There’s a lot floating around in my (Billy ‘Skipper’ Hughes) head lately about how we operate as a business differently than most other people I speak with. So much so, that I’m starting a podcast to unload these ideas on whoever wants to hear them. A few of them would be great for budding business owners, others would be great for potential new clients, but others deal with how SkipperFilms came to be, which may or may not help or inspire, but it gives you (whoever is listening out there) a personal insight into what makes us tick. Fairly often I see a comment or question on Facebook that seems so obvious to me, but judging by the comments that followed it, must not be common practice and I’d like to explain why we’re different!
We have two branches of our business: Providing Corporate and Professional Video production services in the Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland area, and providing Brides and Grooms with breathtaking wedding films through our all-inclusive videography package. The first branch that deals with corporate projects is some of our most valuable projects and clients. We’ve worked with some amazing companies doing corporate work, and we really focus on providing high-end video work to each and every business we work with. The second branch is where it all started! We began doing weddings back in 2011, and with each new wedding we book, we perfect our workflow, become more efficient in editing, and enjoy yet another happy couple who gets to now enjoy a beautiful film of their big day. These two branches work wonderfully side by side. So why do I need to explain this? Well because I see a piece of advice to people in trying to expand from their wedding work that I feel is way off (at least for some).
Often when asked how to manage a business that provides both wedding videography and corporate video production, a producer will say “you have to create two brands. Corporate clients will see that you do wedding work and steer clear of your services!” I feel almost the exact opposite about how corporate clients perceive a company that offers wedding videography. To use SkipperFilms as an example, we’ve done quite well with putting those two services side by side in our offerings. We’ve worked hard on building both brands, and a rebrand on either of them would be devastating to all the work we’ve done in building our reputation. From the client’s standpoint, we’ve never heard that as a reason for not going with us, and trust me, we’ve heard them all. So why are people suggesting that companies should hide the fact that they create wedding films when trying to attract corporate clients? Well, the biggest culprit would be bigger video production houses looking for cameramen and crew, and needing people with traditional film school training, which most wedding videographers may or may not have. To them it felt like a sign of an amateur. It was also a rumor started in a time when wedding video production was not shot nearly as cinematically as it is today. Seriously, weddings are being shot like epic romance movies, and just oozing with talent!
From our standpoint, we LOVE shooting weddings, and I feel like it improves our corporate video production in may ways. It keeps our skills sharp, it lets us get cr
eative, and opens our minds up a bit. The way I see it, if you can shoot a video in a very poorly-lit reception hall and make it look halfway decent, not only will you really shine on a corporate set in good lighting, but you’ll really come to appreciate those lights and how to fully utilize them. Also, if a client were to approach us, and ultimately decide not to move forward for the sole reason of having weddings in our portfolio, then I personally don’t have much interest in fighting for that client, as they may not appreciate the style we’ve worked so hard to develop. Nothing against them, but perhaps it’s just not a great fit and they’ll be happy going with someone who upholds a more traditional style of video production. This tactic has in NO WAY limited our business growth year after year, working with clients such as Audi of America, Stanford Children’s Hospital, Sunrise Senior Living, and Marriott Hotels to name a few. We’re proud as hell to support clients from all walks of life for both weddings and any kind of company promotional video or conference. Everyone should give us a chance to really see how our diverse experience can make your film exponentially better in every way!
And that’s why we do what we do, and have no intention of leaving either one of these branches in the dust to help the other branch move forward. We love all our clients, all our projects, and all our supported industries. If you’d like to chat about creating a video for your company, please head over to our Corporate page, and if you are getting married and need a marvelous wedding film to recap the day, head over to the Wedding Center today!
