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VideoBoss from Andy Jenkins is easily my highest ticket marketing product purchase. I thought long and hard before signing up and didn’t jump in the minute the doors opened. I knew it would sell out fast so that risky little gap of a couple of hours between launch and buy-in became a measure of how much I genuinely wanted to be part of this project.

I’ve had a chance to review 20 or so of the early presentations in both the theoretical and practical modules so here are my early impressions.

I was warned in advance the material would be challenging. I was warned again at sign-up this isn’t a course for those who aren’t prepared to commit a significant chunk of time to learning new and potentially complex skills. But even forewarned it still provoked a “wow” response when I got a first look at the content.

Two modules are accessible during the first week.

The first is a theoretical grounding in video production ranging from audience research through to post production and distribution with topics such as goal assessment, script writing, storyboarding, pre-production, hardware and software, sound mixing and editing, video formats, etc. broken into sub modules and presented in a series of short but detail packed presentations.

The second module is practical and covers mostly the same topics but this time as over-the-shoulder demonstrations of the theory being applied.

All the while a relaxed, informative and authoritative Andy Jenkins provides narration which is, by design, more in-depth than the key points being covered visually. Everything is expertly paced and it’s easy to follow along although I’ve often used rewind to go back and get my head around new ideas as they are introduced.

Once a presentation has ended there is always an urge to move to the next. I’ve decided to fly through the first two modules in entirety without getting bogged down in note taking and I’ll go back later and spend more time with each video until I’m happy I have a firm grasp of the content. This way, the second time around (and third, fourth and fifth I suspect) I’ll be much more familiar with video production so the learning should start to bite.

But even now the training is paying off. For example, one technique revealed in the practical videos induced a head-slapping moment where a question that had bugged me for a long time was finally answered. “So THAT’S how you do that!” I won’t reveal the details as it’s one of Andy’s “special sauce” tips. But the upshot is I am already ten times more confident about getting down to producing video – from this one tip alone.

In the intro video Andy advises writing out a list of all the things you want to find out about video production that you don’t know how to achieve. When I prepared my own list I thought it was pretty comprehensive and I reasoned if I could tick it off I’d be well armed and ready to start making effective video.

It was only by going through a part of the first two modules I realised I didn’t even know enough to ask effective questions. I found myself in the comical position of having to add questions to my list and then cross them off right away as the fast flowing answers clued me in on what I needed to ask! A bit like the answer 42 in Hitch-hikers Guide.

So, I’m keeping my head above water but only just. The great thing is I can go back as many times as I want to review the material until I have it nailed. Which is where the time commitment comes in. This isn’t a course for people who have little or no time to spare.

I had a good feeling about this product right from the first promo video I watched. It was something that cropped up just at the right time for me, I’d been hunting around for free tutorials and video demonstrations online but was having a job bringing everything together. And of course when you don’t really know what to ask, a search engine isn’t much use unless you follow links in the hope of randomly hitting what you need.

VideoBoss has brought everything together under one roof. Yes, it has cost me an arm and a leg and that always gives pause for proper consideration of value compared to outlay. I still have a good feeling though, which has been reinforced by a genuinely well executed training course that is delivering, for me at least, what I expected and had hoped to receive.

There have been a few minor issues, though none have affected me. A few students have had problems viewing the video material and the feedback pages were a bit ropey for the first few days. I believe all this has been resolved now to leave what I have to say is a very polished product considering it is a brand new launch using proprietary systems.

In conclusion, so far – well executed, real delivery, real value and I’ll be sticking with it until the end. For a change I don’t feel short changed.