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

Hi Brian, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about how you got your first non-friend, non-family client. Paint the picture for us so we can feel the same excitement you felt on that day.

When I restarted my video career in 2012, I got my feet wet creating free music videos for friends in the bands Bruiser Queen and Spectator. Using an entry-level Canon DSLR and some cheap work lights from Home Depot, we had fun being creative and I was able to get some credits for my CV and show what I could do. The first paid video gig was a music video for the STL-based band Roundheels, led by local musician and Boardwalk Waffles & Ice Cream king Eric Moore. That’s the gig that allowed me to upgrade into some semi-pro gear that really upped what I could do visually. We had a blast creating animations and shooting in multiple locations on that project and I will always be thankful to Eric for that opportunity. I’m currently working on a music video for his new band, Blinded By Stereo, so it’s nice to see that relationship come full circle.

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

After a couple years after high school working in St. Louis TV production–including a news desk internship at KSDK Channel 5 and a Production Assistant gig at KETC Channel 9–I left the industry to be a 911 dispatcher for two decades before the DSLR revolution happened and I picked up a cheap Canon Rebel t2i in 2012. Suddenly having hi def video with lenses that allowed more creativity with shallow depth of field inspired me in a way that hadn’t happened twenty years before, when to get the same kind of technology would have been prohibitively expensive for an independent producer. After a couple freebies for friends, word of mouth thankfully brought me paying clients that keep coming back for sometimes multiple projects. I think what set me apart originally was that I was a musician in the local scene for a couple decades, something which definitely influenced the rhythmic way I cut music videos together. After a few years I started branching out into mini-documentaries, events, and corporate videos–and more recently, projects for local theater companies like Upstream Theater. I like to create a comfortable and fun experience on set–My goal is like, let’s have fun making a movie. I’ve also branched out into some animation projects, notably for music videos for Prairie Rehab, Middle Class Fashion, and Rabbi James Stone Goodman.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Word of mouth has always been the best source of new work for me. Treating clients well and giving them a satisfying creative collaborative experience will always get you new and repeat clients.

Another great source has been my series, Live from the Boom Room. As the pandemic was winding down in 2021, I was looking for some way to reach out into the regional music scene in a more serious way. I wanted to provide a free, promotional service for bands that might not be able to raise the funds for a full production music video, but with a production formatted in a way that wouldn’t require me to leave home with a carload of gear a couple nights every week. So in October of that year, I started a live music performance series out of my South City basement called Live from the Boom Room. (Named after my basement “Karaoke Boom Room”, with no relation to the STL burlesque club with a similar name.) It’s a one-man production down there, with me running multiple cameras plus recording the live audio, which allowed me to produce the series for free, basically, except for my time. I’ve released over 60 weekly episodes since then, featuring artists like Steve Ewing, Clownvis, Jimmy Griffin, and many more. I was finally able to monetize the project in 2022 via a generous arts grant the project received from the Regional Arts Commission. As that series has been gaining steam, it has introduced me to a few new clients, including Boom Room artists hiring me for music videos and a couple organizations that have hired me to create for them a similar live music series.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

I try to make a human connection with a client–the goal for me, besides making the project, is to have a great time with your new or returning friends. I have many friends that started out as clients, and still come back to me with their latest projects. Word of mouth on a positive production experience, in addition to an actual end product that the client is delighted with, does wonders for getting prospective clients to reach out.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.blipblapvideo.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blipblapvideo/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlipBlapVideo
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-mcclelland-9a41b492/
• Twitter: @BlipBlapVidz
• Youtube: @BlipBlapVideo
• Other: https://linktr.ee/BlipBlapVideo

Image Credits
All images: Brian McClelland / Blip Blap Video