November 2007
In this newsletter we write about the new materials that we are working on coming to be, we also write about the process in bringing materials from their rather "raw" state into a "product" you can purchase. But even more than this, you may be wondering, "Who is the DC"? We hope that with this brief note you feel you have a better sense of the DC team, how materials are developed, and our plans for the next materials. As soon as the new materials come available, we will be letting you know!
Of course, we would be pleased to receive your orders for current materials!
Of course, we would be pleased to receive your orders for current materials!
Sincerely,
Allegra Heidelinde
IFF Distribution Center
The DC Team
[Summary. In this newsletter we write about the new materials that we are working on coming to be, we also write about the process in bringing materials from their rather "raw" state into a "product" you can purchase. But even more than this, you may be wondering, "Who is the DC"?]
We call our organization the DC, short for International Feldenkrais Federation Distribution Center (IFF-DC). We are four volunteers and one part-time Project Manager. The four volunteers also make up the DC Board, and so the Board is a working board.
The members of the Board are: Richard Ehrman (President), Cliff Smyth (past-President), Jaclyn Boone (Secretary) and Rob Black (Treasurer). The Board sets policy and direction for the organization, sets priorities for the production of new materials, responds to the requests of the parent organization (the IFF Board), discusses materials projects with the copyright holders, and ensures the fair distribution of materials for sale. The Board members live significant distances apart: Richard in Boston, MA, (USA), Jaclyn in Princeton, NJ, (USA), Cliff in San Francisco, CA, (USA) and Rob in Calgary, Alberta (Canada). Thus the Board meets by telephone, sometimes once per week but often less often, and is always in touch by e-mail. The Board tries to find a time to meet face-to-face at least once per year.
The Project Manager was introduced last issue, Allegra Heidelinde. Allegra has a background in arts and music as well as being a Feldenkrais Practitioner. Some readers will remember her excellent work with FGNA as the membership coordinator. For the DC, Allegra ensures that the orders are filled, does the background bookkeeping, ensures all materials are available and communicates with practitioners who have questions about their orders. In addition, Allegra has projects related to development of materials.
Board members take on a variety of volunteer roles as need arises. For example, when new materials become available, one Board member will take on the role as project lead and plan out the tasks that need to be done. Many of the tasks will be done by that person, or another member of the board. Often the Project Manager will participate with parts of a project. Technical tasks are farmed-out to paid specialists. By the time a product become available to practitioners, there could have been hundred of hours of volunteer time involved.
You can begin to see that, through extensive use of volunteers, the IFF Distribution Center is committed to bringing materials to practitioners at the lowest possible cost.
Pricing what’s Priceless
the true costs of producing DC materials
[Summary: Practitioners are always curious about how the retail price for materials is determined. What factors are considered? What costs are involved in bringing material in a form ready for sale? In this article, Richard Ehrman reviews the costs inherent in bringing the San Francisco Training Data DVD to practitioners.]
At the 2007 FGNA conference in Portland, Oregon, Dennis Leri used our recently published San Francisco Training Data DVD for his workshop. An ideal time to promote the releases, I told everyone how to purchase a copy. One practitioner questioned me during a break: “Why does this cost $200? How do you decide what to charge?”
Having personally managed this publication I was intimately familiar with all the costs of development that had gone into the project. Having worked with the material, I was confident of its value. And I remembered the DC Board discussions that led to setting the price so I was glad I had a chance to go through all the reasons and the parameters come into play. Here’s a summary of what I said:
1. Development costs
Consider what went into the production of the San Francisco Data DVD. The reel to reel tapes were made into cassettes, and the hundreds of hours transcribed. An editor went through the transcriptions (2 editors, actually,) the material was reread and ATM instructions numbered and then a publication professional created the design, formatted the text, produced the page layout for the paper publication, and electronic PDF version. The audio on the reel to reel tapes was transferred to digital format, copies of discs made and distributed to editors. The electronic audio and text files were brought together and the DATA DVD interface was authored and tested. The DVD cover and disc label were designed. Other costs include advances on royalties, legal costs of contracts and registration of copyrights. Most of these steps were costly, especially considering the large amount of material. Some of the work was done by volunteers, making the final product less expensive. Adding up the total costs, and factoring in ongoing costs of the working DC office, and employee payroll, we know how much is necessary to recover before making a profit. The market for these professional materials is relatively small. Let’s say that just Year One San Francisco Data DVDs cost $30,000 to develop, and the DC expects 100 will be purchased , then they should sell for $300 to recover production costs.. It is not certain whether more than 100 DVDs will be purchased . Note this formula does not include any money to put toward our overhead.
2. Comparisons with other materials
We consider the retail costs of other materials we’ve published and try to maintain some consistency. For instance, taking into consideration how many training days, FI hours, or ATM lessons are in similar products and making a relative cost estimation for a new product at the same price. If two weeks of Amherst Transcripts are priced $125 (per paper volume); the SF Data DVD has two weeks of text and audio, how much more is that worth?
3. Value/importance of materials themselves.
The best part of publishing the materials is receiving reactions to the lessons themselves; we all have stories of lessons that were profound or fascinating or meaningful in some way. That is to say, we all have felt the lessons to be invaluable to us. Yet, I often hear people say the materials such as Alexander Yanai lessons (priced at less than $2 a lesson) are expensive. Training transcripts are unique and produced with costly attention to detail so they are priced higher. Remember the coordination and production process for the San Francisco Data DVD: text transcription, edit, proof, book production; and the audio transfer/reformat , reorganization, coordination with text, and authored on a Data DVD. 343 text 140 pages and 40 hours of lessons and lectures from Dr. Feldenkrais training the first group in North America.
And if all this rational explanation does not resonate, consider this question:
How much would you pay to take 2 weeks of training with the founder of our Method?
That’s what you’re getting and $200 is a bargain.
Richard Ehrman
DC Board Chair
November, 2007
Products in the Pipeline
[Summary. The International Feldenkrais Federation Distribution Center is continuously working to bring you more Feldenkrais materials. All DC profits are put into development for publication of original transcripts, audio and video recordings from the IFF Archive of the Feldenkrais Method. In addition to ongoing projects, we’re planning some new releases in the coming months. Here’s a summary to keep you apprised of progress and help you plan future purchases.]
The International Feldenkrais Federation Distribution Center is continuously working to bring you more Feldenkrais materials. All DC profits are put into development for publication of original transcripts, audio and video recordings from the IFF Archive of the Feldenkrais Method. In addition to ongoing projects, we’re planning some new releases in the coming months. Here’s a summary to keep you apprised of progress and help you plan future purchases.
Old products in new packages
After the training day during the 1980-81 Amherst training, Dr. Feldenkrais gave Functional Integration lessons that were videotaped. All of this material has been available for rental and some was made- available for sale. The following videotapes are being transferred to DVD format: Hazel, Jennifer, Jonathan, Kimberly, and Raissa and will soon be made available in this more convenient and up to date format.
Ongoing projects
The 1980 Year One: Amherst Training Transcripts are being edited by Bonnie Humiston and proofread by Arlyn Zones. Weeks One and Two are available [URL] with Weeks Three and Four in process to be released as separate volumes soon.
The 1975 Year One: San Francisco Training Transcripts are being edited by Dennis Leri; Weeks One through Four are available [Weeks Five through Nine are in process]. The audio recordings are being transferred from tape to digital audio and prepared for release together in the new Data DVD format.
New Products
The Amherst Training from the third week onward was videotaped. For many years use of this material was limited to trainers and assistant trainers, but a few years ago the IFF revised this policy to make the material available to all practitioners. These 148 tapes are being transferred to DVD and made ready for sale. It is an enormous amount of material but the transfer will result in 50 discs and much easier use. They need to be readied for both PAL and NTSC formats to make sure practitioners the world over can use them. At long last, practitioners the world over can “attend” the Amherst Training!
From The Archive Vol. 3-6: Canada Public Workshops 1973-74
In the early 1970's, Dr. Feldenkrais and Kolman Korentayer were seeking opportunities to promote the Feldenkrais work in North America and possibly mount training programs. To pave the way in British Columbia, they teamed with University of British Columbia humanities professor Sol Kort and physical education professor Dr. Stanley Brown and promoted a series of workshops for seniors, artists and physical education teachers in and around Vancouver in 1973 and 1974. In 2004, the IFF Archive of the Feldenkrais Method acquired 30 hours of audiotape from these workshops to complete its whole collection of 60 audio hours from this period. The material has been digitized and is being listened to for information on the lessons and talks. The whole collection is close to 60 hours of Dr. Feldenkrais teaching and will provide a fresh look at how he presented his work to the public.
Next in line
More Moshe Feldenkrais FI on DVD
The lessons give after the Amherst Training represents a treasure of examples of the inventor practicing the art of Functional Integration. We have been identifying especially interesting lessons and will be releasing more lessons soon. Purchases of the lessons recently released fund the development of more of these materials.
Moshe Feldenkrais Hebrew University Lectures
In the mid 1960s, Dr. Feldenkrais gave a series of lectures at Hebrew University in Tel-Aviv. The DC has a transcription - but, we are not certain whether this represents a literal transcript of the recordings or notes taken by someone in attendance. We are attempting to locate the original audiotapes in order to have the source material translated. Mark Reese thought these lectures were the beginnings of what became the book (titled in English) Awareness Through Movement. Some reviewer evaluations reported the style of the lecture is conversational and would need a complete edit before publishing. Translation costs will be significant, so the IFF DC needs to be clear about what is needed before investing in the process to translate and publish this lecture series.
If you’ve been counting, that’s seven projects going concurrently along with selling our previously published materials. It’s a lot to keep going and your purchases support these publications in the pipeline.
Richard Ehrman
DC Board Chair
