One Year Ago, We Charged $30 Per Video. Today, We Shot an Interview with Tony Leung Chiu-wai.

A little more than a year ago, three partners and I founded a production house that we creatively named Media Studio Hong Kong. We had little planning, and our only asset was a Canon 5D Mark iii that my father used twice.

Our first job was with Wallace Siu, who’s a good friend and a bodybuilding champion. We were stoked when we successfully convinced him to start a YouTube channel. He bulk-purchased 10 videos for $300. On our first shoot, we brought 4 crew members and shot for an hour. The resulting edited video was almost 6 minutes with minor special effects.

On our first shoot, we brought 4 crew members and shot for two hours. The resulting edited video was almost 6 minutes long with minor special effects. We had fun shooting and editing that video.

Fast forward to three days ago, it was 11 pm and I heard a chime on my phone. You have a new form submission, the notification read.

Hi, I need to hire a team for a video shoot on July 15 in Hong Kong. I am looking for a director of photography, camera operator, sound technician, production assistant, and an interviewer. Please contact me at your earliest convenience.

What the heck? That’s in 3 days, I thought while looking up the URL at the end of their email. It belonged to an American magazine company, and this funny American had either no forethought or no respect for a production house’s calendar.

I hopped onto a call with Jack, and he quickly dispelled my prejudice with a compelling reason for the last-minute request: Marvel arranged a photoshoot for Tony Leung Chiu-wai in preparation for Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, and they decided to add in an interview as an afterthought. This interview will go to the Iconic Characters series on the GQ YouTube channel.

Long story short, we got the job, and we just finished shooting an interview with Tony.

Holy shit, that was incredible. Get the picture: Tony is a celebrated superstar, a legendary actor. Practically everyone in Hong Kong loves him, and any one of us would drool at the opportunity to work with him.

This marks the first time Media Studio got hired by someone outside of Hong Kong. Coincidentally, it was also the first time GQ shot an interview for Iconic Characters outside of the US.

However fascinating this job was, it isn’t our goal but a milestone. Looking back at where we began, we came a long way, and we have longer to go. Although putting it this way heavily discounts the hard work and turmoil we had to go through, it is fun to see the dramatic contrast between now and then.

Finally, I’m not lamenting how much we undercharged in the beginning. It was a necessary step that got us where we are today, and wherever we will be in the future. Thank you both for believing in us, Wallace and Jack.

Go Media Studio Hong Kong! See you at HKEX or the big screen, whichever comes first.

Originally posted on the Media Studio Hong Kong Blog

Media Studio Hong Kong is a full-service digital marketing production house in Hong Kong.

Angus Yip is a web developer, entrepreneur, speaker, trail runner, and occasional writer.

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