CompuServe Messages

Alright, I had to jump in here. My name is David Hopkins, and I am not only one of the monthly columnists for VTU, but also the producer of a very successful video training package, Taming The Wave. When we first began work on Taming The Wave in early (very early) 1992, I knew exactly what I wanted to put into the tape. Since I was animating the entire tape (planned to be two hours…one on LightWave, one on Modeler), and I was well on my way to completion, Gun For Hire (the production company I work with) and I chose to place a full page ad in VTU. The ad stated, simply, "Coming September 27th, 1992. The tape that will change the way you thing about LightWave 3D." Plus, of course, the notice to call and reserve your copy. The original price for the tape was planned to be $99.95, and all was going well. Soon, while finishing up the LightWave section, I found that one hour was not enough to do the subject justice to the rate that I wished. We dropped the Modeler portion and planned on two hours of LightWave. By now it was August or so, and we had many, many pre-orders, all of them checks. Shortly we decided that two hours was not enough, and went to three hours, mastered on D2. More animating (lots more), more editing…we were passed our release date. Against the better wishes of me personally, Gun For Hire had been cashing these checks to pay for production and advertising. We did audio at Skywalker Sound in Santa Monica, paid dearly for top-notch packaging (claimed by many to be the most professional packaging for such a product in the Amiga market) and things like spiral-binding manuals. Four-color process advertisments and much more. Gun For Hire is a major post-production facility, whose works include the "Jeep Shots" TV campaign, Pespi, Nike, and many others. Even some TV shows. They chose to undertake this project (which was next-to-nothing to them strictly due to my determination to do it. I won't lie. My early buyers paid for the completion of the production which was finally delivered in January 1993. I got MANY upset phone calls prior to release. I assured them that we were delaying release so as to make a better product. I gladly told anybody who called to complain exactly what we were up to. Now, after release and the sale of more than 1,000 units, I have had only one return. The package acheived greater success than I had imagined, even being mentioned in the NAB issue of Post Magazine (a very high-level mag). The best, however, was getting the fax from Thomas Wheeler, the gentleman quoted in our ad in the last issue of VTU. He was calling FREQUENTLY prior to release very upset about the delays. Very upset. After finally receiving his copy, he sent me that fax which said "You were right…it was worth the wait." Our intention was not to defraud people in any way, nor even to handle the situation in that way. We didn't expect a delay of the magnitude that ended up happening. But if it weren't for that little "seed" of money, the production would have gone way over Gun For Hire's initial budget and been cancelled. I owe my thanks to all of those who trusted in me. If you choose to market a video using these so-called guerilla video methods, do me one favor. Don't defraud the people trying to help you. Give them what you promise and play straight with them. David Hopkins Gun For Hire Film & Tape