurt to act like you know something about TV and commercials so ask him if he has any special rate for ROS (Run of Schedule). He will and you ll be surprised at the low rate. Tell him you ll deliver the commercial on a time-base-corrected master tape and want it started immediately. And then get ready for the calls. Because with TV commercials you don t make your pitch to one buyer at a time you make it to TENS OF THOUSANDS at a time.And that means you may sell hundreds of maps per commercial. But you won t be able to unless .. (page 6) You can accept Visa MasterCard orders. If you can t you ll lose about 90% of your potential orders. And you ll be forced to rely on COD which is not good and only just slightly better that nothing. If you have a business address (it can be your home address) and a listed business phone number (landline or cellphone) visit your bank and inquire about opening an account so you can accept and process credit cards. You don t need to mention that most all of your transaction will be mail order. Some banks may see this negatively. Remember The confused mind always says NO NOTE When the Video Marketing Letter was published PayPal didn t exist yet. So you can offer your customers the opportunity to submit payment via PayPal which means your business will need a PayPal account to receive payment. And you ll need to find a 24 hour answering service. Because your commercials will run 24 hours a day and calls will come in when the commercials run. And if you do things right you ll never be able o handle the load. So be sure to get a 24 hour service with the ability to handle lots of simultaneous calls. Matrix Marketing can do this for you. 1-800-543-6423. .When the Money Starts Rolling in each five commercials to break even. And in all likelihood your sales will be better than that. Once the commercial has run a few days sales could reach four maps sold for every commercial. When you reach that level every 2.50 you spend for your commercials earns you 68.00 in income. And just running 8 commercials a day can earn you 500.00 per day. Of course you ll want to run the commercial on every cable system that reaches potential customers who fish in the area your map covers. And if you live in a tourist area like I do you should consider running commercials in markets most of your tourists come from as they may want to buy your map before they visit your area. And Finally And once you discover how easy it is to sell the right product to the right audience using low cost TV commercials you may not want to do anything else. Once your system is set up all you have to do is come up with new commercials and new products. And finding products can be easy once you get the hang of it.. One of the best places to look for new products is in the manufacturers catalogs coming out of Taiwan and China. Call lovely Rita here at our offices and she ll send you a list of addresses for these catalogs.. Books of InterestCable Spot Advertising Directory Cable Advertising Bureau (1-212-751-7770)Spot Television Rates & Data A monthly publication that includes rates for cable as well as network and superstation commercial time. An extremely valuable resource. But expensive. Each monthly issue costs 158. You can order by calling SRDS at 1-708-256-6067. (Call and ask if they will mail you a SAMPLE copy of the magazine so you might have it for an evaluation). Now on to the Technical Side of Video Production Sheriff Systems (of Pro Video Post fame). Just released two complete font packages for the Video Toaster. Pro Video Titler is coming for IBM. Sheriff Systems (1-503-626-2022) We got our ChromaKey from Microsearch (1-713-988-2818) and boy is it neat. You can do all the things that the weathermen can do by placing a map graphic behind you or placing yourself anywhere in the world (page 7) Commodore Drops Prices on the Amiga. Daniels Publishing Group (1-800-255-6038) is now offering their technical reference manuals for 29.50. Of special interest t video producers is the Broadcast Technical Reference Guide which includes descriptions specifications prices and photographs of almost every piece of video gear on the market today. The book is 440 pages and is available in a soft cover format. Digital F X offers a complete desktop video production system for the Mac. For more information call 415-961-2800. My own vote for most informative guerilla video of the year goes to John Cooksey s Digital Mixer Companion tape. If you have ever wondered what a digital switcher like Panasonic s MX-10 MX-12 or AVE-5 can do for your system you must see this tape. And if you already have an MX or AV mixer you won t believe the tricks that John has figured out Camera Notes. Jim Powell (our resident camera person) was contacted by the producers of the World Kick Boxing Championship and asked to work the match. When he explained the only camera he had was a Hi-8. they said that s exactly what they wanted. When he showed up with our Canon A1-MK II mounted on a Steadi-Cam Jr they were real happy. More camera Notes. .. (page 8) Jim has been shooting more and more footage for the local ABC NBC and CBS affiliates. He shoots on Hi-8 and dumps to before he sends it to the station. They pay about 25.00 for every 30 seconds of footage used. More important that the money is the kind of contacts Jim is making at the station. These are the kinds of contacts that evolve into better and more interesting things. Closing NotesWe moved into our newly remodeled 6 000 square foot studio this month. Rather than buying the place we decided it made a lot more sense to rent and remodel something that fir our current needs. And it really worked outwell. We were able to keep our expenses down and ended up with something we really like. Office Notes During the week of April 22 I will be dedicating most of my time and attention to the Video Bootcamp so I probably won t be available to take your calls. Our offices will be oprn and Sissi will be manning the phones.CHAPTER 11 Dear Friend & Subscriber .. (page 1)OK. Maybe you already heard about it. The rumor mill has spilled the story all over the country. There is no denying it.Yes there were some unusual extra-curricular activities at the Guerilla Video Bootcamp we held here in Hot Springs. And yes there is some truth to the stories about the fifty-one people semi-nude people in one big hot tub But it s not what you think See when we were all in that hot tub all the video producers all the marketing people all the bootcamp recruits we were all working. That s my story and I m sticking to it. We were doing um research That s it. Research. INVOLVING FIFTY-ONE SEMI NUDE PEOPLE You see it s like this. Hot Springs is a National Park world famous for its healing thermal waters which flow from the natural hot springs. In the National Park here there are several bath houses where you can go and soak in the natural mineral waters. And some of thesse bath houses are coed (which means you can bring your husband wife and family). And we had this room full of tired (but happy) video producers script writers camera people and video virgins so we figured thy needed something to help them unwind. So we wnet to the hot tubs for uh research. And this uh research was very rewarding.Imagine this you re sitting in a hot tub and you are surrounded by several people including the producer of a weekly TV show the president of an international computer company the president of a major video equipment brokerage firm two marketing geniuses from one of the fastest growing direct response companies in the U.S. Gary Halbert s personal assistant (in a string bikini) and a nationally known race-car driver from Hollywood and they are all listening to you tell stories about your hometown your kids your dreams (page 2)Sounds good right Well it was. And it happened just like this for everyone who came to the bootcamp. And this hot tub episode was just one of the many interesting things that took place for a week during the bootcamp. But what can you expect And we all worked hard. And sometimes very long hours. (One editing session ended at 1 00 in the morning). And through it all we learned some very important things. Probably the most important was .Making connections with the right people can jumpstart your career faster than anything else you can do.It s true. Knowing the right person or having the right person know about you can open more doors than having a warehouse full of cameras and computers and video gear. The right person can solve problems for you can create opportunities for you can get you going down the right road. And making connections with all the right people can bring benefits in terms of money business relationships and more important long term friendships that can add greatly to the quality of your life.I know this. I am an example of this. In the last 24 months I ve met and become friends with the kind of people who have changed my life.You ve seen them half-naked in a hot tub And that is what making the right connections is about You can reach the right person to solve your problem answer your question or open the door to a new opportunity because you know who to contact and you know when to contact them they will be happy to talk to you.OK. We know connections are important. We know how great it would b3 to be able to talk to the president of one of the largest Amiga dealers in the world when you need equipment advice. Or how great it would be to be able to talk to the president of one of the best marketing companies in the world about solving a particular marketing problem.OK. You can meet people like this at our Guerilla Video Bootcamps. Or you could just the following save the following pages for reference ..(page 3)Ron Beeman A first rate camera person and producer. Ron has the very latest in camera equipment and travels all over the U.S. putting video productions together. Ron s phone number is 501-623-8424Steve Cannon Steve has been involved in audio video productions for over 15 years with production credits including NASA & ESPN. Steve s biggest projects are with Monster Truck Videos (Blood Sweat & Gears) which he produces and markets on national TV. Steve s number is 501-623-8424Annie Cooksey A professional actress clown and on-camera personality. Annie has appeared in a number of TV commercials videos and theatrical performances and knows her way around a stage. Annie s number is 203-661-1312.John Cooksey John is one of the most innovative video producers that I know. His latest video about digital mixers is one that every guerilla video producer should see for content as well as style. John is an expert with the WJ-AVE5 digital mixer and his productions come alive as the result of his creative genius. John s number is 203-661-1312J. R. Cox J.R. is the voice behind over a thousand commercials both TV and radio. If you are looking for a voice-over professional for your video or commercial J.R. is a good guy to know. And not only does he do voice-over he can write (smooth out) your scripts. A 60 second voice over will cost 30.00 or less and he will send it to you Next Day Air on tape. Note Be advised this is a price from the early 90 s. JR s phone number 501-922-5209Jaxon Crow Jaxon is a world famous new-age musician with five internationally distributed albums to his credit. He is also known well for composing jingles for TV and radio commercials. Jaxon is an expert on Amiga MIDI music production as well as video graphics and animation with Toaster Paint and Deluxe Paint III. His number is 501-448-5563Michael De Buys Michael is a programmer and animation artist who has been working with computers for more than 15 years. In 1986 he began working with Amiga and over time became an expert with the various animation programs. Michael now specializes in creating custom animated logos and other video effects for worldwide clients. His phone number is 501-448-5563The amount of text in this ad is more than than Classified ads can display. So if you want this buy it.