Looking back on a 26 career in video production. EP #119 - Shorty

G', day, guys. It's Dan Lenny here on the 29th of September.

Which is week 40 of 2020. We've got really only 12 weeks of the year left. Isn't that insane? I think everyone's probably quite keen to get 2020 out of the way. But, you know, having said that, I think a lot of people having a really interesting year, a really productive year.

Crisis is negative. In fact, I would argue that for a lot of people, I know they're having the best year ever, which might seem a little weird.

I mean, obviously people are having a tough time in certain parts of the world, but my clients are absolutely thriving at the minute. They are all flat out. In fact, we had a very lean coaching call this morning because so many people were out on location filming or producing content for clients. So there's certainly plenty of opportunity out there. And what we've really been focusing on since the very beginning of this crisis is ignoring the outside world and really focusing on what you can control and not what you can't. Anyway, I was going to just drop in here. My VA just said to me, are we putting an episode out today? I'm like, yeah, I've just got to record it. So the reason I've been a bit slack today is I've just commissioned a new web company to build a new website for us. We didn't feel that after all this time that our website really reflected the quality of the results we're getting for our clients. And that's because, you know, we put it together beginning of the year when we moved from the Filmmakers business academy to danlenny.com and just never got around to it. So we're working on that just now. We've commissioned a new company to build a new website, which I'm very excited about, and we're working with a copywriter to help articulate the story of how we got to where we are today. And the reason I've been a bit slack putting this out today is that I've been filling out a business questionnaire so that the copywriter can understand our business. And for the last couple of hours, I've literally been writing my plotted history.

And I just thought I'd actually share it with you because I don't think I've ever really spoken about this and. And I'm a bit embarrassed to say that when I was talking to the copyright, she was like, my God, this is. None of this is on your website. So I thought I'd just actually read the notes I've been putting Together because if you've been listening to the show for a while, hopefully you enjoy the show and if you do, great, thank you very much. If you don't then, well, you probably wouldn't be listening to it. So if you don't then, sorry, you know, not for everyone, but what I thought I'd do is just. I'm just going to read you some of the notes I've been making on our story because I think it makes for an interesting reading or you can tell me so. We began our business in 2009 after identifying there was a lack of training for DSLR cameras, digital DSLRs that could shoot video and look like film. Because at the time the holy grail for independent filmmakers was creating the film look to make that high end look but on a low cost video cameras. I had spent my early career working in broadcast TV as a cameraman until an ankle injury while filming on Mont Blanc in 2001 meant I had to have six months off while recovering. And this was six months after I had gone freelance. And so after a staff career working for Reuters tv, BBC and ITV London. So it was a bit of a kind of weird situation to find myself in, you know, suddenly unable to work for six months as a freelance cameraman. So I guess I've been in adversity, I've been in situations where you're prevented from doing your normal work. And maybe that's why I sort of glide through the global financial crisis and glide through even Covid, you know, it's like I just focus on what I can do and not what I can. And I recovered from that injury and continued working for another three years until filming in Cape Town in 2004. My leg just didn't feel right. When I returned to the uk, I saw an ankle specialist who told me I developed arthritis at 33 and my cameraman career was over in a flash, literally. Now what, what do I do next? And so that was kind of an interesting again shift in my own career. And so I took a job working for a broadcast rental company in London called Procam TV, where in the first 18 months of being in that role I generated a million pounds worth of.

And that's when I really got my first taste of running a business. I learned and I even earned a small share in that company until I was headhunted in 2007 by Europe's largest broadcast reseller, CVP, where I was hired in a business development role. And one of my jobs at the time was to set up a TV channel called CVP TV and we generated you know, 500,000 views in six months on YouTube. And this was back in 2007, 2008, so quite a big number. And this is where I really learned about sales, marketing and business. And at that time that business was generating £20 million a year. You know, so it was a big, big old thing. But it was around this time when I saw that technology was changing and becoming more accessible. So I basically started making some tutorial DVDs with Philip Bloom and we, I saw an opportunity to make a DVD with a 5D Mark II and the 70 and we, we went out and did that and as soon as we saw that had legs, I quit my job and I was earning like you know, £100,000 a year with a generous bonus. And I saw remortgaged my house to get some capital and I set up F Stop Academy to help video producers and video enthusiasts embrace this new technology. And we created multiple six figure products and helped over 3,000 clients grow in confidence in the first few years of that running that business. So around about 2012 I was asked by Sony to help develop a new camera in response to the DSLR revolution. And so the FS100 was born out of those discussions. And I came across some photographs recently. I was actually sketching on a whiteboard with.

Japanese camera engineers what I thought would be a great camera. And actually the FS100, I'm not saying I designed it, but I had a lot of input in how it ended up. And, and so in that same year I was invited to take part in the alongside international cinematographers to take part in the Zakiro Kessler Revenge of the Great Camera Shootout and subsequently appeared in the documentary specifically to comment on affordable filmmaking tech alongside, you know, Rodney charters who'd shot 24 Dallas and Charlie's Angels, Bruce Logan who'd shot Star wars and Tron and 2001 a Space Odysse. And two time Oscar winner for best cinematography, Haskell Wechsler and Steven Spielberg, cinematographer Janusz Kaminski who shot warhorse Minority Report in Schindler's List. So quite a, quite an incredible group to be associated with. Then we went on to produce a series of large scale global launch films for the likes of Sony, Zeiss, o' Connor and other large equipment brands. And I produced launch films for the Sony A7s, the PXW FS7, FS5, the PXW X100, the NX5N and to date we've created eight consecutive launch films for Sony and I was also invited around that time to become an international Zeiss Lens ambassador, which I served for three years until 2015.

But it was in 2012 when we first filmed with Andrea Kaur from the Kaurs at her London live shows. And then we were approached to film with Duran jaram in their 2012 live DVD a diamond in the mine, which I was a DP for. And in the same year we filmed twice with Cristiano Ronaldo, who I embarrassingly to say didn't know who he was until we were in Madrid. And I kind of all clocked. But that's when I realized you could run a highly profitable business making corporate videos. Because we were doing a lot of our work was corporate. I mean, obviously a bit of artist stuff was a bit different.

But you know, I spoke at various events, you know, nab, ibc, BVE in London. I appeared in magazines, High Definition, the Iris, the Producer, Broadcast Tech and Televisual. So it was always commenting on that camera tech. I've run workshops in and events in Milan, Stockholm, Dublin, New York, Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne, Chicago, LA and London. And in 2013 Sony hired us to make a film in the UK called Lebohems with Bruce Logan, which was a film that we made using the FS cameras, FS100FS700 and it was a drama. We made a drama. We also in the same year went to film on location in Istanbul for I think it was a Sony NX5N, I think it might have been. We also were hired by Zeiss that year to make a showcase for the cinema lenses that we made a film called Escape. And I also gave keynotes in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong that year. And then we filmed on tour with Robbie Williams in 2013 at his sold out capacity London Wembley Stadium shows for Take the Crown. And then in 2014 I produced films in Vancouver for Sony and a promo for o' Connor in Costa Rica. So it was a really kind of busy time. But it was around this time when I saw there were many new filmmakers entering the industry as a result of this democratization. But they were struggling with how to run a business. And so I wrote the book Business of Filmmakers. The Quick, Dirty and Uncensored secrets to a Six figure Video business from the world's Ballsiest filmmaker. And we sold almost 900 books in the first year and began our monthly newsletter subscription service a six figure filmmakers inner circle which celebrates its fifth birthday next month. And then in 2015 we held our first live in person boot camp in London and we launched what was then called the F8 Elite Business Mastermind. This was a 12 month coaching program that helped video businesses scale. And at the same time I was approached by Sony to help launch the new A7S camera which we shot in Scotland and Japan, and then the FS7 camcorder which we shot in Japan in the same year. And then in 2015 we moved from London to Sydney and began a new life down under. And I also set up a corporate video business from scratch and helped businesses in Sydney with their video needs. We produced another six figure camera launch film in Sydney, the FS5. And subsequently I traveled across Asia giving keynote speeches on affordable camera tech YouTube events in Bangkok, Taipei, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Sydney, Jakarta and Seoul. And then in 2018 we decided to move up the coast to Queensland and focus solely on coaching and lifestyle. I felt it was time to channel my energy into helping others succeed. You know, I've been fortunate enough to travel to 56 countries and film everything from a list celebs to the Queen. So I really have been very, very fortunate. Have a very, you know, like broad ranging career and now I get to choose, I get to choose how I spend my time. And I'm very happy living in, you know, in Queensland in the Sunshine coast with my wife and our do and just embracing, you know, a slightly slower pace of life. I spent good part of 20 years just running around the planet filming and carrying gear. So now I'm able to help people with, with their business and I've got a broad range of experience in doing that and I absolutely love helping my clients succeed. So yeah, I just thought I'd share that with you because I'd spent the day writing and I was sort of taken aback by just how much I've done and I guess, you know, are you the same? Do you forget all the things you've done? Anyway guys, I just thought I'd share that with you. I hope that hasn't bored you too much. But yeah, I was quite, quite impressed. I've done quite a bit of stuff over the years. So anyway, if you want some help, just reach out and I'll see you on Thursday.

You've been listening to the how to Scale a Video Business podcast with me, your host, Dan Lenny. If you're a video business owner who's hit a ceiling and we benefit from mentorship, support and coaching, then check out how you can work with me over@denleny.com don't forget to subscribe and rate the show over on itunes, and we'd really appreciate you taking a few minutes to leave a review. And don't forget to share. If you feel you've gotten value from this episode and you think it would be useful for other filmmakers, you know, then please do me a massive favor and share it on social media and in groups that you might be in. See you next week.