free video editing software

[Raptor]

Let's look at it like this...
You come up with the ultimate script for a feature, you invest heavily in development of the script, production hire a crew, rent gear, ends up you mortgage the house ( and companies often are forced to take short term loans to cover operating expenses, that's why banks offer businesses a line of credit), quit your job, max out the credit cards because you KNOW you have a winning project for at least direct to DVD sales. You finish prodution, the critics get a prerelease and EVERYONE loves it. All the critics give it great reviews, you cut a sweetheart deal with Blockbuster to get it in all their stores, in a display in the high traffic areas of the store. It's starting to look like a can't miss deal and the first month or two you are well on track to recover the $200,000 you've borrowed and begged so far plus turn a small profit in the first year on rentals and online sales alone..... then suddenly the rental market and video sales drop in say half, and you find out it has become not only an incredibly popular title in Blockbuster, but also on the major torrents, and P2P networks with a DVD quality rip of the movie. With the reduced income you have to lay off a couple of the promotions people you were able to hire, you have no income, and those short term notes are coming due, ummm like the mortgage on the house.... Did someone steal from you? was it ok for someone to rip off your idea? OK, so in an attempt to recover from the lost revenue for all those people who know own a copy of yopur movie, but didn't pay for it, you raise the price, so the people who are willing to do what is right in the letter of the law and pay for your product which doesn't exist, will have to pay a higher price, so that your business can continue to survive. And trust me there have been some seriously large software companies that have never been able to recover from piracy. To Mix software, a game producer in the late 80's, Mustang Software, who produced the Wildcat BBS and terminal programs. Having been in the software business a few years ago, trust me it sure does feel like someone stole from you when you invest 18 months in development of a piece of software only to find cracked copies of it running all over the place. The last 6 months when we were distributing the software, we spent more time protecting the software from being cracked than we did enhancing the software. And that was in 1994/95 before the internet was so pervasive and before P2P and torrents made it easy to find cracks etc. Bottom line is we lost a bundle not because we had a bad product, but because it was a product that got pirated more than purchased.....obviously it must have been a good product since so many people wanted to use it.

[maj_barnes]

I see your point: it's bad.

[inf3ct]

Yea you already convinced before this post too man. This example is much better than the human right's violater company; Ford. I just have to add though, that anyone who would max out their credit cards and do all that because they "thought" they would make some money is a real silly billy.

[Raptor]

Unfortunately it happens all the time. That is the spirit of entreprenrurship. Stick your neck out to get the business off the ground. Sometimes ya win, sometimes ya lose. But if you never try you always ask.. Hmmm i wonder if.......

[inf3ct]

Yea but to max out all your credit cards and borrow so much money that you are not certain you can pay off is just being dumb. There is a big difference between taking a risk and just being a complete moron.