Admittedly, it initially doesn’t sound too flattering or desirable to discuss DIY within a professional video production company. I mean, after all, what small business in Kalamazoo would want to pay for video production from a company that embraces a Do-It-Yourself mentality?

But what can I say?…The members of the Ignertia video production team are closet DIY-ers. Whether you look at our vehicles, our hobbies, or our homes, you’ll be able to find such an example (or two or three) of ingenuity and resourcefulness.

In fact, a recent need for some equipment here at Ignertia brought out this DIY spirit in the video department, and I think it demonstrated the value of having such a drive, both to ourselves, but more importantly to our clients.

Simply put, we needed a new solution for sound control in the studio, and after some research of “professional solutions” for sound control, we found the costs ranging between $1000 and $2000. Such solutions usually involve sticking special sound-proofing foam to walls and ceilings in alternating arrangements. Cheaper, less-specialized foam arrangements can also be used.

Unable to help ourselves, we set out to explore more economical ways to construct similar solutions, using alternative materials along with varying amounts of brainpower and elbow grease. Nate even built a prototype:

Of course, the inherent advantage to such an approach is economical: find a way to do it cheaper, and you can save your clients money too. This is obvious. But that is not what I found most advantageous about our approach.

To me, what was most notable was what came out during the process of brainstorming these alternative DIY solutions: a deeper analysis of factors occurred, along with a discovery of factors we had not previously considered. We were able to better consider factors such as weight, mobility, speed of setup/tear-down, and overall durability. In addition, new factors came to light, such as multi-usefulness, and the ability of a single person to set up the equipment by him/her self.

In addition to helping us consider these and other factors, it also helped us determine what it was we value most – prioritizing what it is we need vs. what it is we want vs. what it is we thought we wanted.

Attempting to do it ourselves gave us a clearer understanding of priorities and of value. Ultimately, this lead to us spending hundreds of dollars instead of thousands on equipment that arguably serves more of our needs, and does a better job to boot!

CONCLUSION:

I recently read an article where the author stated: “Most of my life was spent in trying to figure out how to do a 50 dollar project for 50 cents, and the remainder of my time was spent in trying to scrounge up the 50 cents.” Hyperbole aside, without too much effort I think we could each find an example of this statement in our own lives, and even articulate the reward we received from it.

Of course, taking a do-it-yourself approach is by no means the only way to achieve an analysis of pros, cons, goals, values, SWOT, etc. In fact, this is something we help our clients with all the time, using any number of tools, exercises, and processes.

I suppose that part of me just wanted to dispel any notion that having a DIY attitude is somehow incompatible with professionalism. Of course this is nonsense! It was also just fun and interesting to note the adventures and benefits to the DIY spirit here in the Ignertia video department.

This all brings me back to that initial question: What small business looking for video production in Kalamazoo would want to hire a video production company where the Do-It-Yourself spirit is alive and well?

Well….

…You would!