Do you have a story to tell but are not sure how to tell it? This is where Harry can help in producing a video of your brand that stands out and connect with your audience.
Hey Harry,
Thank you for joining me in this interview. We were introduced via Emil Goliath as I saw an amazing brand story video you produced for his nutrition and fitness coaching business.
I was blown away by the quality of the production, but more importantly, the story took me on a journey and had me gripped from the start. I immediately reached out to you to start developing my own brand story for Supergreen Tonik (I embedded the video below).
I am looking forward to discovering your journey and the secret behind making an engaging brand story video.
So, Harry, let’s jump straight into this with my first question.
It would be great to get a little background information from where you were born to where you live today. What’s your backstory?
Thank you for having me! So first off, I am 26 and I am originally from a place called Liskeard in Cornwall.
Despite being a cornish town, there was very little farming or surfing going on so I had to find something else to be interested in, which turned out to be video!
When and how did you first get into video production?
I got into video production at a time in my life when I was really struggling to find a sense of purpose. I was 19, I had just dropped out of university, and I moved home without much of a clue as to what to do with myself for the next 80 odd years.
I spent a lot of my free time watching YouTube videos and one YouTuber, in particular, stood out to me. conveniently just around the time that I dropped out, he opened a position for an unpaid creative videography and marketing internship in New York City.
Despite not knowing much about video at the time I made my application which was a video and to my parent's horror, I was offered the position.
I completed my internship and found that not only was I drawn to video as a creative release and as something that could be used as a practical business tool, but actually that I wasn't that bad at it. I’ve done it ever since.
I have seen a number of video production companies, how do you stand out from the crowd?
We stand out from the crowd because not only do we know high-level video production, but we also speak marketing.
I take point on the majority of client projects and take a tremendous amount of pride in being responsive, diligent and all the other things that make life easy for the client (as well as producing what I would like to think are top-tier video assets)
We first spoke around May 2021 when I was looking to have a brand story video produced for my company. I was intrigued by how you were going to do this being based in the UK and me in Malaysia. This happens often though, right?
This is something which I am getting more and more. The internet has made it possible to vet, find, and communicate with other creatives all over the world. If a client is particularly far afield but still wants to work with me, today's technology makes that absolutely possible.
Generally, I will take the role of project manager and editor. Throughout the process, I personally reach out to and vet videographers near the client geographically. I interview them, I speak to them and make sure that they meet our incredibly high standards and we then work together to deliver a stress-free, cross-border experience for the client.
When I first thought about doing a video for my brand I had little idea of scripting or even how to tell a story, instead of focusing on the product. Is this the biggest mistake you see?
Absolutely. I could talk for hours about why storytelling is the most powerful marketing tool and why video is the most powerful way to deliver it. It's the same thing with marketing.
People gravitate towards talking about the features of their product, however so much of the time it's not the features that do the selling, it's how clearly you communicate how those features benefit someone and also so whether you're able to make an emotional connection with that person.
if you can do both of those things you will make the sale 9 times out of 10.
Video is in my opinion (and as backed up by data) the most effective tool for doing this en-masse.
When first onboarding a client, what’s your process of turning their brand into a story?
The great thing about most businesses is that they already have a story. The most important thing that we do is sit down with the client for an extended period of time and really dive deep into who they are as a brand, who they are as an individual, what the company stands for, what are its values, and what the goals of the project ultimately are.
This is a hugely enlightening experience not only for myself but quite often also for the business owner because often as business owners we are so wrapped up in delivering our service or our product that we very rarely take time to sit down and ask ourselves these questions.
With the cost of cameras and the quality of mobile phones now, do you really need a big budget for equipment or is it possible on a shoestring budget?
What the cost of cameras and the quality of phones has done is lower the barrier to entry, which is fantastic. There will always be a place for that, just as there will always be a place for professional video production.
I would encourage anyone to have a go at making a video themselves. However, the reality is that we as business owners are all too often spinning ludicrous amounts of plates, and speaking from experience, what we really want is someone to come in and deliver the result in a way that minimizes stress. That's what I do.
What’s been the biggest win for you or a client with one of your video productions?
The biggest wins for me aren’t necessarily the big, one-off projects that make a huge splash, although that’s always cool. For me, especially lately, I’m focusing on building long-standing relationships with clients. Whether that be on retainer or for ad-hoc projects.
Something that people might not know is that while brand videos are our bread and butter, we can handle all of your video and photography needs, including social media posts, paid ads, VSLs, and YouTube videos… You name it.
I consider it a huge win when a client decides to trust me with some of their most important business assets in the long term, and that’s what I want to do more of.
Video for Supergreen Tonik
Can you share some of your best videos?
The best video I could ask you to watch if you want to know more about me is my own brand video, which you can find pinned to the top of my website.
It was entirely made by myself and the team and hopefully shows off the best of what we do.
If you’re still keen for more after that, some of my personal favorite projects can also be found on the website.
You can connect with him directly via him via his website or via his LinkedIn profile.