Focus on Learning Is Paying Off : Business partners in Orange have not only found a booming market for their instructional videos, but they have also had a blast.
There are some things you do for love, and others you do for money. Jimm Vest and Phil Giraldin are lucky enough to do both at the same time.
The former hobbyists are now professional videographers. Their company, ESI Video Productions in Orange, which Vest began in 1988, makes its money producing corporate training films. But the partners say they love the educational videos they make, which are a growing part of their business because “you get to learn a lot,” said Vest, 35.
It’s difficult to believe anyone could get terribly excited about woodcarving, but the partners enjoyed it enough to produce four videos on the subject, investing much of their own money in the project.
Up to now, the ESI team has been filming instructional videos on subjects ranging from combat training to building walls. This month, however, they released their first video aimed at a general audience. “A Day at the Stable” is also ESI’s first attempt at the children’s audience.
“A Day at the Stable,” which has a running time of 40 minutes, demonstrates equestrian techniques for riding and jumping as well as showing how to care for a horse. Giraldin, who handles marketing for ESI, said there is a general misconception that all children want is pure entertainment.
“I have a whole bunch of kids at home who are tired of the ‘Power Rangers,’ ” said Giraldin, 45, a father of eight.
Tony Cherbak, a retail analyst at the Costa Mesa office of Deloitte & Touche, said that as ESI focuses on making educational products that are entertaining, the company also is likely to stumble across some profits if it succeeds in the hobby video market.
“There is a big market for these types of videos,” said Cherbak. “And it can be fairly lucrative because they are fairly inexpensive to produce.”
The cost of making a video such as “A Day at the Stable” can range from about $6,000 to nearly $30,000 depending on factors such as the amount of video shot and whether or not talent is hired, Giraldin said.
But those costs come only after one takes the initial plunge to buy all the needed video equipment. A professional quality video camera, Giraldin said, can cost up to $20,000 and the equipment in the company’s editing bay cost nearly $40,000.
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Orange residents Vest and Giraldin were both video hobbyists who picked up cameras and various pieces of editing equipment over the years. Vest learned about cameras and graphics while working in television production at Financial News Network and Telepictures, a television production company later bought by Lorimar Television. Giraldin worked in mortgage finance until 1992, when he decided to make his hobby a full-time occupation and joined forces with Vest at ESI.
Vest and Giraldin refused to reveal their annual revenues, but Giraldin said they are in a growth phase. Last year, sales more than doubled, and they are projecting additional growth in 1995. Vest and Giraldin are now ESI’s only full-time employees, but next year they plan to hire their first employee to work with them in their studio.
Now, the greatest production cost for ESI is the time it takes to make a video. A 15-minute corporate instructional video can take several weeks to produce working full time. Just like film and television, more time is spent doing work away from the camera than actually shooting. The partners both work on writing a script, editing the video and adding sound and graphics. But there is a guaranteed payment once the film is completed.
Other videographers charge up to $40,000 for a corporate training film, but ESI prides itself on its competitive pricing. Giraldin said ESI can produce something similar to a $40,000 model for less than $20,000 by using fewer graphics or by not employing actors.
Their hobby videos, by comparison, are more time-consuming to produce and may not be as lucrative. “A Day at the Stable,” took the team about three months to complete. “A Day at the Stable” just hit the shelves last month and will appear in Miller’s Harness Co., an equestrian catalogue, in the spring. ESI is also negotiating with several retail chains to bring the $19.95 video to a general audience.
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More than money, Vest said, he makes videos because it takes him back to his collegiate roots. The former broadcast journalism major at USC said making educational videos is a lot like making documentary films. “It’s like journalism because you have to take a subject you know nothing about and get it right,” he said.
Now, after shooting three videos on balancing the chassis of racing vehicles, Vest can claim to be somewhat of an expert on the subject. The acquired knowledge is not a byproduct of the process, said Vest, adding that he has to understand a subject before he begins to shoot to ensure accuracy.
The importance of accuracy was evident from the first instructional video project he took, for local race car guru Steve Smith, owner of Steve Smith Autosports in Orange. Smith is the author of several technical books on racing. When he decided to expand his product line to include videos, he hired ESI to make a video on automotive suspension.
Suspension is the key to winning races, said Smith, because it guarantees a driver will be able to maintain top speeds on turns. But explaining how to adjust the suspension on a car is highly technical, said Smith, because ESI must be sure the correct auto parts are being videotaped and that the mechanic performs the right action to achieve the desired outcome.
In addition to accuracy, Vest and Giraldin win points for creativity, said Smith, who has used ESI to film three of his company’s videos.
“They are really good with graphics and color and are always coming up with new ideas to try out to improve the look of it,” Smith said. “It must be working because we get good response from the videos.”
