Studio Sherpas Podcast

Let’s face it: It can be hard being a self employed filmmaker. Not only do we have to worry about how to run our businesses better, find new leads, and keep the lights on, but we also need to continuously improve our craft and the finished products we deliver to our clients. Oh, and don’t forget that many of us have families and lives outside of our work, as much as we may love it. My conversation with Matt Thompson on the podcast this week took a bit of a turn from where I thought it might go. But Matt being Matt, he delivered some incredible insight as the theme of managing our relationships emerged over the course of our chat. Matt is the CEO of Blade of Grass Holdings, an umbrella company for SongFreedom, Fyrfly, Luna Music Group, and U Management. As you can imagine, with this many companies straddling the music and film worlds, Matt knows a thing or two about the importance of working with, and learning from other people. Furthermore, he’s proof that if you master this skill, success will find you in wh

We might not realize it, but a lot of us waste a huge amount of our client's time - and money - on set by being impractical in the way we approach our gigs. Dennis Abad is a Manila, Philippines based filmmaker, educator, and co-founder of Shoot Practical Videography. He and his partner founded the school after witnessing novice videographers botch jobs again and again, and deciding to do something about it. They place a heavy emphasis on the practical, what new filmmakers need to know to get started in the world of video and run a profitable business. A past student of our own, with our Selling Like A Sherpa Course, Dennis has seen how defining processes and systems have affected both his shooting and sales results, and heavily preaches the same approach to his own students. Today he shares some of the biggest mistakes he sees beginning filmmakers making, and gives us some tips on how to be more practical when it comes to our own work. When you look back at your own progression as a filmmaker, what were some

So many of us work primarily as corporate or wedding filmmakers - and love what we do - but have dreams of doing more. Of pursuing passion projects and making a living from them. It can be hard to know where to start, however. How can we set up our businesses in a way that allows us to expand and grow beyond our current client base? Abraham Joffe is an incredibly talented wildlife and travel filmmaker based in Sydney, Australia whose work you may have seen on a little network called Netflix with his show, Tales By Light. He’s traveled all over the world and filmed some of the most incredible cultures and creatures to be found on Earth. But Abraham didn’t start out this way. In fact, he had an established wedding and corporate film business before he was presented with the opportunity to pursue something bigger. Today he shares with us how he had already set up his business to allow him the flexibility to take his chance and run with it when it came. He also talks about how pursuing unpaid passion projects all

Most of us didn’t get into filmmaking in the first place to take on clients and run businesses. When we picked up a camera for the first time and were captivated by what we could do with it, it was because we ourselves had something to say. Our own story to share. The deeper into the world of film we dove however, the more we realized that it seems all but impossible to bring our passion projects to life in a sustainable way. Sure, we could invest thousands of hours and vast amounts of money to complete a project, but most of us will never see enough return on that investment to justify ever undertaking another one. This sucks. For all of us. Patrick Moreau is racking up his Studio Sherpas frequent flyer miles and returning to the podcast to share how he and his team are bringing their new original content series The Remarkable Ones to life. Patrick knows a thing or two about heartbreak and failure when it comes to creating original content and putting it out there. His feature documentary Stand With Me - des

As filmmakers, most of us spend the majority of our time thinking about how we can best tell the stories of our clients. When it comes to our own businesses however, we often neglect to think about the stories that make us unique and might help us connect with new prospects. Bill Baker is the Founder and Principal of BB & Co. Storytelling, a company that helps brands—and the leaders, teams, and organizations behind them—work smarter by leveraging the timeless power of strategic storytelling. Bill encourages brand leaders to look inward, defining their vision for the world, their point of view, and the story that brought them to where they are today to help them introduce more meaning to them, their workforce and ultimately, their customers. This episode is chock full of actionable steps you can implement today to help clarify and convey to clients who you are as a brand and what you stand for. From website tips, to how to boost your sales process, to how to use story to move your own business forward, Bil

A few years into my video career I got a big time scare. Not one, but two filmmaker friends of mine were sued by big record labels for using unlicensed music on a couple of videos that happened to go viral. I’m ashamed to admit it now, but during my first few years making videos, I didn’t even know what music licensing was, let alone pay for it. I wanted to support artists, but I couldn’t afford to license mainstream bands like Coldplay or the Black Eyed Peas and the royalty free music that was available… Well, let’s just say it was less than inspiring. Artlist is one of the most exciting of a number of music licensing companies that have sprung up in the wake of a spate of lawsuits against filmmakers in recent years. They feature incredibly high-quality music at a seriously insane price, and their interface is designed entirely with creatives in mind. My companies and I use them constantly and they’ve been a godsend for our business. Artist Manager for Artlist Jeremiah Benzion is on the podcast today to talk

Have you ever come across a tool that makes you business run so much more smoothly that you would gladly pay 5x the price for it and still feel like it’s a steal? Yeah, me too, and for me, Wipster is one of those tools. Wipster is something of a “Google Docs for video”, allowing for commenting and collaborating right on top of the video, where it makes sense. You can even export those comments into your Premiere timeline to keep them front of mind when doing a round of revisions. It makes collaborating with clients and other members of my team SO much easier than it was in the past. Seriously, this tool couldn’t have come around sooner for me and my business, it’s that good. Not only does the Wipster team have an amazing product (they actually don’t feel like they even need to sell to customers), they are deeply in tune with the pulse of the industry and where it’s headed. Content Marketing Manager Hayley Jordan and Partnership Marketing Manager Andre Van Den Assum join me on the podcast today to talk about w

If you’re anything like me, when you first started your creative business, literally the last thing you wanted to be spending your time on was selling. For me, it was all about creating emotional films that moved people, but as I took on more work and got busier and busier I ended up spending less time shooting and more time selling. Besides the fact that I wasn’t spending as much time doing what I loved, the problem was that I had no idea what I was doing when it came to sales. No way to guide potential clients to the conclusion that my work was worth more than what somebody else down the street was charging. I had always assumed that my work would speak for itself, but was realizing that this was not the case. Matt and I (Ryan) got together this week to discuss how building out a defined sales process has changed our businesses, and how it can do the same for yours. For each of us, the moment when we actually put a sales process in place was a pivotal turning point for our businesses, freeing up our time to

When most of us think about making a career shooting films, we’re only able to come up with a few routes to success. Sure there are the wedding and corporate/brand film industries, but they are often crowded markets with a ton of high-quality filmmakers vying for these jobs. A lot of us dream of landing high-end commercial clients, but have no idea how to even get started. So what do we do? Brad Walker is the Founder of Lighthouse Films, based in Wilmington, NC and has been thinking outside the box ever since getting out of film school. He got his start by becoming a specialist at making promo films for high-end summer camps before shaking up his business with a risky investment and making the jump into commercial work. He’s worked with brands such as Ford, JP Morgan Chase, Red Bull, IBM and many, many more, always with the aim of humanizing these large brands with authentic storytelling. Brad shares with us how thinking outside the box and taking smart risks in your business can open up worlds of opportuniti

Find the original post at: podcast.studiosherpas.com Let’s face it, none of us are getting any younger. And one of the challenges that our ever increasing ages present to us in our industry is that it becomes harder and harder to keep up with what our clients expect when it comes to wedding and commercial video projects. Tastes change, and there’s always some new piece of gear or software with which to acquaint ourselves. Jason Magbanua is a Philippines-based wedding and commercial filmmaker with more than 17 years of experience in the industry. He’s realized how much harder he has to work these days to stay atop the latest trends and technology, but why that hard work is essential to continuing to grow his brand. His company now has 25 employees and he personally shoots over one hundred weddings every year. Amid this schedule, Jason still manages to find time to work with corporate and commercial clients and speak at wedding filmmaking events around the world. He reminds us that while your age may require yo

Find the original post at: podcast.studiosherpas.com When a lot of us start out in the wedding industry, whether it be as filmmakers, photographers, or coordinators, we have dreams of working with high-end luxury and celebrity clients. I know I did when I first started, but as most of us realize pretty quickly, it can be really hard to elevate your brand to a level that attracts that type of clientele. And even if you do, there are often a host of other challenges. Sasha Souza is the founder of Sasha Souza Events and has been planning and coordinating events of all kinds, including weddings for over 20 years. In that span, she’s guided her company to becoming one of the top event, design, and wedding coordination companies in the US, the most awarded wedding design and event planning company in Napa and Sonoma, and now has offices in Napa, Sonoma, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Over the years she’s worked with a number of celebrity clients and shares with us today her mindset behind attracting those clients

Find the original post at: podcast.studiosherpas.com It’s a challenge that wedding filmmakers and creative business owners the world over face and struggle with, every day. "When is it time to quit my job and go full-time on this? Is it even possible for me to make a career telling stories through film?? My market is waaay too small for that...” Some of us struggle with this for months, years, or our entire lives without ever taking the leap and giving it a shot. The timing never seems quite right, our ideal clients are nowhere to be found and there are too many obstacles that we perceive to be standing in between us and our dreams. Find the original post at: podcast.studiosherpas.com Sarah and Rick Pendergraft of PenWeddings have been there, and know all of the struggles associated with making the move into a totally foreign industry. Based in Broken Arrow, OK (yeah I had no idea where that was either), it’s hard to say that they’re in a “high end” wedding market, and yet they’ve steadily been increasing the

Find the original post at: podcast.studiosherpas.com I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but you’re probably going about pricing your film services in the wrong way. Don’t worry, I’ve been doing it wrong as well, and so are about 99% of not only wedding, corporate, and commercial filmmakers, but creative business people in general. Sean Low is the Founder and President of The Business of Being Creative, a consulting company and fantastic blog (seriously, read Sean’s stuff) that helps artists build businesses that honor the art that is behind them. After starting his career as a lawyer, Sean found his calling working with creative business owners helping them transform that pesky business side of things that so many of us creatives struggle with. One of Sean’s biggest criticisms is that through our pricing structures, we unintentionally cause our clients to value the wrong parts of our creative processes. By rethinking - and repricing - our offerings we can be more, creative, land better clients, and mak

Find the original post at: podcast.studiosherpas.com You might notice while listening to this episode that today’s guest, Evan Bourcier uses a certain word again and again and again. That word? Intentional As in being intentional, thinking intentionally, and making decisions about your work, your projects, and your life with foresight and purpose. Despite his age (he’s 23), Evan has achieved a lot in the world of filmmaking so far. He’s an award winning and highly sought after DP, owner of a boutique video production house, Valo Visuals and runs a popular educational blog, podcast, and Facebook community. What’s the secret to his success? You guessed it: Being intentional If you’ve dreamed about moving from event video production to commercial work for big brands, or making the jump into marketing yourself as a full-time Director of Photography, Evan has some great tips on how to go about achieving those goals with intention.

Find the original post at: podcast.studiosherpas.com A little over a year ago we (Matt and Ryan) launched this crazy idea we had, called Studio Sherpas. Since then, we’ve put out our Selling Like A Sherpa course (which we will be relaunching soon!), launched this here podcast, and created a whole bunch of other content to help filmmakers take control of their creative businesses, move in a direction that inspires them, and charge what they’re worth. You might be wondering though, “Who are these guys, and why should I listen to them???” In answer to that question we decided to record a podcast focusing on us, Matt Davis and Ryan Koral, co-founders of Studio Sherpas, passionate storytellers, creative business veterans, and dedicated family guys. Between the two of us, we’ve experienced pretty much all of the highs and lows that working in this industry can bring. We wanted to take a moment to share our own stories and hopefully provide some insight into what it’s taken for us to build our businesses from one-ma

Find the original post at: podcast.studiosherpas.com "It takes more than pointing your camera at a human to really capture character in your video. While most wedding have a bunch of people, and often prominently feature a couple, they rarely have any character." This was the opening line of a recently published blog post by today's guest, Patrick Moreau. The blog post in question was titled Why Most Wedding Films Suck, and needless to say, it ruffled some feathers. Patrick joins us today to dive deeper into the sentiments that drove him to write the post, and what the average filmmaker can do to not only produce films that don't suck, but ones that cross borders and inspire viewers beyond the wedding film industry. If you don't know Patrick already, he's the co-founder of Stllmotion, a video company that went from shooting their first wedding with photo and video for $250, alllllll the way to shooting for some of the biggest brands in the world a few years later. How big? How about the NFL, MLB, CBS, Callawa

Find the original post at: podcast.studiosherpas.com Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past… well, ever... You’ve probably realized that our industry is going through some pretty major changes. A lot of these changes are scary to us as filmmakers and video producers. Budgets seem to be getting smaller, and it gets harder and harder for us to stand out from the hordes of insanely talented filmmakers that we often find ourselves competing for jobs with. Pat McGowan is a filmmaker with over thirty years of experience in the industry and has watched these shifts take place over time and adapted to them along the way. He’s the owner of inMotion, a film house based in Ottawa, Canada, as well as his new service BlackBox. He’s watched what he calls the commoditization of video content take place, with giant companies taking a major stake in content production and consignment. Pat realized that there had to be a way for the average video producer to capitalize on the ownership of the content sitting on th

Find the original post at: podcast.studiosherpas.com Ok, confession time. There was a time in my filmmaking and creative business journey where I almost let the business take over my life. I let the work that I was doing take over more and more of the energy and attention that I should have been focusing on my family, and I learned some really hard lessons from it. Joey and Aaron of 31 Films and Film Lab Creative were getting established in this business around the same time as I was, I’d I’ve been watching and admiring their work for a number of years. Right from the beginning, the thing that set founder Joey’s companies apart in my mind was the culture he established. He’s been able to take his companies from a one-man operation to bringing in Aaron, to now having seven full-time editors on staff! Of course, it wasn’t easy for them, and they too have learned many hard lessons along the way (don’t we all?). It’s never easy, knowing when it’s time to bring in someone else to help grow your business, but Joey

Find the original post at: podcast.studiosherpas.com If you’re like me, at some point in your life you’ve probably aspired to making it big and breaking into Hollywood as a director, producer, DP, editor, etc. But where did this idea of success come from? Rob Hardy was an indie filmmaker working 18 hours days on projects he wasn’t passionate about, with people he didn’t click with, burning himself trying to achieve that goal. He was at the point of asking himself if he even wanted to be a filmmaker before realizing that there were many paths to a successful film career, most of which don’t lead to Hollywood. Rob now runs The Filmmaker’s Process, a blog and growing community of indie filmmakers where he guides readers on how to redefine success for themselves, according to their own circumstances, talents, and values. He's also passionate about building a worldwide directory of film professionals to make it easier to connect with partners for our creative projects. Few if any of us will realize the dream of co

Find the original post at: podcast.studiosherpas.com “You get to a point where there’s always going to be something that could hold you back, and you have to decide, ‘Ok, at which point am I not going to let that something be a hindrance to me starting to check things off of that bucket list that so many people have but they never actually get through.” [33:57] I’ve been a friend and admirer of Ron Dawson for over a decade now, and he seems to have a way of making everything he touches turn to gold. Ron is currently the host of Radio Film School, a podcast that many call “This American Life for filmmakers”. Before RFS though, Ron had started 2 more uber-popular podcasts geared towards the film and photography industry. Ron is now in the process of filming his first feature documentary, as well as transitioning his business and family into becoming global digital nomads. As with all successful people, Ron’s story has not been without struggle. In this episode, he shares how some of the hard times have inspired