The 21 Convention » footage

The Wait is Over: All Event Footage Now Live for On Demand Ordering

Anthony 'Dream' Johnson — Mon, 17 May 2010 20:58:57 +0000

I can not even begin to express how big the mental sigh of relief is that I am now breathing with the complete release of all event footage from three full years of The 21 Convention.

It’s a monumental step, that took months upon months of planning and preparation, and I am beyond pleased to release them – especially in the individual format found no where else as far as I am aware.

That’s right, every single speech ever given at the convention is not only available in it’s yearly set at a reduced price, but also individually.

From Dj Fuji and Adam Lyons at The 21 Convention 2009 (~2 hours each), to “Nilatak” from The 21 Convention 2007 (~1 hour), and Johnny “Manwhore” from The 21 Convention 2008 (~2 hours).

It’s all there, every last minute of it.

We even have a new, never before seen 2009 presentation at about ~30 minutes long from “Nilatak” the 2007 speaker for all 2009 complete set orders (a special bonus).

But why put out all event footage on DVD? What’s the cause, the purpose? If it’s all free online, what reason could there be to buy the DVDs?

Well surprisingly enough, it’s you guys (attendees and online fans alike) who have urged me to release DVDs for nearly 3 years now. I have, obviously, been hesitant to do so for far too long.

Why?

Well, I knew it would be a small journey in and of itself – and it certainly has been. It’s also been a great learning experience as well though, and I am now 110% comfortable with any future video productions that need to be put to DVD. 2010 event footage is a big one obviously, but The Community Tapes will also fit nicely volume by volume onto individual DVDs for those interested in owning a physical copy.

I even have plans to release The Community Tapes on blu-ray high definition video discs along with standard DVDs =). A story for another day though.

Fearing a learning experience is only a one part of why it’s taken so long though. The other half of the equation is that it’s taken a very long time to become comfortable accepting money for something I love and pour nearly every ounce of passion I have into.

There has been a ‘gap’ or disconnect of sorts that has been difficult for me to accept and overcome personally for many years. I’m finally “okay” with it now, but it has taken me quite some time for such a simple realization – it’s okay to be compensated for your time, even when it’s spent doing something you absolutely love.

Well, that, and in real life there are hard costs that can’t always be circumvented =).

The live events are obvious ones with conference rooms, travel/hotel accommodations for select speakers, staff costs, and multiple thousands of dollars for high quality camera work.

But it goes beyond just that. The editor that does all of our major videos spent over 350 hours on volume 1 of The Community Tapes when all was said and done. That I can tell you right now, did not come cheap, despite him loving the content and supporting what we do as much or more than anyone else.

Even further, hosting videos online in the format we do is not free =). Would be nice if it was, but there are frequent video costs, domain costs, hosting costs, and so on.

Bla bla bla.

The important thing to me is just like El Topo said in his documentary interview – that we send a message to the individual, first and foremost. Everything else comes second behind that – helping people, and making a real difference in the lives of individuals.

What else could matter?

…

Enough chit chat. I’m sure plenty of people are saying “That’s nice Anthony, but I want to go buy a few DVDs, where do I buy em?, I’ll read your post later!”

HAHA

I want to say one more thing first though, that isn’t so obvious.

“Obvious” things would be technical reasons for buying the DVDs which I’ve discussed before, such as slow internet, owning a physical lifetime copy, etc.

It’s simply this – by buying a complete years set, you are supporting The 21 Convention, big time. By the same token, when purchasing an individual DVD, you are supporting The 21 Convention and future endeavors (like the documentary series), but you are also indirectly supporting the speakers.

It’s voting with your dollars as I’ve seen it called elsewhere, and DVDs flying off the shelf of a speaker tells me I need to have them back at The 21 Convention, wherever it may be.

Finally, I want to mention that for the first month a significant portion of all 2007 DVD sales (individual and set), will go directly to the camera man and video editor for 2007. His name is Peter, and he flew to the first convention on his own dollar to film it at no direct cost (meaning he charged us exactly $0).

I’ve extended my thanks to him many times (verbally and monetarily), but I would like to give him one last thanks for performing such a critical job that year when this convention was in it’s infancy.

I will also be donating a significant portion of 2008 DVD sales for the first 12 months to Michael Gottino, our current film producer/editor. In 2008 I was short many thousands of dollars for him to film the event, but he took my word and finished the event anyway – on nothing more than my promise to pay him at all costs, as soon as possible.

He didn’t have to do that, and I would like to extend my thanks to him for filming the event, and pouring his creative talent and ambition into the documentary series, event trailers, and so on.

…

And that’s about it. All the links you need are below. Everything is set up and working perfectly, including individual pictures of every single DVD available (custom to each speech).

View our official store home page here.

View all available DVD sets here.

View all 2009 individual DVDs.

View all 2008 individual DVDs.

View all 2007 individual DVDs.

And here are some more pictures (which you can alternatively click to corresponding DVD selections instead of the above links).

Hap tip to VE Photography for an amazing job.

Brief Q and A

Q: Shipping?

A: Available for all domestic and international locations (international is more expensive than domestic obviously). One speed for the time being, however you do save when you buy multiple DVDs (especially a set).

Q: Do sets come in special packaging?

A: DVDs within a yearly set come in individual DVD cases, standard to each year. All sets also come with exclusive bonus discs – of which 2009 includes 30 minutes of never before seen footage (and yes, it’s good!).

Q: What exactly is on the DVDs?

A: That’s the beauty of it – you can get an exact and entirely free preview before buying. A link is provided on each DVD page to it’s corresponding online streaming version, which is exactly what you are buying, unless otherwise stated (Manwhore 2008 for example comes un-watermarked and in a slightly higher resolution, but looks about the same). As for the menus, pretty cool, with some nifty music I picked out =D. Very basic, play, and a chapter selection (actually quite useful for speeches that include guests on stage, you’ll see what I mean).

Q: Why are the prices different for each year?

A: Individual prices reflect film quality. 2009 is basically perfect. 2007 and 2008 are great, but not quite as good as 2009. In this sense, I want people to pay accurate prices for the DVDs. $19.99 for all DVDs just didn’t seem fair considering the difference in quality, so I knocked the price of 2007/2008 DVDs down a bit.

Q: Will the DVDs work on my TV?

A: Yes, I personally guarantee it (all DVDs have been rigorously tested on 7 different DVD players, 2 different TVs, and 2 lap top computers). All DVDs are in 16×9 widescreen NTSC format however, so keep that in mind when ordering.

Special Bonus

As mentioned previously, attend both conventions this year (Stockholm and Orlando), and you will get the entire 2009 twenty disc set for free, including shipping. That’s over $300 in value, entirely free, if you attend both conventions. It’s 100% automatic, just sign up under the same name and e-mail address and we will contact you for your shipping address. Pretty sweet deal if you can make it to both historic events =).

The Most Awesome 3 Day Deal Ever: Sign Up & Get a Free DVD

Anthony 'Dream' Johnson — Thu, 06 May 2010 06:23:33 +0000

Take your pick from 40 unique DVDs.

God we have been trying to release these for so long it’s frikin demoralizing … alright, maybe not demoralizing, but it’s about time!

And hey, we’re (obviously) just about there. In fact, this is everyone’s first chance to “order”. Why the quotations? Well, ironically, you can only “order” these for free right now.

No seriously, I’m not kidding. This isn’t some stunt or gimmick, just the way things are working out chronologically – and it’s kind of funny considering the “free” history of the footage (or maybe I’m just easily amused).

So how does it work?

Like so. Sign up for either convention on Thursday May 6^th, Friday May 7^th, or Saturday May 8^th – and you can pick any non-bonus DVD you want, for free, along with your ticket – no strings attached.

No hidden shipping or handling charge (no matter where you live, United States, Europe or otherwise), and no forced monthly subscription crapola – you know, that small print often tagged at the end of a “free” offer, that ends up costing you an arm and a leg, and probably a migraine if you try to get your money back.

It’s really that simple.

Sign up May 6^th, 7^th, or 8^th, and enter the corresponding information on the ticket page after clicking the big fat “Order Now” button – which includes a shipping address, name, e-mail, and a small box for you to enter which speech you would like (it’s at the bottom).

Please include the name of the speaker, which year they spoke, and if applicable, which day of that year the speaker presented.

Basically everything you see on the entire site is available, excluding “bonus” content which is only available in a “Bonus Disc” format reserved for those who purchase an entire set (divided into years). I’ll get more into this in the next DVD post (when they go live for mass ordering), but in the meantime, you have 40 different discs to choose from for this promotion (including Q and A Panel DVDs).

19 for 2009
14 for 2008
7 for 2007

Again, one “Bonus Disc” has been created for each year, which you can only get by ordering an entire years set, but in the mean time they are not available for this promotion. So, 43 total for all three years, but only 40 are available for this Sign Up/Free DVD special.

In addition, some speeches on the site have been combined into one disc – I for example spoke twice in 2007, and both presentations are on the same disc. Guess what? Request one speech, and you’re getting both whether you like it or not!

Sweet? You bet.

Okay, anything else I should mention? Yep. How about a look at the DVD case artwork (click for a super large view).

And some real life photos of the cases (unique to each year).

Finally, a very special offer that extends well beyond three days.

by May 25^th under the same name and e-mail address, and get the entire 2009 twenty disc set, absolutely free.

That set will cost well over $200 stand alone, and includes ~30 minutes of never before seen 2009 footage. That’s right. “Nilatak” from The 21 Convention 2007 made a brief return in 2009 and the presentation is only available in DVD format at his request.

No shipping or handling charge, no bull. Just free if you attend both events. You don’t even have to do anything since we’ll be cross referencing the attendee lists.

And in case you were wondering, this offer does extend to the individuals who have already signed up for both events. We’ll be contacting you in the near future for a shipping address – unless you don’t want the 2009 set. Just let me know, I’m sure someone else will take it .

That’s it for today. The next DVD post will reveal more details, more pictures, prices, and so on for the full DVD release. And yes, you will be able to order each one individually!

-Anthony/Dream

ps- I have an impressive amount of these DVDs printed out for shipment, so no worries about running out on this special. BUT, remaining tickets in current price brackets are another matter. Currently there are 27 Orlando tickets at $299.95, and 18 Stockholm tickets at €299.95. If they run out, the ticket price jumps by 50 dollars/euros respectively. Will they in 3 days? Maybe. If they do, you’ll still get the single DVD free, or even the entire 2009 set if you attend both events, but obviously you’ll be paying a higher ticket price. You’ve been warned! =)

Mehow Day 1 T21C 2007

Anthony 'Dream' Johnson — Mon, 11 May 2009 23:18:51 +0000

Post notes and view further discussion of this speech on the forum.