30 Apr The Big Small Business Show
Allon: This is The Big Small Business Show, and this is our expert slot. And today in the studio with us, we have Bongani Gosa. He is the founder and CEO of BWD Advertising. And we’re going to be talking about making your own corporate video, or do you go to the experts or do you do it yourself? Welcome to The Big Small Business Show.
Bongani: Thank you for having me.
Allon: All right. So let’s just start off by talking about this is something that you’ve been doing for 13 years, you’ve been in the advertising space. You’ve certainly got a lot of experience and I’m gonna ask you the question, should you be filming it yourself or should you be using an expert like you? The bias is gonna be, you should use guys like me, but today with the fantastic cameras that we have on our phone and technology, which has become relatively cheap, can’t I do it myself?
Bongani: I suppose you can do it yourself, but I suppose the first step that you want to ask yourself is, how much value or how much am I hoping to make from this video before you start doing that. So let’s say hypothetically you’re hoping to help boost your sales with the creation of this video and you’re hoping to make, let’s say hypothetically 100,000 bucks. So if you’re doing the video yourself, it means your total investment because you’re going to be doing in your phone, you’re going to be recording with your phone, it’s zero. So the question that you want to ask yourself, is it realistic for me to invest zero in order to make 100,000k?
Allon: All right, so but that’s just a video. I need to edit it. I need to make it look like something.
Bongani: No, no, 100%. Remember now let’s take the iPhone for argument’s sake. You can record and edit on your phone so the video can look beautiful, can sound good, can be edited nicely on a phone. So you can do pretty much everything on your phone so you don’t necessarily need to take it to someone else to do. The issue is just the amount of time that you have to learn how to say, to shoot, the amount of time that you are going to spend learning how to use iMovie for argument’s sake. But just coming back to the point, so you just need to kind of calculate, I mean, how much am I willing to invest in this process in order to make the amount of output that I’m hoping to make.
If let’s say, like I said, hypothetically, you’re hoping to make 100K, how much am I willing to make? But in some instances, you are running a smaller business. You’re running a very tight ship. You can still shoot the video yourself. As I said, you could use your own phone for argument’s sake. Let’s take the iPhone as an example. You might want to buy a small tripod. It will cost you less than 2000 bucks, like a smaller one, and then you can shoot the video. But obviously, if you’re going to shoot, you probably want to learn just these simple basics of shooting a video. Say for argument’s sake, framing, how are you going to frame your different shots? The other thing you could learn how to…
Allon: Are you suggesting that I can go online, go onto YouTube, find a tutorial on how to form a video?
Bongani: A hundred percent, 100%. But like I’m saying if you are running like a very tight ship and maybe your budget is a little limited because it’s gonna take you a bit of time to learn how those basic things like I’m saying, framing, lights, and audio, and stuff like that.
Allon: Just let’s talk about audio for a second. So you and I have both got microphones on us right now as we’re filming. If I am doing my own corporate video, would I be required to have my own lapel mic or another mic as well, or will the phone be able to pick up the sound?
Bongani: It would mainly depend on how you’re shooting. If you’re shooting yourself, then you don’t necessarily need a lapel mic because you can come closer to the phone. Then the audio will still be clear. But if you’re going to shoot something that’s further, then the audio is not gonna be as clear.
Allon: So that might be some further investment you require.
Bongani: A hundred percent. These lapel mics, if they were…just that I forgot to check the brand, but if it was said, a Sennheiser, you’re looking at like 10 grand for a pair, but you can rent it at like some shop for 2 grand per day.
Allon: Okay. So what I’m hearing, and just correct me if I’m wrong, Bongani, is that what we’re saying here is that it’s possible to use a cell phone with or without a lapel mic using very standard lighting and natural lighting in order to film. If it’s a “Low budget, close-up,” type of video where I’m talking about my company, and then I don’t need to come to the likes of you to do that.
Bongani: A hundred percent correct.
Allon: And then there is the editing. So I still have to learn how to now stop and to edit, put in some, perhaps some graphics on there. Now, what do I do if I want to do that?
Bongani: So iMovie it’s fairly easy to use if I have to be honest. So you could go through tutorials online to check how iMovie works, but in order to make those nice graphics at the bottom or maybe intros, you would need someone that understands graphics design or maybe someone that understands how to make those small intros so that you can put them onto your video. For you to do that stuff yourself, it’s a little tricky, but you can try and find stuff online that you can use. So I’m gonna look at scripts crisp or as nice as what you ordinarily see maybe on TV. Like on Business Day TV, there’s probably some stuff now running at the bottom, yeah.
Allon: It’s over here.
Bongani: Oh, sorry, yes, yes, yes. So to create something that looks as nice and as crisp as those takes quite a bit of time and practice. Yeah.
Allon: Okay. So, you know, for me because of our viewers, and I’m glad you said it, and I really appreciate Bongani you talking about this, because I know that in the context of various scopes where the guys are in startup mode, we say to them, you know, keep it tight and as the business grows, and to your point about how much you want to get a return, then you can start using professional people as you grow. But it’s also important, and I don’t know what your last thoughts are on this, that the entrepreneur should go through this experience themselves. Because then when it comes to actually deal with people like yourselves, there’s more appreciation for the complexity. A video doesn’t just appear, it’s what’s the script, like where you’re sitting, what’s behind? What’s the frame? You know, what’s the lighting? Is the sound working, etc., etc.
Bongani: No, no, no. I totally agree that in the beginning stages of your business, you might want to try to do the stuff yourself but if your company has been running, let’s say for about, let’s say, three years, you’re probably making a decent amount of money. So it’s always advisable that if you’re making a decent amount of money, invest a decent amount into creating a video because of a video, unlike, let’s say, a website or a brochure, it’s more persuasive. It tells the story much clearer. Let’s say now as I’m speaking, you can see whether I’m anxious, I’m tired, I’m passionate. So it’s easier for you to buy into whatever I’m trying to sell or what I’m trying to say. So with the video, you just, like I’m saying, if you’ve been running for three years, it’s advisable that you invest a little bit into making a decent video.
Allon: Bongani, that’s all we’ve got time for today. We are going to have you back. The next time we have you back, I want to talk about the actual content and how to think about content. Thanks for being on the show.
Bongani: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Allon: Well, that’s it for our expert slot today. Please stay tuned to find out some of my reflections on the entrepreneurial journey.
Well, it’s time for my entrepreneurial reflections. And as you might’ve picked up of the last while from time to time we’ll be talking about the tweets that I’m putting out on Twitter at my handle @allonraiz and the more in-depth version on my Instagram account @allonraiz. Today’s tweet is entitled, “When somebody leaves your company, you normally find that the person who replaces them performs far better because YOU know more about what YOU expect and require from the role.” So let’s talk about this because I see with many entrepreneurs who lose their staff, I think one of two things happen. The first is they get incredibly sad and maybe bitter and they start self-flagellating what could they have done to keep that person. And then the other response is really to blame the employee and to say, “Well, they didn’t do what I said and it’s all about them.”
But perhaps a healthier way to frame the people leaving is that your company is a stage, and in your movie, you are the best…you are the main actor. But in their movie, in your employee’s movie, they are the main actor and you are just a supporting actor in their movie. So they’re always going to leave. But what’s important now once you’ve accepted that somebody will leave whether it’s a month, a year, or 10 years, that they will leave because of circumstances in their life, is that to make sure that you understand that the process of having somebody in a role has helped you define that role more, has helped you define what you want and what you don’t want. And the advantage of somebody leaving is that the next person who walks in walks into a far more well-defined role with a boss that does far better what he or she wants.
Well, that’s it for my reflections for today. I hope you enjoyed today’s show. Do remember, if you think it, write it down and make it a reality.
Announcer 1: For every business challenge, there’s a solution. The Big Small Business Show is made possible by MTN Business.
Announcer 2: And by Chartered Accountants of South Africa, lead your industry with a responsible partner. Partner with a CA(SA) today.