Do You Want to Play a Game?

Did you ever play a game of Monopoly that seemed to go on forever? Remember those days? I do. I remember Monopoly games that went on for days and days. Us kids would play as long as we could stay awake and then some. It was just so fun! Maybe Monopoly was not your game. Maybe your game was Scrabble, Risk or Life or almost any card game. Playing games is important of growing up. They teach us life skills, strategy and competition in a safe environment. 

Running a business is pretty much like playing a game. There’s strategy, skills and competition. The business game, just like Monopoly, goes on and on. It’s really fun and sometimes it’s a real challenge. It’s exciting. I can’t wait each day to get up and play the Home Video Studio game. Plus I get paid to play! 

The Home Video Studio game starts again this coming Saturday and you are invited to play. 

On Saturday, October 20^thI will be holding a seminar on how to play the HVS game: getting started, equipment you will need, how and where you can play, and of course… the rules of the game (by the way… also the name of an awesome 1939 French film directed by Jean Renoir – check it out).

Join us for our Show ‘N Tell Saturday seminar on Saturday, October 20, 2018. The game will be played in our flagship studio in Indianapolis, Indiana. Veteran Home Video Studio Owners – game players - Tony and Lori Melendez will be attending. They’re part of our new studio development team. 

You can bring your team member too. Bring your spouse, partner, friend, advisor, son, daughter, etc. Don’t miss this game. 

Game play for this Saturday will include:

The Home Video Studio game board – the HVS Experience

Working from home or a retail storefront – Play the game from anywhere!

Training and support – strategy and skills 

Equipment packages – choose your game pieces

Marketing & advertising – essential rules of the game

Getting started and ramp up times – How much it costs to play

Playing the game & making money – How much you can make!

Oh and a bonus for you… come and play with us on Saturday. If you want to keep playing after Saturday, we take care of your travel costs to Show ‘N Tell Saturday! Book your hotel and flights today. Call for details. 

Call 1-317-358-5932 or 1-866-714-1956 now to set up your reservation and start playing the game. Or you can simply reply to this email. Space for this game is limited so call now.

Remember you are never too old to start playing the game. The important thing is to get in the game! 

Oh… and one more thing… once you start playing the game, you won’t want to stop - ever!  I am playing it right now. So fun! 

May the Force be with You!

Robert Hanley

Producer/Director/Editor

President & Founder - Home Video Studio.

Peter Galluzzo of Home Video Studio Apex, NC wins The Hanley for Best of Show - The President's Award

Peter Galluzzo won the President's Award-Best of Show at this year's Hanley Awards in Tucson, AZ. His video Pond Hockey 2018 was totally awesome. Congratulations to Peter and the other half of Home Video Studio Apex, NC Sharon Galluzzo. 

Stuck in a job/career you don't like?

Join this Webinar:

How to Start Your Own Video Business

Friday, August 31, at 2:00 pm EDT

WE'll HELP YOU GET UNSTUCK!

Click Here to Register now!

You Can Own A Successful

Video Business!

No Experience Needed

Complete Training Program

Low Investment

Not a Franchise!

Work From Home or Office

Fantastic Marketing Plan

Full or Part-Time

What happens when passion meets purpose?

Every day when I wake up I ask myself these three questions. 

What am I excited about (what am I looking forward to)?

What am I grateful for?

What is my purpose?

I like to live in the “now” but I find that looking forward to a task or event helps me focus on what needs to be done today and during the week. I always want something to look forward to. I need that. 

Showing gratitude (even when no one is looking) is not only important but it helps me focus on my purpose. I try to express gratitude to the people who are important to me (my mentors, friends, associates and family).  These are the people who help me with my purpose – the really important people in my life. I always want to make sure they know how much I appreciate them. 

And that leaves purpose. A great and worthy purpose is not easy to find (although sometimes purpose finds you!). I hope you have one (or two) in your life. So every day I consider the following:  what is my purpose, what am I doing to achieve that purpose and why is my purpose important to me? 

Why is the most important question because your “why” should lead you to your passion and your purpose. For nearly twenty years my passion has been to help others into a new career in video. For the nearly twenty years before that my passion was (and remains) video, film, story telling and media creation in general. 

I have been lucky in that I have been able to merge both of my passions into a life I love and one that I feel is worthy. I thank God and the Universe daily for this. I am grateful. 

If you are lucky enough to find a life purpose that is also your passion make sure to express your gratitude. You are one lucky individual! 

May the Force Be With You

Robert Hanley

President & Founder

Home Video Studio

Could You Make A Living Editing Video?

Have you ever wondered if you could make a great living simply with video editing? You can!

Don’t know how to edit? Don’t worry! One of the first classes you will take at HVS Basic Training is Video Editing. We use a great system by Adobe called Premiere Pro. Premiere Pro is a professional-level editing platform but it is easy to learn. 

Home Video Studio takes you through a two day training program on Premiere during your first week of Basic Training here in Indianapolis. We also offer advanced courses throughout the year and provide on-going technical support. 

Typical jobs range from editing somebody’s wedding or vacation to putting together a promotional piece for a small company or organization. Video Editing is my favorite profit center for three reasons:

1   It is extremely creative and challenging! Customers always have a variety of elements for you to draw from. Your job is to put these elements together in a way that makes your client’s message shine. 

2  I like the fact that you can edit anytime or anywhere. So you can be in your studio editing early in the morning or late at night or you may be editing down at the local coffee shop. Why not?

3  Editing is a very profitable service for your new studio. We do a lot of value added productions which means that you can set the price of your editing job not on the time it took to do the piece but on the value that it gives to your customer. Video Editing is a value added service. 

We’ll teach you to multitask in your studio so you can be editing and your other services will be running in the background. At HVS it is all about putting together a good solid creative product for your client and of course… making money. 

Call me at 1-317-358-5932 if you want to discuss video editing or any facet of Home Video Studio. 

I would be happy to chat with you. 

May the Force be with You!

Robert Hanley

Producer/Director/Editor

President & Founder

Home Video Studio

Competing in a Video Competition

John and Tammy Montgomery, Home Video Studio, Newark, Ohio

This is the time of year that our Home Video Studio Owners once again begin to gather up all of the videos they have produced during the last year or so and enter into our annual competition: the Hanley Awards; in fact, this will be the 18th Annual Hanley Awards. Hard to believe… time flies.co

So when you first hear about Home Video Studio and you begin to put together what we are about and what we do for HVS owners, customers, and the general public... well it’s a lot to chew on. I always say that new owners only see the tip of the iceberg before they sign on. There is just so much good stuff about Home Video Studio. That’s why I sometimes refer to everything HVS as "The Home Video Studio Universe." 

Since 2001, we have produced the Hanley Awards. This is an international competition for Home Video Studio Network Owners – similar to the Oscars. Seriously! Each Hanley Award is 24k Gold and is made by the same company that makes the Oscars. We shell out $226.00 for each award and produce an elaborate ceremony with all the trimmings. 

Find a way to compete. Join the club. Enter the fray. Jump in the pool. Get wet. You won’t sink.

I am not sure if you have ever competed in an awards competition. Let me tell you something… when you do… if you do… if you enter and compete in any competition, you will get better at what you do just by virtue of entering and competing. Competition is a wonderful forge. It makes you stronger. 

I mean we all have goals… right? Your goal may be to get into the video business. It might be to become a filmmaker or to make a movie. If you want to get better at your craft, find a way to compete. 

So eighteen years ago, we began with the first annual Hanley Awards held at the Hard Rock Hotel - Universal Studios, Florida. We did not call them the Hanleys that night. I don’t have that kind of ego. They were referred to as the first Annual Home Video Studio Awards Competition. Seven Owners attended and I even gave awards to my family that night. 

Several years later Studio Owner Andy Conte coined the moniker: “Hanley Awards” and it stuck. We made it a Black Tie event and the rest is history. 

This year we have eighteen categories:

1. Best Photo Video Keepsake
2. Best Sports Video
3. Best Documentary
4. Cut and Paste Award for Editing
5. Best TV/Web Video
6. Best Video Production
7. Best Event Video
8. Best Short Video 
9. Best Long Form Video
10. Best Memorial Video 
11. Best Company Promo 
12. Best Studio Promo/Trailer/Tag
13. Best Rookie Video
14. Best Use of Post Production
15. “Dr. Strangelove” Award
16. Best DVA Authoring
17. Best Backlot Video
18. President's Award - "Best of Show" (Selected from above)

This summer on the evening of Saturday, July 28, HVS owners will once again convene, this time at the Hilton El Conquistador Golf and Tennis Resort in Tucson, Arizona. We will see who wins but to win you have to enter! (to enter you have to become an owner…). Get the drift?

What's good for the goose...

Several years ago yours truly decided to enter the Sundance Film Festival. It took a huge effort. I spent about 200 hours editing together an eleven-minute film from about nine hundred hours of video. Yep, you heard that right… nine hundred hours of video. I did not win. I was not nominated. But I got better at my craft. I found out what worked and what would not work. Plus, by virtue of entering I found myself with a professional listing on IMBD. That was cool. 

My point with this email/blog is this. Find a way to compete. Join the club. Enter the fray. Jump in the pool. Get wet. You won’t sink.

Don't let fear hold you back. 

You will be better for the process. 

May the Force be with You.

Robert Hanley

Producer/Director/Editor

President & Founder Home Video Studio

317-358-5932

It's not the Equipment...

Yesterday, I blogged about our new Home Video Studio packages and system pricing.

I received many emails and phone calls. I also received the following email message this morning.

Sorry I am not interested. I can have those equipments less than almost half of those price. 

Thanking you 

I wrote back and briefly explained that it is not about the equipment. It is about what you do with the equipment. I thought I would expand on this concept today.

Our expertize is what our clients pay us for. We know a thing or two about equipment.

So it is not about the equipment…  but it is about the equipment.

If you want to be in this business – become a video producer, production company, director, etc. most likely the first thing you will do (or have already done) is to search for some equipment. You’ll look at cameras and editing software. You’ll explore lighting and mikes. You’ll either go PC or Mac. There are literally hundreds of decisions you will have to make.

Just as an artist might pick out their paints and brushes. You will choose your gear. The fact is you will not only make a lot of mistakes with your purchases but when you put the equipment first you are focusing on the wrong area. You are starting off on the wrong foot.  

The studio equipment you start out with is important but more imperative is how you use that equipment. If equipment is your first priority, you could go out of business within a few months to a year.

It’s not the equipment. It’s what you’ll do with it. Instead of asking questions about equipment, focus on these types of questions first.

How will you get the word out? How will you find customers? How will you price your services? Who will build your website? Who will write the copy? How will they know what to write? How will you advertise and market your services to your community? How will you learn marketing, advertising, the art of editing and filmmaking?

These are valid and important questions. There are hundreds of others as well.

It’s all about priorities… knowing which questions to ask first, second and third and having the answers readily available to you. This is where Home Video Studio comes in.

We know what to teach you first, second and third. We know the answers to your questions before you even think of them. That’s why people pay us.

So yes we have a fantastic equipment package but much more than that, we have a wonderful method of teaching you how to use your new Home Video Studio equipment. We are a short cut to creative and financial success.

Should you become a Home Video Studio Owner, you will purchase your own equipment with our counsel from our detailed shopping list. You may already have some gear – a camera, computer, and Adobe software subscription or other items. That’s fine and if you do, that will save you money upfront. Just don’t get fixated on the gear. Let’s focus on what to do with your studio equipment package and how to use it to provide you and your family the income and lifestyle you desire.

Check out our website for more info: www.myhomevideostudio.com.

May the Force be with You.

Robert Hanley

Producer/Director/Editor

President & Founder Home Video Studio

317-358-5932

Home Video Studio Announces Three New Studio Packages

It's our 20th Year Anniversary! We've rolled back prices and... ...increased Studio Equipment Packages.

We're excited to announce our three new Home Video Studio packages. Every Home Video Studio Package includes: Our HVS Signature Edit Desk, HVS Production Package - Sony Video Camera, Tripod, Grip, Sound, Lighting, Green Screen, Apple Computer, DVA Deluxe DVA and DVD Automated Authoring System and much, much more! It's like Christmas morning when your package arrives! Tons of gear, software and supplies. Includes our 12 month training & support program. Plus Twenty-one days of in person training!

The Editor - $59,990.00 The Director - $64,990.00  The Producer - $74,990.00 Call us today to find out which package is right for you!

Here's how we work things at Home Video Studio. Every studio package comes with our Cinema Academy - 21 days of "live"in person training and our 365 days of counsel and support. You're either coming to us or we are coming to you.  It all starts with: Basic Training - Five days in Indianapolis.  This is where we take you through pricing and sales and the mechanics of getting business - two very important items. You'll spend two full days with Robert Hanley and the rest of the time you'll be with our tech team. They'll take you two days of Adobe Premiere Pro and Post Production as well as a day to day operations. Plus will all all go out to dinner on Wednesday evening with our team and other new studio attendees. Basic Training Starts on Monday and ends at 4:00 pm on Friday.  Installation Training – Five days at your location.  We come to your place - your city and install your studio and train you. Our installer will spend three days setting up, installing and testing your studio as well as training you on the system. Robert Hanley personally travels to your location and trains you too. Robert wants to make sure you get off to the right start. There's a lot to learn and much to do.  Advanced Training - Six days in Indianapolis.  This is our Mini College of HVS. You arrive on Sunday. We'll have a cocktail party that night and then begin on Monday morning. Monday is all marketing – getting business. On Tuesday we’ll offer three tracks and then four tracks for Wednesday through Saturday. What will classes all of that entail? Here is a glimpse of what we will cover: Beginning Photoshop, Photoshop for Video, Premiere Pro, Audition, After Affects, Editing and the Art of editing, Photos in Motion for Photo Keepsakes, and a bunch smaller plug ins for all of the above. Production wise, well will get into Cameras, Lighting, Greenscreen, Makeup, Sound Recording, DVA, post-production, special effects and more. We also have tracks all week covering Advertising, Marketing, Sales, Role Play, Closing the Sale, Quickbooks, Daily Operations, customer service, etc. We have events almost every night so you can get to know new owners and veterans and they can get to know you too. Plus all of the studios will usually go out to dinner and to a movie as a group. On Thursday evening we’ll have the Celebration Dinner – that is in honor of all the new studios we have for this particular training. Hopefully You!!! Training finishes up on Saturday.  The Getaway (Our Annual Conference) – In Tucson, AZ – Five Days of Training Plus the 18th Annual Hanley Awards. We're going back to Tucson for the second year in a row. Once again, will have our own Hollywood backlot too! It’s so cool – a Western town backlot for all five days. The Getaway will include core classes on Premiere Pro, Photoshop, After Affects, Audition, Camera, Lighting, DSLs, Sound and more but also we will be doing extreme production: We’ll do our HVS Flight School (Drones) for a full day, There will be a five day Documentary Style Video Production Course – this is full emersion. Chris Magee from Australia will be teaching Production, Lighting and DSLR Classes. Tony and Lori Melendez will teach weddings and events. Of course we will have some really cool elective classes as well as Marketing, Sales and Advertising. Join us for the President & Founder’s Cocktail party and also compete in the 18th Annual Hanley Awards. Dust off your Tux! All of our new packages include our support for your first 12 months after installation. You'll receive needed advertising pieces, business cards, websites, and more.  There is a lot to building a successful Home Video Studio business. I suggest you listen to my audio program: "How to Start & Run Your Own Home Video Studio" part 1 and 2. It explains the entire HVS system. Come to Indianapolis and attend our Show 'N Tell Saturday. We'll take you though everything about running a new studio. I know you have questions so please fell free to call! Have a great week! You'll never know all the answers when you start, but when you take that first step it will be so rewarding.  All you have to do is... start! Call us. May the Force be with You. Robert Hanley Producer/Director/Editor President & Founder Home Video Studio 317-358-5932

Moving Forward With A Life Change...

Moving Forward...

When I was 19, I worked at the Covington IGA on the night crew stocking groceries. One day – it was August – a hot August morning, I got off work and started to drive home. It would have been a short drive – like five minutes – but at the last minute, I made a hard right hand turn on to US 136 and instead of going home, I drove seventeen miles to the local community college and enrolled for the Fall semester.

I had often considered making that hard right instead of going straight home and I can’t say what finally motivated me to do so on that hot August morning but before I knew it, my life was taking on a new, fresh direction. I had broken out of a rut – broken the mold so to speak.

This has happened to me many times over the course of many years. It’s the way successful people move forward. It’s how they make huge achievements in their lives.

It’s scary because you take a risk when you make a move. You risk your time, your money, your prestige and your future. But once you have taken that step, made that “hard right”, you feel so much better because you have empowered yourself.

"It’s scary because you take a risk when you make a move."

You in turn will eventually empower someone else.

Are you on the verge of something big? Is it your time? Can you see the signs? Can you feel it?

If your dream is having your own video business, make a “hard right” and call me.

1-317-358-5932.

May the Force be with You.

Robert Hanley

Producer/Director/Editor

CEO & Founder

Home Video Studio & Digital Video Archive