We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Adnan Siddique a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Adnan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I started my video consulting firm ‘Cheap Films’ in the summer of 2020. For me, the business began fairly organically. It started when my partner and I started making short films in college. We’d never thought it’d amount to anything until we released our first short publicly in 2019. We did the festival run- shook hands, showed the film, and made a name for ourselves (at least locally in Columbus). And that was supposed to be it. I was scheduled to move onto postgrad and my partner had a job lined up elsewhere. It was only when the pandemic hit that we realized that there was some potential there. Because of the pandemic, a lot of small businesses were doing a ‘digital pivot.’ They had to transition from in-person foot traffic to becoming fully online entities. The creation of media and content for small businesses was no longer optional, it was a requirement. Suddenly there was a huge demand for commercial video & photography to use online. In the beginning, we just did free work where help was needed: photos for a food truck, video work for a boutique store, and an ad-spot for an insurance company. Word of mouth spread quickly, however, and we started charging as we went along. We didn’t know it then, but this was the beginning of Cheap Films. We slowly accumulated a client base and the next thing you know, we were doing this full time. Four years later and we’re still working with some of those original brick and mortar stores but we’re now working bigger clients too including Volvo, Dell, & Kroger.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

It’s a common misconception that videography is just pulling a camera out of a box, pointing in a direction, and pressing record. While there are those out there that do just that, the grand majority of us like to think there’s a little more to it. There’s the technical part: understanding the exposure triangle, choosing the right composition, and following proper lighting technique. But then there’s the artistic part (the fun part). And that’s what makes each and everyone one of us different. The secret sauce that makes and every artist proprietary are our unique creative visions. I got into this business by accident by just making short films with my friends. Those shorts served as our calling card to not only spread our name, but also to show how we choose to express ourselves. At risk of sounding pretentious, those short films established our creative identity. The service we provide in theory is the same that the next video agency can provide. I believe what sets us apart is that we aren’t pursuing profits or a large client base. It’s that we love film. We love to tell stories visually and in ways that harken back to films of the 1960’s and 1970’s. We love it so much that we often choose to do it for free (which probably isn’t great business advice). The next time you’re excited by a Super Bowl commercial or an ad campaign sparks conversation- remember that it wasn’t nice cameras and lights that made that bit. It was the weirdo in the corner of the board room that had an idea just crazy enough to work.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I grew up in a strict household where it was our life’s goal was to save every penny possible. So with that logic, I wanted to approach my video production business the same way. Anything I felt I could do, I would do. If I could do audio- great. If I could handle color correction- that’d be another penny saved not having to hire a professional colorist. While that helped me learn all the facets of the trade, I learned pretty early on that there are people who are more passionate than me at some of these facets. And it was difficult on my pride to admit that they could do some things better than I could. I wish someone had told me earlier that wearing all nine hats of video production is not something to be proud of. Filmmaking is one of most collaborative art forms (if not the most). It takes sensors and lasers and glass to produce a moving picture. But it takes tens of people to get a good story on screen. It is never shameful to ask for help and, if anything, it’s helped me to be even more productive when I do have to function solo. And money spent on passionate people is money well spent.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Everything that can go wrong on a set, will go wrong. There are obviously times where nothing goes right: the set that was cleared for a certain period of time is now occupied, the weather isn’t holding to provide sufficient sunlight, or the equipment just plain stops working. But what’s worse is when everything is going right and there is one critical error. This is the story of one of these times. For this particular shoot, we had our set reserved for an incredibly short amount of time (less than 1 hour). In that time, we needed to set up our stuff, get 3 good takes, and wrap up. Fortunately, we showed up early for setup just outside our location. When we were all good to go, however, I got word that the main actor in the scene mixed up the schedule and didn’t have any of their lines memorized. This hit me pretty hard in the moment, but having a dozen people look up to you for what to do next sobers you up pretty quickly. I decided to allot 2 of our 3 takes towards rehearsal followed by 1 final definitive take where everything would have to be perfect. Fortunately this plan worked out but there have been similar cases that were less fortunate. You can plan all you want but you’d be surprised how many important decisions have to be made correctly on the fly. During these times, you have to be ready for any outcome and hope for the best.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cheapfilms.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whoisadnansiddique