LETTER:
That DVD is incredible! . . . and you are insane.
LETTER:
I love the DVD. At last this is something that I can show my parents without fear of swearing or topless chicks. It captures the enthusiasm of skydiving and shows the positive Good Stuff going on in the sport. But of course, you already knew that.
Chris Schindler
LETTER:
I want to say that the Good stuff DVD and tape rule! When I show them to my non-jumping friends, they just kind of stare, slack jawed and totally awed. Too cool. Just out of curiosity, what was the music that accompanied the freefly section after the Baffin Island base jump section? Keep up the Good Stuff!
Kevin Grishkot D12524
LETTER:
In the Good Stuff video there is a slow motion scene shot from the ground. You see a beat-up car impacting the ground, dust billowing up, a bird flying away and then what appears to be a skydiver,belly to earth, in slow motion falling to the ground. I saw or heard no mention of this in the video or credits. Was it just debris? Was this a skydiver plunging to his death? I am not 'in the loop', so I'd really like to know. I love this video, but find that scene disturbing. No biggie, but it sticks in my head enough to write this e-mail. Please...even a simple yes or no (skydiver bouncing?) would be great.
Jim
LETTER:
the DVD arrived and it was really worth waiting for. GREAT movie, Two thumbs up.
/Malin
LETTER:
Anyone out there who thinks they can put together a better product should go ahead and try. I'll warn you though, prying the price of a few jumps out of me is a tough sell. After watching a friends' copy of "Good Stuff " I still want my own copy...
LETTER:
DVD came yesterday (Wow--lightning fast shipping) and I rushed home to watch it. I'm so glad I made this purchase. Good Stuff and More Good Stuff are exactly what I was hoping to see--2 full hours of outstanding skydivers professionally photographed. I was totally amazed at the great Imax footage you got--the camera looked bulky, awkward and heavy, but the shots were terrific. Great work! Top-notch editing, superb photography and a bouncy soundtrack make this my favorite DVD purchase yet.
I especially appreciated the bonus footage, such as the TV commercials with a skydiving theme. The mini-documentary of the making of the Argentinian Ford commercial was a great bonus.
Thanks for producing a stunning film. I'm eagerly awaiting your next project. Please add me to your mailing list. I can see why you're one of the most highly regarded skydiving filmakers around.
Blue Skies!
Rick Harmon
LETTER:
Caution!-DVD is the shit when used with FLying- Handle with care!---------------------------True Da't
LETTER:
Martin Evans of SkyEye once told me, "to be a camera flyer you've got to beas good, if not better, than the people you're filming." I'm not in the business of kissing ass, but Good Stuff was hard proof that great skydiving movies are made by great camera flying.
Good Stuff was a great way to break in my new DVD player...get one have a good x-mas peace
blue/safe ones
Eric
LETTER:
seeing those at the pinnacle of the sport is indeed inspiring. that first viewing, it was just chills, up and down the spine... very emotional. hey, and some of your commentary was hilarious, particularly when you were describing the satisfaction of tossing a car out the back of a skyvan! "pure satisfaction... it's art..." and it is. i relish those as yourself who understand that there is an intangible value to an audacious expression of the internal through magnificent outward endeavors... (boy, that was an interesting sentence!) but yeah, and the rob harris stuff was beautiful. i will check out more about him as you mentioned on the commentary.
the dvd does a wonderful job of expressing the freedom of skydiving. you have some great sound design at the end of the flyboyz sequence where there is a bit of a flange and one of them is saying something (voice over) along the lines of: 'we are living kid dreams... when you are a kid, you dream of flying...' but yeah, a wonderful moment. i mean, i am an emotional guy for sure, but some of the stuff in there... just beautiful, and i was on the verge of tears. the whole thing is... you know... whuffos... whatever anyone thinks... there in moving images... you did a great job of expressing why it is worth it. even beyond that, there is a physical manifestation,
there on the tv screen... a paean to the meaning of skydiving; the meaning of life. hey man, it got me all philosophical! good work! keep it up!
kevin e lange
LETTER:
just a thought: you should've called it 'great stuff'. dude. i've watched one segment or another every day now. you da man. merry christmas mate.
LETTER:
Thanks so much for your help in feeding my addiction! the video is awesome! Now when I'm not "up", I can almost get there watching Joe's work.
I'm a television news producer (and past senior ENG videotape editor)with a critical eye, so I have a fine appreciation of the combination of skills Joe demonstrates in both production technique and flying ability. Jumping with the some the best skydivers in the world must be fantastic. It would sure be an honour to fly with you if you ever get to Victoria, BC, Joe!
Good Stuff on DVD" ROCKS!!!
Frank
LETTER:
I'd been avoiding seeing Good Stuff for a long time because I wanted to wait and fully enjoy it on DVD. I was succeeding until very recently when it came on in the bar at the DZ. I couldn't take my eyes off it and ended up seeing a lot of it! No matter, there is as much new footage ("More Stuff") as there is old stuff ("Good Stuff") so there was plenty to enjoy. The Plane Chasing is phenomenal and alone makes it worth it. Just having it on a DVD is a massive step forward, being able to pick and choose the scenes you want to view as well as having the additional things such as the director's commentary, which is incredibly informal and fun. Even the trailers and commercials are cool.
This has to be the most outstanding colletction of skydiving footage and I cannot recommend it enough. Absolutely fantastic.
--Craig D11665 FSB5
LETTER:
Watching Good Stuff at the dz with your jump buddies has its merits but I realised from watching it at home that you're not really doing it justice unless you're giving it your full attention. Awesome.
One of my favourite two shots is of Patrick in his winguit, when he starts doing those carving turns you really get the sense that he's flying, not just falling. But the best is the shot of Rob Harris skysurfing where Joe's got Rob's left hand and Rob leans over and puts his right hand over the camera. He's looking pretty cool with his shades on, he's smiling and goofing around with Joe and obviously loving every second of it. It's a great image.
Gus
LETTER:
I just got Good Stuff!! I love it!!, I have one question, in the Rob Harris skysurfing scene, what is the name of the song that is playing? I like the song alot and i want to download it.
Thankyou and great job on the DVD!!
Omar
LETTER:
I've got the video Good stuff and it rocks ! Thanks & Blue Skies,
Charlie K
LETTER:
i want to say that dvd is awesome and a lot of people love it, i'm glad to be one of the first to receive it.
LETTER:
I received the DVD the other day it plays fine on my PAL Panasonic DVD player and JVC TV. Its great realy good quality.
Bryan
LETTER:
I loved the VHS version and plan on buying the DVD (thnx for the extra stuff) soon. Good Stuff is the video I show whuffos and they love it too.
Blue to you,
John Black
LETTER:
I would love to gethold of a copy as all (well the vast majority) of your fellow Americans are raving about it.
Buzz
LETTER:
As Jaimie Paul would say..."I don't care what they say about me as long as they spell my name correctly." I think pretty much everyone thinks Joe's work rocks.
LETTER:
I have the DVD - it's in the #1 position, full time, on my DVD player. If I was going to show skydiving to someone visiting me, it would be this DVD. It's got everything that skydivers and non-skydivers like to watch, and it's indexed nicely into chapters.
LETTER:
I've seen Good Stuff before. I even thought about buying it. The DVD, though, was easy to decide to buy... it's beautiful. http://www.skydive.tv/gsmainmenu.html was really clever, too!
Jack Cunniff D-17518
LETTER:
Just got my Good Stuff DVD yesterday. After watching it, it is unquestionably underpriced. You may want to buy it before Joe figures that out.
Dave
LETTER:
A classic production like this deserves to be viewed on the highest quality media!
LETTER:
One of the really cool things about the DVD is that Joe includes a second version of the main production with his v/o commentary, and he clearly talks about the long lens compression. There was never any attempt to "fool" us. I really love the shot because it is something we rarely get to see, and it sure does give a perspective of speed. I didn't buy the original "Good Stuff" but did get the DVD. The extras are a great addition and chapter access makes it review to see just what I want without fussing with fast forward and reverse. I also really liked Joes sit on the sofa commentary.
-tom buchanan
LETTER:
I've received a Good Stuff DVD and it is 'Good Stuff' Its really good quality. Joe sent me a DVD stating that if it worked I paid for it and if it didn't work on my DVD player but did on a friends then I could keep it for free - how's that for customer service . It only took about five days to arrive from the states.
The quality is excellent and there are some really funny clips on it for example two skydivers going out the back of a plane on a complete set of lounge furniture and their actually watching TV !!!!!
I think Its brilliant!. Nice one Joe, excellent service.
Bryan
PS Joe's video rocks!!
LETTER:
I have a copy of both VHS and DVD, and thanks for doing it I wish some of the other filmmakers would follow suit. Great, well-rounded show. I was wondering where the location is of the awesome footage of you and Patrick falling below the tops of the mountains...is it near Locarno, Switzerland? Take it easy,
Leif
LETTER:
Had the Good Stuff VHS, when DVD came out ordered that one too. Went right to my top 2 DVD list - even only the "More Stuff" -part was worth the money. Especially the catching planes part was interesting because I have read the articles on that one and seen some of the stills last year. BTW someone did quite good a job on spotting the living room jump....
Thanks for providing this DVD to us Joe! Also the service was very good, I ordered it here from Finland, Europe and had it in under a week.
LETTER:
lightening fast delivery!! Just got the DVD last night!! Very nice to see digital quality skydive video... The footage of Omar, Steve & Greg flying into the second plane is freakin amazing!!!! Thanks again for the great service and amazing product!
LETTER:
G'Day from Downunder Joe! Good to see that Good Stuff is out on DVD - and it's been fun watching the "debate" rage on Rec.skydive. Do you know if your DVD will be coming out in PAL, or will it only be NTSC? I've just replaced the TV and DVD that moved out with my ex, and I dont know if they'll play NTSC. I love my good stuff vid, and would love the DVD
Cheers Joe,
Craig Trimble
LETTER:
I just plain loved the story of you and Rob Harris getting together and competing. I dabbled with skysurf 5 years ago, and when I was just starting to get the hang of it a guy still on student status came over one day, and asked what he needed to do for me to teach him how to surf - it was the reason he'd started jumping. Over the next few months as Rob qualified for his licences we got together occasionally and he worked on some freestyle moves to get ready for the board. He built himself a beginners board (what a brick - it weighed a ton!), and couldn't wait to jump it. Finally on new years day he cranked out his hundreth jump, and his first skysurf. Within a couple of weekends on the board he was doing moves on my inter board that I couldnt get near. I ran out and got a digital camera (my trusty PC10), and we teamed up. Four years and a thousand plus jumps together later we've been to a couple of world meets, trained away every $$$ we been able to afford, spent countless hours in the shed making boards, suits, camera helmets, mounts, and generally having a great time. I really related to the storys of you and Rob Harris as wide eyed boys at competition - I'll never forget jump run Round one of the world meet... Hopefully one day we'll taste the sort of success you guys did, but we've already been lucky just to have been there and done what so few people (even other jumpers) experience. A little team of two taking on the world can be lots of work, and an incredible amount of fun, and it was great to read the sort of fun you guys had. Vale Rob. Anyway, enough rambling, off to my day job, gotta pay for this weekends jumping ;)
Cheers Mate,
LETTER:
You have inspired many people in our sport ( including me) and still continue to amaze us today. You & your work, Rock! So when do we see "Good Stuff" II ? carl
LETTER:
... I imagine Joe in a nuns outfit right now.....MUUAAAAHHHAAAAA Besides that....couldn't care less who filmed this "Good Stuff".... if Mother Teresa or some arrogant dude ...... it's just AWESOME good stuff. Dude...now I need a Dell ... with a DVD player..... keep it up Joe!
blues @nne
LETTER:
To me it looks as if not only the video is "good stuff"...the arrogant dude is good stuff too!
LETTER:
Wow, I actually sat down and watched "More Stuff" last night, the bonus portion on the Good Stuff DVD and some of the 'stuff' on there is as good as the original movie. The plane chasers block is amazing with the 3 guys actually managing to get back in the porter.
LETTER:
Some of the skysurfing footage looked real close. I bet you've had the odd bit of contact with a spinning board? The rigless jumps?? I've seen the posters which show a definite harness inside the jumpsuit but that footage looked real. Was there any sort of harness system connecting the jumper to the rig? The only bit i got a bit bored with was the cars section. Cool to watch especially the making of it bits but after the first load of cars it all looked the same. On the other hand an excellent point about the rest of the footage was that as well as a mixture of disciplines the film did not stay focussed on one area for too long. Most videos i get a bit bored watching 60Mins of Freeflying or Formation jumps but i enjoyed the flow of stuff in Good Stuff.
Cheers,
Andy
LETTER:
I received the dvd and it's amazing. If you have news products, please send me an e-mail.
Andre Sousa
LETTER:
Joe,
I would like to tell you how much I enjoyed Good Stuff on DVD. I had never seen it before I ordered and I am very happy with it. What I really enjoyed was the Gyrocam footage of Greg Gasson flying his canopy after that crazy no rig jump. It appears that he is just floating around under canopy; looks awesome. I also enjoyed the commentary you put on it although you shouldn't do commentary after the beer light has come on. I'm just joking man. Good stuff is definatly good stuff to watch. I've brought to everyone of my friends house and even my friends who haven't jumped liked it. Cheers Joe, on a great skydiving movie.
Chris Biard
LETTER:
Thank you for producing such a terrific film. I wish you the very best. I'm sure eBay will sell at least a few of these for you--I've bought a couple of other skydiving films there, but none came even close to yours in quality. I'm looking forward to watching it again on a larger monitor. If you ever jump at SkyDance in Davis, CA, please say hello.
LETTER:
Just like to thank you for the movie Good Stuff It's amazing. I just started skydiving last summer and i'm hook. Oh ya i just saw Wild California last week and the Shot with Troy was amazing. Almost tought i was there :-)How Heavy is tha IMAX Gear BTW? Keep up the good work.
Any way just tough i'd let you know.
Peace.
Phil
"Curiosity is the base of knowledge, Knowledge is the base of Freedom"
LETTER:
-Yo Joe!Cool beans, was watching the video and its awesome! Checked out the DVD again today, awesome stuff! It's amazing how much footage you can cram on there, this things loaded! I've seen it a bunch of times and I don't even think I've seen it all! Very nice indeed,
Thanks for the memories!
LETTER:
You know that footage of Rob is really awesome, your fortunate to have been able to capture those moments, and good to have captured the dynamics as good as you did.
Eli
LETTER:
Too cool. The commentary reminded me of the Bruce Jones surf films. I really got a kick out of your commercial portfolio at the end of the disk. You should put a "making of" segment at the end of all your productions...and don't forget the bloopers. No one ever gets to see how many takes it requires to make a skydive production. The "public" sees 3 1/2 minutes of freefall on Point Break and assume we have all day up there...go figure.
Thanks again,
Blue Skies
chuck bennett
LETTER:
Hi;
First I want to say the Good Stuff DVD rules!!! Keep up that good, good stuff. Next I have a quick question: how did you rig the camera to be up in the A lines of the canopy? That was an unbelievably cool shot, I'd like to know how it was done. I'm assuming that it was sent up post deployment, right? Also, what's next from you? I'm starting to jones for some more good stuff.
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