Making videos

[Starjumper]

My fearless clan leader told me I should make some videos ... and so ... I like to do what he suggests.

 

I'm going to make some freebies to use as bait, which I know how to do on Utube, but what I'm curious to know is how to sell DVDs.

 

I was thinking it would be great if Amazon wold print DVDs on demand just like they do for books.  The can print and sell and I can trust them, except I don't think they do it for DVDs.  I have a high quality DVD burner here, but the postal system is useless.  It can take a month for something to go from here to leaving Quito and it isn't cheap.  FedX is fast but they charge $70.

 

I imagine there is some company in the US that can print DVDs, but I don't know if it can be done 'on demand' or if any of them will do it at no charge.  (Amazon charges nothing for their service, they just send the money).

 

Then there's this newfangled stuff, where people buy virtual DVDs, but I don't know anything about that.

Edited May 21, 2019 by Starjumper

[dawei]

I think sharing your teaching would be good.  I'd likely look at making virtual accessible DVDs... or offer free pickup 

 

On Amazon or Ebay you can be a seller but I recently heard that Amazon requires more personal info for taxes issues.  Not sure if that causes issues for you.   I sell on Ebay and while I don't have a 'store', one can be created but likely some fees.

[welkin]

16 hours ago, Starjumper said:

My fearless clan leader told me I should make some videos ... and so ... I like to do what he suggests.

 

I'm going to make some freebies to use as bait, which I know how to do on Utube, but what I'm curious to know is how to sell DVDs.

 

I was thinking it would be great if Amazon wold print DVDs on demand just like they do for books.  The can print and sell and I can trust them, except I don't think they do it for DVDs.  I have a high quality DVD burner here, but the postal system is useless.  It can take a month for something to go from here to leaving Quito and it isn't cheap.  FedX is fast but they charge $70.

 

I imagine there is some company in the US that can print DVDs, but I don't know if it can be done 'on demand' or if any of them will do it at no charge.  (Amazon charges nothing for their service, they just send the money).

 

Then there's this newfangled stuff, where people buy virtual DVDs, but I don't know anything about that.

 

To be honest, nothing should be on DVD. So your problem is solved there. A good looking business model looks to be Damo Mitchell's.

 

All videos are online, and he specifically put his Foundations of Qigong on Vimeo, where you can purchase it.

As far as videos 2 mains ways to do it:
- Put it on publishing platforms one being Vimeo

- create a membership site where people have to pay to get access.

 

Only issue here is people can just dl and spread it everywhere, and poeple can get it for free. But you can do that for DVDs anyways. i wouldn't worry.

[Starjumper]

I was wondering about that,  I suppose no matter how you offer it in electronic form that there is a way to download it, but evidently people are making videos and DVDs and making some income from them.

 

The postal/shipping problem here kind of forces an online version of distribution.

 

Is Vimeo the one with monthly charges for viewers, that could work, but maybe having a forum with private access rooms would be better for my style.  I had a forum, and it took a lot of my time, but this would be different.

 

Actually I'm not too keen on making chi kung videos for sale any more, I never was, but now the main reason is I don't want to compete with Them.   I should be making money from the book soon so I'm thinking of making some free videos.  I could make a video about how to practice Chen tai chi basic movement patterns, but who wants basics?  The free videos I'm thinking of making are more along the lines of spiritual chi kung.

 

Sometimes it seems like almost everyone is clamoring for high energy or high power spiritual/meditation practices and all that is available is some horse pucky for sale in books, and some wimpy chi kung.  It really does look like there is not the slightest hint of high power spiritual chi kung offered to the public, whether for free or not.

 

Before I always thought that people should do it the old fashioned way, you know, building up the power in their bodies to high levels first and getting well grounded before blowing their lid off.  Well it seems like a whole bunch want to skip the basics, and the other bunch got stuck in the basics with no where to go because their teachers don't know either.

 

So now I'm thinking, what the hell.  I'll just share some of the high power head energy stuff and the hell with the basics and getting grounded.  Instead of building power and doing it right way we can try an experiment by skipping the first 9,500 techniques and instead sharing a few of the high energy techniques right at the start and see if it catches on, or even if anyone does it.  The hell with safety or feedback, I'll just put a warning on the videos.

 

There are some catches though.

 

 

 

Edited May 25, 2019 by Starjumper

[Starjumper]

and the motivation for making such videos is to aid in the awakening of mankind.  YAhahaha

Edited May 26, 2019 by Starjumper

[Starjumper]

I have some videos I could sell of Mr. Yueng doing chi kung.  The marketing could go something like this:

 

This is a video of one of the more powerful qigong masters in the world doing Tien Shan Chi Kung.  

This is a most rare chance to see the chi kung that Bruce Lee's main teacher did for his own cultivation.

This is not like some chi kung systems that have been fabricated by mediocre masters for public consumption.

 

How much do you think something like that would be worth?

[Pilgrim]

2 hours ago, Starjumper said:

I have some videos I could sell of Mr. Yueng doing chi kung.  The marketing could go something like this:

 

This is a video of one of the more powerful qigong masters in the world doing Tien Shan Chi Kung.  

This is a most rare chance to see the chi kung that Bruce Lee's main teacher did for his own cultivation.

This is not like some chi kung systems that have been fabricated by mediocre masters for public consumption.

 

How much do you think something like that would be worth?

For those wanting to learn priceless. Here is a thought you could check and see why is involved to sell it in two different ways.

 

#1. Already being a book seller on Amazon see what it will take to sell via their video service.

 

#2. Do this with Apple also.

 

#3. Do this with You Tube subscription services ( Not Sure If they sell outright or not like the other two.

 

The minute you let physical unencrypted media loose you are done, at least this way you limit digital theft or mitigate it to some degree and obtain world wide distribution channels second to none.

 

You may also want to consider inserting yourself practicing and further explaining what your teacher is doing.

 

you have a good video presence and a good voice.

 

BTW is the book done yet?

[Starjumper]

It seems certain that the editor will be done with his part the end of this month, then I have to review the edits that he suggests.  I'm guessing that will be around a week.  Then Amazon takes three days to start producing.

 

One of my brothers is selling a DVD of Mr. Yueng doing Tien Shan chi kung for $35, so if I offer the videos I have I'll go for a similar price.  The thing is that the videos are like small snap shots of a vast system and I'm wonder if anyone will get anything out of them, if it's worth it for them?   I mentioned the idea to my wife and she asked why I would want to sell those and I said "I don't know, that's a good question."  I was just thinking about possibilities.  I guess the reason is for this vague concept called 'establishing a marketing presence' (to go along with the book), and the marketing presence would be for the free 'spiritual chi kung videos'  I want to make.  Marketing free stuff, ya, that's my speed.

 

With Amazon I could sell the videos as unlisted or as private.  With unlisted people could share with anyone and everyone.  With private only people who give an email address can watch the video and it is limited to fifty.  I guess if it goes to fifty I could look for a different method.  I'm going to check into Patreon and Vimeo some more.  I would feel better having a forum that offers different videos for different subscribers or buyers.

 

Actually I'm more focussed on what I called the spiritual chi kung videos, like I mentioned earlier there's a catch to it, and the big catch is that I'm only willing to offer a free method that most chi kung 'resellers' are too weak to imitate.  Then the problem becomes that most seekers will also be too weak to do it, however I think some people with the right stuff will make themselves strong enough if they are properly motivated.  Proper motivation comes mostly from enjoying a lot of energy in their heads.

 

I don't think I want to make a 'proper' video with a whole set of the high energy head stuff because it's a sin to do that without having a person learn the power methods first, and that is only done in person over a period of years.  What I'll offer for free is just a few methods taken out of context, like a couple of techniques out of the many.

 

The reason is that the big imaginary dilemma for me is that if I offer some of this high energy spiritual methods that the amateurs with the big followings will start making copycat videos and then selling them.  I just hate giving away anything to the resellers ... and my teacher told me this: "NEVER TEACH FOR FREE!"  Therefore I can only offer bait for free, however, the bait may set them free.

 

... except if people get it for free then they won't value it.  Maybe I should forget making videos.

 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by Starjumper

[Pilgrim]

Focus on what you want to do. You are a bit scattered. What is it you want to give? What is it you need to survive well? 

 

Then decide what to sell, if your teacher said never for free and you honor him then there is only one way you must charge.

 

Money is energy in exchange. You know this.

[Starjumper]

Yes, I'm kind of scattered now, in limbo just waiting on the editor.  I'm just thinking how this video stuff could play out since my leader/brother suggested it.  Of course these things have been on a back burner for years.  I guess I could put out Mr. Yueng's videos in any case, because that's one reason he made them, I'm just kind of reticent about sharing him with the public ... but ... one of my brothers is doing it so I guess I can too.

 

What I need to survive should come from the book.

 

What I want to give?  Well this will sound kind of corny, or real corny, but I was thinking that if enough people amplified the energy in their heads that it might help along some kind of global shift that all the new agers are raving about.  It would be an interesting experiment.

 

I could sell single technique videos for cheap, like a dollar.  See, I'm an analyzer, and too many choices causes catatonia.

 

So the big question is how to do that,  I pretty much have given up on doing it the old fashioned way

[Pilgrim]

Ahhh paralysis by analysis. My 2 cents worth Best to take two days off from trying to figure it out just say screw it and tell answer come to me or I will do nothing!

 

I have faith you will find the best way. 

[Starjumper]

On 5/21/2019 at 10:20 AM, dawei said:

I think sharing your teaching would be good.  I'd likely look at making virtual accessible DVDs... or offer free pickup 

 

I looked up virtual accessible DVDs on Bing and it took me back to this thread.  I assume that you mean like Vimeo or Patreon?

 

On 5/21/2019 at 10:20 AM, dawei said:

 

On Amazon or Ebay you can be a seller but I recently heard that Amazon requires more personal info for taxes issues.  Not sure if that causes issues for you.   I sell on Ebay and while I don't have a 'store', one can be created but likely some fees.

 

I have the Amazon tax/bank thing taken care of already, but to sell via Ebay I would need a helper in the US, which is possible.

[Starjumper]

Getting back to these free videos.  I wasn't thinking of having much of Tien Shan chi kung in them at all.  I fact I can give it away for free because it's already in the pubic domain, maybe it's one of those secrets that's out in the open.  Anyway, the idea is to present this kind of thing.  I think everyone has seen this before, it's trying to tell ya'll something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyone notice anything = )  ?

 

This is spiritual zhan zhaung, and there are other postures too.  I made a video of this kind of standing meditation and put it in my ppf as an experiment.  I said it was just some spontaneous random chi kung, but it was in fact this type of high energy head stuff I've been talking about here.  The experiment was to see if anyone liked it and what I saw was that after the initial views that no one wanted to come back to it, it also shows that the views were very brief so hardly anyone got in to it.

 

It also entails a certain bitter truth that many won't like and that is that high energy practices all require high strength to do them, and the high energy spiritual ones require a lot of shoulder strength.  Ideally they should be done with relaxed shoulders.

 

But if I repackage that stuff in new age psychobable  'Miracle high energy spiritual practice just discovered yesterday' maybe some people will do it.

 

What about that first picture.  What's he got in his hands anyway?

 

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by Starjumper

[Starjumper]

OK, I found what I need to make and sell DVDs, so now we're in business:

 

Amazon Media on Demand

 

I suppose that it is just as easy for someone to make copies of online videos as it is to make copies of physical ones.

Edited May 28, 2019 by Starjumper

[Bruce Qi]

there is also purple player which is pretty good against illegal copies

[rideforever]

Meh ... that's a small market.

Better to organise qigong retreats in the hippie/yoga areas within reach.

Get local contact or work with a retreat centre, do a course every quarter.

Something like that.

Every few months you do a weekend east, a weekend west, a weekend north, then head back home.

[windwalker]

On 5/21/2019 at 7:41 AM, Starjumper said:

I'm going to make some freebies to use as bait, which I know how to do on Utube, but what I'm curious to know is how to sell DVDs.

 

 

You might want to look at what some taiji teachers do for online training courses.

 

They have YouTube or some Internet site that host the clips, access to it blocked by a password which probably changes each month, there is a fee required to get access to it.

 

 

[rideforever]

An interesting question is are there any video sharing sites that are difficult to pirate ... i.e. download.

Well ... there may well be ways to make your videos difficult.

One way is to chop them up into several sections ... which may be put in a container.

I seem to remember that gumroad was hard to pirate but I don't know really if that's true anymore.

It seems some sites may be impossible to pirate (download).

Where to get good information on this ?

 

Another interesting thing I have found is that if you use really old software to make a DVD, and really mess everything up with chapters indexing and so on ... it is absolutely impossible to burn to your computer.  I have found this with a number of amateurish DVDs.   Whether you could do this intentionally ... might be possible.   That means people would always have to use the DVD.

 

They are not copy-protected, but ... the way they have been indexed, menued, collated and ordered just breaks any software that tries to copy them.  It's quite hilarious actually.   You can sort of rip out sections of the DVD but it's not easy and you just get a mess out of them.

 

Edited May 28, 2019 by rideforever

[rideforever]

If you do some retreats marketed as Tantric NonDuality Sex Qigong or Tolerance Respect and Equality Qigong (TREQ) , you know all the popular stuff ... I am sure you will be overrun.

[Spotless]

I have not read many threads here so this may have been covered but:

DVD’s are essentially dead - many don’t have DVD players - if it’s a hard copy it’s on a flash / thumb drive.

 

Everything is download and I assume this has been covered.

 

It is very easy to watermark a video and get it flagged if someone has put it online without your permission.

 

monetizing is easy and storage is easy. Vimeo and Dropbox come to mind.

Putting up and taking down is super simple.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Starjumper]

14 hours ago, Spotless said:

I have not read many threads here so this may have been covered but:

DVD’s are essentially dead - many don’t have DVD players - if it’s a hard copy it’s on a flash / thumb drive.

 

Everything is download and I assume this has been covered.

 

It is very easy to watermark a video and get it flagged if someone has put it online without your permission.

 

monetizing is easy and storage is easy. Vimeo and Dropbox come to mind.

Putting up and taking down is super simple.

 

That's the kind of thing I needed to hear, thanks.  A watermark is kind of like a permanent little subtitle that floats around in an assigned spot off to the side, right?  I think I can do that with my iMovie creator.  Or is watermarking related to some kind of automatic flagging system?

 

Concerning the intended market, it is only well to do successful people, and I imagine that they will mostly have proper DVD players?

 

Amazon still sells a lot of DVDs so I think I'll work on the hard copy route at first.

Edited May 29, 2019 by Starjumper

[Starjumper]

On 5/28/2019 at 12:09 PM, rideforever said:

If you do some retreats marketed as Tantric NonDuality Sex Qigong or Tolerance Respect and Equality Qigong (TREQ) , you know all the popular stuff ... I am sure you will be overrun.

 

I prefer if the crowds stay on the other side of the mountain pass from here and just watch videos instead.

[Spotless]

On 5/29/2019 at 1:22 PM, Starjumper said:

 

That's the kind of thing I needed to hear, thanks.  A watermark is kind of like a permanent little subtitle that floats around in an assigned spot off to the side, right?  I think I can do that with my iMovie creator.  Or is watermarking related to some kind of automatic flagging system?

 

Concerning the intended market, it is only well to do successful people, and I imagine that they will mostly have proper DVD players?

 

Amazon still sells a lot of DVDs so I think I'll work on the hard copy route at first.

Yes - a watermark is a constant and it can also be done as nearly transparent so that it can be across the entire bottom third of a video if desired. Sometimes if you put it into a corner area small enough people will edit it out and republish.

 

But - this is not really an enormous problem - most watermarks will easily do the trick and yes you can do it in iMovie.

 

Regarding the wealthy having DVD’s

Actually the most up to date tech people my have dropped DVD’s and DVD players entirely.

(I had to go out and buy an external DVD player)

 

Not one young new student wants a DVD - but every one of them wants either a downloadable video or a thumb drive.

 

You can certainly ship Amazon your CD’s and many people may purchase them but you might be surprised - your interested parties demographics may not be older lower tech people.

 

All of the older students in my classes have expensive phones and downloading is how they work - they want the vids on their phones and don’t really do the - put the disc in your computer and then plug in your phone and sit there while it transfers thing - I know I don’t - and have not for many years now.

 

I remember once creating an app for iPhones-only and a friend thought I was nuts because so many more people owned other platforms - then I mentioned that 90% of my demographics were iphone users.

 

Not trying to beat a dead horse here but go the extra 3 feet and figure out how to offer downloading 😎

 

Once you get it figured out it will be all done by finger touch or voice command and no shipping and product that is tangible.

 

Also - and this is a huge plus - you can edit all content offered at any time!  Hard shipped copies do not offer that option. 

 

Also - scratched copies, copies with screwed up labels, returns - these are all negated to extinction with downloadables.

 

I’m about to turn on my primary computer after putting down this iphone - it’s an Apple Air - they don’t have DVD players. Our household does not have a desktop - though I do have several large design screens  

I can plug into as well as drawing tablet accessories.

 

My son’s PS4 has a DVD player - forgot about that - 😎

 

Anyway - just some thoughts!

 

Added:

A whole bunch of students want vids for vacations and when they are traveling. Few take CD’s or Cassette’s or 8 tracks but they do some times take:

 

128Gb iphone storage device.

 

My phone has 128 Gb storage as well - enough for about 45 hi def movies.

 

 

 

Edited June 2, 2019 by Spotless

[Spotless]

https://www.practicalecommerce.com/12-platforms-to-sell-digital-downloads

[Starjumper]

21 hours ago, Spotless said:

Not one young new student wants a DVD - but every one of them wants either a downloadable video or a thumb drive.

 

You can certainly ship Amazon your CD’s and many people may purchase them but you might be surprised - your interested parties demographics may not be older lower tech people.

 

Thanks for the updates.  I joined Vimeo but now i need to buy into it in  order to upload bigger files.

 

I tried to upload my Tien Shan video to Amazon but it's not working.  iMovie makes an mp4 file but Amazon needs an .ISO file, so I bought video converter software for mac and found out that there are different ISO types, so I converted it to .vob. because it is one of the .ISO types.  Well Amazon won't accept a .vob file, so I changed the name to .iso and it did upload, but now I get  a message that there was a problem with the file and I need to contact support.  Any ideas from you computer wizards out there in computer land?

 

So I guess I'll buy in to Vimeo now and try that.  I noticed that the video converter has vimeo listed onit so I guess I need to change the file type for that.

Edited June 3, 2019 by Starjumper