Shameless Plug for John's Packages

[Fairlight]

Hi Folks,

Just writing to rather shamelessly plug John's work (work being in both
senses of the word, product and effort).  

I know a lot of you have gotten the Survivor Series and the GL package but
I'm sure there are some that haven't that could benefit from either or
both, and some that got it that don't realise just what a bargain they got.

I've personally seen the quality work that John does, and I truly believe
his experience, instruction, and presentation quality is top notch.

What makes it so incredible is how accessible he's made it for this
community.  I knew firsthand from some of the projects I've done how much
work goes into each one, so I already thought it was a steal and twenty
halves.  (Yes, 11 steals!)

But...  I was just researching what going rates for video production of
this type actually run on the common market.  A check of a well-respected
video production house in a community I just got into lists the following
in their fee schedule:  "3-5 minute tutorial video chapter $1,400 - $1,800"

That's 3-5 minutes for $1400-1800, folks.  Granted, that's production
costs, not retail value when you resell it.  But when you consider the
rather limited market John's product is targetted to, and the sheer
-enormity- of both the quantity and quality that he put together and the
production time involved for each segment...  Well, John, I'll return the
favour you've done me a few times and say you should be charging way more
than you are!  You're giving away the homeworld, man!

Anyone that's been sitting on the fence over cost, realise this is an
absolute rock-bottom steal of a price he's offering--and for high-quality
instruction that you're -not- going to get anywhere else.  You learn from
the best at a fraction of what you'd pay to learn far less anywhere else.
I believed it all along, and my opinion has only multiplied by a factor of
several times after doing some research.

And I know John and his belief in quality and attention to detail.  I truly
believe that (especially from what I've seen) you're getting top-shelf,
high quality material.  He just won't let it out the door if he knows
there's a problem, and he'll bend over backwards to make it right if there
is, by some wild fluke, even a tiny problem.  The man has overnighted
replacements based on a mislabeled disc, if memory serves.  I don't know
many people that do business that way--I surely wish more did!

It is just -amazing- what this man is doing for this community.  Anyone
not taking him up on his offers is only shortchanging themselves.  I can't
help but think that after looking at market prices and especially now
knowing what's all involved in the production process.  When I used to
work in stage lighting, I gained an immense respect for the amount of work
that goes into stage productions, both theatrical and your garden variety
concert light shows.  Same thing here after having immersed myself in video
production for even a short time.

John surely didn't ask for this plug, and surely doesn't need my help.  His
work speaks for itself.  But he's a great guy, he steadfastly believes
in true quality, and he can provide insight into things that nobody else
would even come close to; so by every qualification in my own philosophy,
he deserves a lot of praise just for doing -everything- right--and then
offering it to the community for such a fraction of what would be a
reasonable ROI that it's practically free by comparison.  You can't do
anything but respect that, and I surely do.

To say nothing of the time involved in doing his GL package and his bundle
price.  Dear Lord, that is an INCREDIBLE deal.  Code you can rip wholly
or in part, learn from and/or use, plus you get the videos!  I don't even
want to contemplate the amount of time, work, and love and dedication you
put in on spec, John, but you have my sincere admiration for finishing that
project and releasing it.

And John, all I can say is that I think you deserve a lot more than a
public nod of recognition.  You've always given a lot in this community,
but sitting back and -seriously- looking at the amount of time you've
sat back alone and produced this quality work and then made it that
accessible to everyone, it's just immensely humbling and awe-inspiring.
Hats off to you, and I wish that I had your spirit of generosity, because
it really is a phenomenal spirit of giving!  Which is just like you, but
still...deserves recognition in my opinion.  When people do something I
feel is wrong or subpar, I'm the first to bitch strenuously.  When people
do something right--I feel they deserve equal measure of praise.  And this
would be a lot of that praise right here... :) I could go on for several
hundred more screens, but you get the idea...can't sing the praises loud
enough.

This community has it -really- good with John doing things like this...way
better than most of it probably realises.  Most communities never see this
level of dedication and selfless giving on the whole, let alone from a
single individual.  I hope people fully appreciate the effort and avail
themselves of the opportunities offered!

With much respect,

mark->