Two Minutes with Wedding Videographer | Ratha Peng from iFriends Studio Cambodia

Mr. Ratha Peng doing what he does best....

i-Friend Studio is a multimedia and video production company based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Founded by the mild-mannered Mr. Ratha Peng, their services include film & music production, post-production and of course, wedding videography work. They also provide live feeds for their wedding videography during filming. Putting together a band of Remote Production staff which are highly experienced camera crea, audio techs and sound engineers in the business, Mr. Ratha is set for bigger things in Phnom Penh.

We of course catch hold of the busy man for two minutes to dig into his thoughts about weddings in Cambodia.

How long have you been in the business of producing wedding videography for bride & groom?

I started iFriend Studio since 2007 so... it would be 4 years now.

Tell us more about your area of specialty in terms of your wedding video styles. 

I think our styles are are slightly more modernized in terms of the creativity. We feel that sometimes, we need to capture the essence and the moment of the wedding and not just setting the video into aut0-mode. There is angling involved, but mostly for a video, the most important part is the editing. How you edit the video tells a different story.

Share with us more about your working style. What is your working process from A-Z?

Because there is only 2 minutes for you, I will make my answer short *laugh*

Once a client confirms the project with us and upon payment of deposit, usually a 50% deposit payment, we will block off the wedding date in our work calendar. We would also usually discuss with the clients if there are any special requirements they want, what would they like to have exactly, how much creative freedom do we have, etc... so that we ensure that we deliver what the client wants and sometimes more.

One the day of the wedding, we would usually follow the wedding planner's itinerary. Usually it will be 3 hours ahead to set-up equipments and co-ordinate ourselves as a team. If there are no planners, we just inform the client that we will show up at X time to do our set-up. Of course, even before the wedding day, we would have done a site recce so that we are familiar with the lay of the ground prior.

Do you think technology in Cambodia is sometimes and issue for local vendors to produce work that is of better quality? How do you overcome this for yourself?

We know that  Cambodia is the least developed country in terms of both of human resources and technology. For a photographer, example, a simple matter of buying the newest technology or equipment for their business can become very complicated. This is due to the fact that number 1, it is not easy to access the latest technology in my country. Number 2, local photographers here do not earn very much. So the income that they are earning from doing a photoshoot job sometimes does not justify buying a say, USD5,000 lens. Do you know what I mean?

But for me, I'm luckier. I already have a large network and connection and to get technological equipments and supplies is not that much of a problem for me. I also work with a lot of consultants and have both local and foreign partners to assist us.

For me, the real problem is market demand. Like I said, weddings in Cambodia, it is not like Malaysia or Singapore or Thailand even.  The clients haven't yet evolved that way. They are still keeping to their old traditions, old habits and some are too afraid to try new styles or creativity and these affect their decision-making. So sometimes, using the newest or latest technology may not be of a demand by these types of clients. In order for us to survive, we succumb to the client's demands. 
Of course, I definitely understand where you are coming from! I feel the same way! *smile* In your opinion, what do you think about the wedding industry of Cambodia in general?

For Cambodians, our old civilization, tradition and culture are deeply rooted into our hearts. For weddings, it is a lot of these old traditions and culture that seems to make all weddings appear the same. But of course, over the last couple of years, there is a strange change of pace in Cambodia. The Western influence and modern styles are slowly being introduced to weddings. Also because of technology such as iPhone and 3G, it has opened up the country to a score of online information via information sharing on social media. This is a new trend. Maybe strange to a lot of people for now, but it is certainly taking shape and people start changing their mindset. So this should be the direction we look into. We hope that people like you will help the local industry keep up with the trends as well because you have done it before. People like us would need to constantly upgrade ourselves and our knowledge as well. Correct?

Correct! So you think there is a great potential for the wedding industry in Cambodia to grow then?

Yes, I definitely think so. Every country has to grow. I think this is the time for local and international investors to consider investing into the wedding business because only with a group of like-minded people can we move forward to grow the industry. BUT, they need to keep in mind, especially for the foreign investors that they should not forget our Khmer culture & traditions.  

I totally agree with you. I think it is not so much about changing the culture but uplifting it. What then do you think is the biggest hurdle for the local wedding industry to overcome?

First of all, we all need to keep an open-mind. Second of all, I think one of the biggest hurdle will be professional services. Right now, every company compete based on price. Nobody competes based on professional service. I mean, like I explain above, everytime I need to do something cheap, I cannot improve my technology. And as such, the quality is to the best that I can deliver based on the fee that I am getting. This is a two-way thing. Clients need to also be involved in the process same with us to learn and to grow and to ask for the best only.

Wow, Mr. Ratha, I love your points. Anyway, before we part – can you share 5 Top Tips for the couple when choosing their Wedding Videographer?

Make sure you have good communications with the videographer and the team
Make sure you check their contract and what they will deliver to you at the end of the day
Make sure you give them as much information as possible about what you want
Make sure you trust that they are creative people with creative inputs too
Be adventurous - try something new and creative and stylish

I had really enjoyed the interview with you, Mr Ratha! Thank you again for all the superb points you gave. Here's to working together more for the future of the wedding industry in Cambodia!
_________________________

Some of iFriend Studio Behind The Scene photo