AMSTERDAM — AbbyWinters.com announced today the launch of its content-making training site, Learn.AbbyWinters.com.
The site contains nearly 55 hours of training videos (complete with workbooks, tests and assignments), to support in-house staff and off-site contract shooters who seek to produce content that meets the site’s requirements.
Many of the videos were made by CEO Garion Hall, who said, “It’s a risk to ‘open-source’ our methods, as we discuss in detail the ‘secret herbs and spices’ to make an AW shoot… but any astute producer could look at our shoots and work that out anyway. By helping experienced content producers to learn our ‘paradigm,' we make it easy for them to earn money, while improving our content quality.”
The company said that training shooters is primarily Hall’s responsibility — the old way involving six weeks of intensive one-on-one time. But now, the teaching and learning is time-shifted, allowing Hall to travel six months a year while remotely reviewing shooters’ work.
Hall also plans to launch a marketplace using AbbyWinters.com’s pay-per-scene technology, allowing producers inspired by the site’s paradigm to release shoots the site does not purchase, but making them available to its member-base. The site shares in the revenue with the original producer.
The development provides opportunities for customers to be more engaged, raise revenues, have a larger and more varied content-base, more frequent updates, and increase models’ takings from their work (as they can self-publish on the new platform), the creators noted.
“It takes around 60 hours to complete ‘the essentials’ course," Hall said. “A huge commitment, but it rules out the tire-kickers."
A contract shooter in training Pax, said, “I have some photography experience, and offered to shoot my girlfriend for the site. They introduced me to the training stuff, and now I am working through it — it’s engaging and interesting, I’m two-thirds complete — I see the 60 hours as an investment and a wonderful opportunity to learn from world-class professionals. I plan to become a full time shooter for the site.”
Another shooter in training, Misha, said, “I find the relaxed delivery really easy to listen to. I watch each video twice, so I really absorb it.”
Hall said he plans on attending some of the European conferences where he will talk in more detail about open-sourcing methodologies.
