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Video Options for Customers at your Dropzone

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Something that I saw in the presentation that DSE put up was the idea that customers don't like choosing between "Video or No video" but would rather have multiple choices of something to get.

Does this lead to higher % of students buying video? What does your dz offer? Do you offer HD yet? What if you don't have anyone on that day that does HD? All digital? Still analog? Handcam? I am trying to get a feel for what people are doing.

I am interested in hearing a bit more about this and some discussion on the topic. With the goal of seeing what works best and how we can present ourselves to be getting the most work we can.
~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

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I think a person either wants video or they don't. In the category of people that want it I can see some of them wanting HD.

At my DZ we don't offer it because know one is using it. They are all still using mixing boards.I'm the only one using a lap top. They are still skeptical about it because I'm slower then them. Just started using it and working it out
Never give the gates up and always trust your rears!

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We offer a few options at my home DZ.

1) Video only $75

2) Stills only $75

3) Vid/stills combo $100 (our most popular choice)

4) Hand cam $75 (offered only when we don't have enough outside video guys or enough room on the plane)

No one is shooting HD yet and we haven't had any demand for it AFAIK. I plan to make the move to HD in the next year or two if the Sony CX100 continues to get good reviews after more of them are put into service in the field. I plan to use DSE's software to speed the editing process. I may hold out for the all in one Vid/stills camera that DSE keeps hinting about so I can leave my DSLR on the ground.

Most of us are still editing analog(mixer, titlemaker). We do have a couple of guys that use NLE(computer).

I beleive all of our guys have gone to Digital Stills. We may have one or two that help out on occasion that may be using film. If I do get a student that has paid for vid only, I will tell them that I am going to shoot the stills anyway since they are digital and it doesn't cost me anything. Then, I show them the pics when we get down. 95% of the time I sell the stills! I call it the 3 S's of digital stills Shoot 'em, Show 'em and Sell 'em.

Hope this helps.

Blue Skies,
Jason

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I think a person either wants video or they don't. In the category of people that want it I can see some of them wanting HD.

At my DZ we don't offer it because know one is using it. They are all still using mixing boards.I'm the only one using a lap top. They are still skeptical about it because I'm slower then them. Just started using it and working it out



Well, that is one of the topics that I am hoping to hear some feedback on from people who have been to more than one place and talked to some customers.

Right now, we offer "No video" and "Video/Stills" as options. We don't offer HD or anything like that either. Our sales % is ok, but it could sure be better. I just have to wonder what is motivating them to buy or not.

I dunno.
~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

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We offer DVD and stills package only, no option of one or the other. We technically still have a VHS/stills package on the books, but it is a loss leader, and we hate it. It is rarely sold, but if it is, it is fairly easy to upgrade the customer right after they land and before we edit.

We all shoot film and never get complaints, but I think it would be a big problem if some shot film and some shot digital. I think we have one more year of film (I love film because I hand them the roll in the landing area and I am done with that part of it. 10 minutes later they get their DVD, and I'm off to the next customer on the next load.) Everyone edits analog. I shoot HD, but we don't offer an HD delivery (i.e. Blu-ray). Overall it is a very consistent package from one videographer to the other.

The biggest difference I see in sales rate is who is working manifest. We have a couple girls who are just clerks ("Do you want video? No? Okay."). And we have a couple (skydivers) who really sell it! One of our TIs (who is also a videographer) does a real great sales pitch if needed while gearing up his student, and he has a real good sell-through rate. If needed, he will often offer that we will film both exits and landings if it is a couple, kind of a two for one. Once I videod a bachelor party jump he sold. Eight exits and one freefall (the groom to be). Man I was long...

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People prefer choices between something and something, not something and nothing. It's an old marketing adage...
We offer:
Video/Stills (This is the only thing we advertise loudly)
Video Only
Stills Only
HD (Blu-ray or AVCHD on DVD5)
Delivery on DVD+YouTube
Delivery on DVD
Delivery to YouTube only

To add a small bit of unrelated; we use royalty-free. :P

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during the last few years our dz offered

A DVD and Digital Stills on a CD... and were provided in a custom designed DVD/CD case with professionally printed DVDs and CDs.

There has been some discussion this winter that they are going to be offering Tandem Handcam to allow the option of providing DVDs to students during the week days when dedicated Camera flyers are in limited supply...

They don't however have an option of Video Only or Digital Stills only.

Or at least haven't in the past years...
Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...

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We offer a package with a DVD and CD of digital stills, and I think it's $99. I don't think it's in writing anywhere, but we have done video or stills only on request, but I think that's like $75 for either one, and we can usually upgrade them to the package after the jump.

We used to offer just video or video/stills. This was when we shot film, and the policy was to shoot a roll on every jump (the DZ supplied the film). In about 75% of the video only jumps you could sell the roll of film after the jump (which isn't bad becasue you had nothing to show them but a used roll of film).

Either way, the year we switched over to digital stills was when we switched over to offering just the package deal, and the overall volume really didn't change. The upside to the camera flyer was you got paid for the video and stills on every jump, and there was no after selling required. The after selling itself wasn't so bad, but on a busy day if you were doing back to backs, sometimes you just didn't have time to hunt down the customer and make the pitch.

Last year we started doing some handy-cam. Not every TM was interested in doing them, and in an effort to not run the video consession out of business, the handy cams are strictly an after sale and up to the TM to bring the glove along or not. A few of the more enthusiastic TMs started shooting handy cam even if the customer paid for outside video, and on a few occasions managed to sell the handy cam footage as well, and had it edited into the outside video.

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Why not offer HD on DVD?



The main reason we don't offer an HD delivery is that I am the only videographer at my DZ that currently has the capability. Although we work for the drop zone as independent contractors, to the customer, we are all part of the same business, and we keep the products we deliver consistent from one videographer to the other. It's the same reason I mentioned earlier it would be difficult to have some offer digital stills and some film. If we offered and sold an HD package, it would cause huge headaches (and possibly hard feelings) if either the customer had to wait for one videographer to be available (if he or she is even there that day), or if one videographer scooped the next video even if it wasn't their turn in rotation. In my opinion, it would have to be a DZ decision to offer it across the board, and if you want to work as a videographer at the DZ, you have to have the capability.

BTW, as far as sales options, I think it is great to offer people upgrade options, but you have to be careful about offering them downgrade options. Yes the customer prefers a choice, but you have to balance that with the business's objectives, which is to maximize sales (the customer would like a free videos choice too, but we obviously don't offer that simply because the customer wants it). The combination of a lower priced option, and an untrained salesperson, will usually lead to customers opting for the lower priced package more often, resulting in the business leaving money on the table.

We went away from the "video only" or "stills only" options several years ago, and like a previous poster mentioned, it didn't change total number of video customers. It just raised the overall gross income to the DZ and jumpers (and simplified things as well). In our market, none of our competitors offer a video only package any more, and that may be a different dynamic in other markets. I also suspect that for most videographers in our area, it simply wouldn't be worth doing a video only or stills only jump. Tandems with both don't pay much, and it is marginally profitable to the videographers anyway. But again, offering someone something better (i.e., HD or online videos) is, IMHO, a good idea.

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Anything that will play BD content will also play AVCHD burned to a standard DVD5.
In other words, you can put HD content, with menus, on a standard DVD 5, using standard burner, and a BD player will play it.

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DVD and stills on CD. No film. VHS tape on special request (but I don't think there were any last year.)
Option not mentioned: landing stills (not part of any other package and operating as a separate concession).
Stills are displayed on a monitor easily visible by those who just jumped; they can select one (or more) and get an 8 1/2 x 11 print immediately for $25.

HW

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We have two options - handycam and video/stills. All tandems use handycam, and it's available later for $$ if they want it. Video/stills are available separately.



I wish I was still in Mesquite. I would talk Brad into offering Video or artist rendition/chalk drawing.
I would have to chrage like $900 for the drawing since I'm not artist and it would take forever to draw.
I'm sure it would make the price of video seem like its free.
My photos

My Videos

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