We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Matt Banzer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Matt below.

Matt, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

While I’ve been working with Video and Photo all my life, I didn’t start Banzer Films until after I had gotten laid off from my job. I had to move back in with my aunt, and one night I was sulking and watching music videos. The video for Lil Yachty’s “Say Something” came on, and I felt it was going for the same style I try to incorporate into my work. I felt the industry was moving in a direction I liked, but I couldn’t do anything. Then, I realized that I had the equipment I needed to make the videos and photos I wanted, I just needed to find the fortitude to do it.
The next day, I called my friend to make a quick aesthetic video that I could use to launch Banzer Films on all social media platforms.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Matt Banzer and I’m the founder of Banzer Films, a local photo and video service.
I have always been interested in film, and while I’ve taken my work seriously from the beginning, it wasn’t until recently that I tried to incorporate it into a business.
I work mainly with local music artists and models and collaborate with local film productions. I also cover events, live performances, and anything you can think of.
My clients love my work ethic and willingness to collaborate. While I steer the direction of the project, I always ensure everyone gets what they want out of the experience.
I love the early 2000s Y2K aesthetic and usually incorporate elements of it into most of my work. However, I am willing to try many different styles so I don’t put myself in a box. I always strive to make something new, rather than recreate the past.
You can contact me through my email at banzerfilms@gmail.com or message my many social media accounts on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Open communication is the most important element of any successful team. People can so easily get lost in the shuffle, so making everyone feel heard and have a clear goal will always keep the project focused.
I especially value my time in the pre-production phase. Planning guarantees everyone makes the best use of their time.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

The marketing of Houston Undercover, my annual 2-day festival, was challenging but rewarding.
Marketing a live show is different from marketing your business. You need people to show up and show out. While having multiple artists perform is a plus, as they can share the show with their followers, you also need to build up interest outside of that.
The idea of Houston Undercover is based on The AV Club’s “AV Undercover”, where each artist performs a regular show but has to include 2 covers from our random list of songs. The later a band gets to choose, the fewer choices for songs they have. It’s a somewhat complicated setup, which complicates how we market the show. While last year’s event was a success, my team felt that attendance could have been higher.
That’s why we went in a different direction for Houston Undercover 2.0. Taking inspiration from video games, we created “Character Select Screens” for each of the bands to introduce the songs they would be covering and advertise what genre of music they perform. The engagement was through the roof, and our impressions skyrocketed. We made $350 in online sales overall, and my business page got a 10% increase in followers.
While my business is not primarily focused on hosting concerts, this experience has helped me understand new ways to engage with the algorithm and gather conversions.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/banzer.films/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/banzer-films/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@banzerfilms136?si=bSyolRabP-bVGRgz
• Other: Behance Portfolio: https://www.behance.net/banzerfilms
  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@banzer.films

Image Credits

Profile Image Credit to Dylan Yanes