📍EEA: Get Inspired with Farran Tabrizi

RJ Redden:

It's just not quite there it is. Hello, everybody. put those goggles on. You are now in the Epic Engagement Adventure. My name is RJ Reddin, but you know me already, so we're not gonna go over all that. What you need to know is this. The person beside me on the screen right now knows more about guiding people on an epic adventure than almost everybody I know. fair and Tabrizi, I am so happy to have you here today. We met at an ewomen meeting randomly, like, 6 months ago or so. Yeah. and now she's just one of the most treasured persons in my circle. So please, everybody welcome the Farron, and Fair and tell us who you are and what you do.

Farran Tabrizi:

Well, thank you for having me, RJ. I don't get to do this kinds of, appearances often. So, okay. Who am I? Well, I am a video storyteller. I I've been in the video space for over 20 years and, started my career. Well, let's Let's back it up. I started holding a camera probably when I was about six years old. So you could always find me with, you know, where which project in it through my house and on our our little adventures as a family. So I'd say it it goes as far back as 1990 when I was six years old. but as a, you know, a teenager and stuff, I always thought, oh, I I wanna get into, you know, I wanna be the Nextiva and I wanna be a movie director. I wanna do film. And my dad would always be like, oh, he's always practical. And, like, that, you know, you're never gonna make it an industry. It's too competitive. Shut down my dreams. but, I was able to start a small business doing event video production while I was in college. And that proved to my dad that video could be lucrative in other ways. It doesn't have to be big film. So I went off to school. I was able to transfer over to San Francisco State and get my degree in broadcast radio and television. And, I chose that over film because it was more technical. I I I liked the idea of, like, field production and documentary style stuff. And, I graduated college in 2006, which was basically like the dawn of YouTube. So, yeah, some things in the perspective here. Right? So, I mean, our newer generations only know having YouTube, like, from day one. Right? So, anyway, so that that just kinda puts some, the timeline kind of into perspective. I went to San Francisco State, so I ended up sticking around the Bay Area went to LA and I, like, ended up working, for different, companies startup level usually that we're trying to embrace video, put video platforms you know, on online. And so I was kind of at the forefront of that producing content, kind of a one woman show I would be doing everything from the writing, the hauling, the gear, the shooting, the editing, and putting it up on a bit. So that's kind of where I started my career. And, and then about 10 years ago, I decided, to fully leave corporate world. I didn't fully leave it because I ended up getting corporate clients, but starting my own business and just doing that full time. So for about 10 years now, I've been running to Brissy Productions, a boutique video production company out in the San Francisco Bay area, and I have a whole host of clients. I've got big tech. I've got small business owners. I've got, growing companies that are basically trying to show off how awesome it is to work with them and I get I get I get kind of a backstage pass into all of these different, individuals and organizations, and I get to, I get the opportunity to tell their story through video. So, it's pretty awesome.

RJ Redden:

Nice. And you said you said a boutique, kind of a boutique video shop. What did you mean by that?

Farran Tabrizi:

We're small. Like, our our general crew is about 2 to 3 people, you know, give or take. I can wear all the hats. I try not to all the time because there's always beauty when you bring another talent and great better ideas that come from it. but when I say boutique, I mean, you work with me from day 1, and I will be at the shoot, and I will be the one editing the content. So I work very intimately with my clients. I call most of my client's friends, to be honest.

RJ Redden:

Well, it's true. I mean, like, who would you rather work with? you know what I mean? And I I'm also careful to only invite people into my circle who I want to spend the time with. I have taken other jobs as you probably have too. and had the undesired consequences from that. So, yeah. Well, there's a there's a gift and a beauty in being small, and, and, in part of it's that flexibility, I think.

Farran Tabrizi:

Mhmm. Yeah. Absolutely.

RJ Redden:

so what are what are some of the greatest lessons you've learned from from, you know, being out there on your own for 10 years.

Farran Tabrizi:

Oh gosh. Always just hit record even if you're not in. I've I've actually forgotten to hit record in such a big moment for my past, but I didn't want to admit so give yourself ample time. Just hit record. Roll. Just roll while you're hanging out. Sometimes that might be some of your best stuff. You know, I think also embracing the fact that I am small, that I am boutique. I find that to be a really big benefit actually because, you know, most of the people that come in front of the lens, this is like their first time doing it and be it, you know, whether there's a spokesperson for the they work for or they're selling their their own brand or themselves or their services. Like, they're usually pretty intimidated about being in front of a camera with lights and, you know, mic'd up and all that stuff. And so I like to I I I I bring all that, but I bring it in a in a intimate level and a small, like, you know, I don't I don't have massive production crew. you know, you're on a huge studio hearing. You know, it's just we we keep it stripped down. We we have the basic the bare necessities of what we need. You know what I mean? And and honestly, most most of my clients say that they kind of forgot the camera was even rolling. know, we were just having a conversation. And so and that's really where you get the best stuff. Right? So, I have, you know, I've had to work with lots of different people you know, you want them to be vulnerable on camera. You want to get to the the heart. Right? So, so I find that being small is an advantage me and having that fact that I'm, excuse me, my voice is shut. but, you know, just that I that that there is the fair and touch on every piece along the way. I can guarantee that you're gonna be in good hands, and we're gonna tell your story the right

RJ Redden:

That's that's such a gift, I think, because, you know, if you're if you're gonna spend money and especially if if you're small too and you're gonna trust somebody, it's good to know, that the the captain of the ship is, you know, gonna gonna take care of you. Gonna, going to make you look good. I know that. I know that for me, especially, Lyn, I know a lot of re your recent work has been culture videos, for corporations. So how did you how did you start to start to do that? What drew you to doing, corporate culture videos?

Farran Tabrizi:

Well, I, you know, it kind of found me because, you know, being you know, just being that my business is in the San Francisco Silicon Valley, you know, we're kind of at the forefront of how workplaces are changing. You know, we always have been. You know? And even when I was in corporate world, I mean, it was just there was just such a stark difference from how organizations were run on the other side of the country, you know, or middle of America. Right? We were the first to be, like, casual every day, not just on Fridays. We were the, you know, first to be getting fed your lunches. You know what I mean? And having lots of fun events within the office to to, you know, promote team building and whatnot. So, so there is this need to, you know, show that aspect in this really highly competitive market, the the bay area is, right? And now with hybrid approach and new talent from everywhere, you really gotta set yourself apart. Right? So, so clients would just come to me, you know, wanting, hey, you know, we need to we've got, you know, some major hiring efforts, and we want to just kind of show off how awesome it is to work here. And, I just found that that was, like, the best first job to have with the client. You know what I mean? Like, first of all, you hope that every client is an ongoing client, right? And they usually are. but this is like the perfect gateway video because we get I get to sit with the the CEO I get to sit with the executives. I get to sit with just all the other people that are a part of the up that organization, and I get the opportunity to interview anywhere from like 10 to 20 people and really tell the story from all perspectives, right, rather than just having, like, you know, the founder speaking and kind of giving us a boring sales speech about, like, this is what we do and, you know, this is who we are. I get to talk to the the the individuals that work there every day and live and breathe the core values and So those just are like some of my favorite projects that I get to work on, and they inevitably end up becoming repeat because I get to know them. I just I almost you know, I also I sometimes I get I get a little lonely being a small business owner. You know, I I sometimes I I'm social. I'm I am a textbook extrovert. So there are times I miss. I I like envy my husband to go to work and like have the the water cooler conversations, you know what I mean, or the happy hours. And so when I go to when I get to go spend a couple days with the company. Like, I feel like I get to be, like, an employee if there's for a couple days. You know? And because I get that, I don't know, that experience, that really intimate experience with them, I get to tell the best story. Yes.

RJ Redden:

Yes. Those were that's where the best stories come from. Isn't it? The best story isn't the, this is what I put out there. to, so that people will take a look at me when they're rolling by on the internet. The real story is underneath all of that. and you're able to get to that in a way that communicates the real stuff with other people. Well, it's pretty amazing.

Farran Tabrizi:

It is. I feel really lucky.

RJ Redden:

Recently, I know you took a little, took a little road trip. I an it's definitely an epic adventure for sure. You wanna tell the people about your old road trip.

Farran Tabrizi:

Yeah. I love to. so I had this crazy idea, you know, the beginning of the year, it was, like, March. Right? And we had my we had a wedding in New Orleans, and we had my husband's 4 beautiful birthday in Whistler. We we had kinda, like, capped out on his PTO and money just, you know, to go travel. And we're like, well, shoot. How are we gonna I mean, we work we love to be on the road. We love to do stuff. You know, we're we're always out there. know, get going out there with kids, but it's on a plane or a car, whatever. And so I'd had this random wild hair idea that, you know what, maybe My kids were both in preschool.

RJ Redden:

1

Farran Tabrizi:

of them got stuck kindergarten. He just started this week. We survived 1st week. and, You know, I was like, what if we just skip the preschool over the summer? I will just take a lighter summer. I will maintain my client load and not try to worry about hustling and getting new clients. And, and he he has the flexibility of working remotely. So we're like, why don't we just go and travel and use the money that we would have been spending on preschool, which I ain't cheap. and reallocate that to the flights and rental cars. And what we did is we had a, you know, we made a list of all the people and places we wanted to go. We had a lot of people who moved in the last couple of years to start families and they moved out of the Bay Area and You know, so I called it the the new baby, a new home tour. So we we made a list and we we, we bought one way flights rented a car and and then drove drove, drove, drove, and then flew out from other destinations. That way we can cover more ground. And we went as far as finishing off in DC and did 14 states in total. And, it was an epic It was an epic adventure. and I would totally do it again. and I decided that, As a part of me trying to be a little bit more vulnerable and tap into maybe, like, what my story is, I decided to write a short series of I guess blog articles for LinkedIn called summer school dropout. And there's 6 articles that kinda document the lessons and The lessons learned and the experience is made, and I hope it inspires. I know it has already inspired people to do, to do something similar. or to think outside of the box. You know what I mean? Yeah. So people thought we were crazy and then all of a sudden I'm sending photos to my family and they're like, wow, your kids are seeing all of this, and they're not even they just turned 5 and 3. So so it was pretty cool. I would do it again. and we got to spend time with people that we just could not see for years. So it was pretty cool.

RJ Redden:

Well, and and part of the part of the incredibleness, I think, too, of this trip, I mean, not only was it like, okay, let's Let's take a left turn. You know what I mean? with the way that you spend your time, so it was a big shakeup in, you know, because there were a lot of things to heal. But you also had, like, a creativity fire hose, going on. You had some moments in the middle of this trip. Can you talk about that?

Farran Tabrizi:

Yeah. Oh my god. Like you just need to get out of your normal everyday mundane space. I think to get that spark of creativity. And as a, you know, when I was when it was just my husband and I, like, we would do that all the time. We would go in places all the time. There wasn't a lot stopping us from crazy ideas. And, you know, I think the last 3 to 5 years, I've kind of succumb to, like, you know, I can only do this much. You know, my, you know, my kids are young, blah blah blah blah blah. and there was just something about getting out of my house, being on the road, those long drives would just turn into, like, creative juices flowing. You know, everyone falls asleep, and normally I'd be like annoyed and be like, hey. Someone, stay awake and keep me up, but my brain was just like, going and going and going. And ideas, like, ideas I had were actually, like, turning into, like, plans. You know what I mean? that I was making. And so, I had a lot of inspiration about, you know, a lot of new ideas on my business. and I also had to have some new business ideas that now I'm actually already putting into play. So, gosh. Yeah. Like, I need to do this for myself just to have those moments every year. You know what I mean?

RJ Redden:

Yeah.

Farran Tabrizi:

I need to do this again for that reason alone. It was so I was also reading, Eve Brodsky's listening on tape, you know, her unicorn space. And I, like, I'm like, oh, yeah. I've got my unicorn space, like, while I'm driving. It was pretty great. You know?

RJ Redden:

Nice. Yeah. I I know that, you know, I mean, you've got you've got so many things coming up now. Can you can you talk about your upcoming podcast? Because I do think that, I I I'm I know I'm tuning in. can you tell us about that?

Farran Tabrizi:

Yeah. Well, I just kinda thought, you know, with all this talk about company culture and so many things changing. And I was like, where how can I touch more people? Like, how can we talk more? How can I learn more about what's happening in the workplace? and a podcast just seemed like a really natural fit. I wanna bring on people who are running organizations, And maybe even people not necessarily running them, but, like, you know, people within the organizations that just wanna speak for, like, how progressive their companies are. And so we're hoping to put together a short little, series and see how it goes. I've never done podcasting, but I've been very interested at it ties in with one of my business ideas that I'm working towards right now. So which is a might be a podcast studio. So, anyway, so there so starting with my own to really learn the process so can help people produce, you know, maybe their own as well for the future would be cool. But, yeah, it's just a way for me to get talk talking to more people more frequently. You know what I mean? And learn and just learn really, like, immerse myself in the world of, you know, I guess it's like HR, right, but it's like, it's just so much more than what HR to be. and I yeah. That's that's what I'm working on. Is that clear? Sorry. I haven't really had a problem with my pitch for it yet. So it's

RJ Redden:

--

Farran Tabrizi:

No. No. That's totally okay.

RJ Redden:

do you can you share the, the title? Because I think the title is pretty fabulous.

Farran Tabrizi:

called Beyond the ping pong table.

RJ Redden:

it's so beautiful. So beautiful. yeah, I mean, you've got to say HR to me, and I remember the company I worked for 20 years ago, you go into that office. You are in deep. you know, I mean, like, you know, the it it has changed and and and, you know, and and, you know, people just knowing what kind of work cultures are out there, all corporations are not set out to kill you, steal your spirit. And, you know,

Farran Tabrizi:

here we are. There's whole teams dedicated now. to people internally. You know what I mean? The making the keeping the people happy.

RJ Redden:

That's amazing.

Farran Tabrizi:

That's what makes the whole the world go around, right? You know what I mean? Like people with a company, if you've got a bunch of disgruntled employees. You know what I mean? work should not feel it's just it's just evolved too much to you know, it shouldn't it shouldn't feel like it's the you know, the 9 to 5 grind all the time, and it's you know what I mean? You gotta show them. I don't know. It's just it's just changed so much. And I And I wanted to talk to more people about that and have really good conversations. Yeah.

RJ Redden:

Well, and especially, you know, with the generations coming in, They're no longer accepting a grind. No.

Farran Tabrizi:

They're not. They don't -- A guy's standard. Yeah. Pardon me wants to be like, payer dues, but, you know, funny.

RJ Redden:

Cause I remember when I started, you know, working for corporations and stuff and really kind of trying to fit in, which I did not, Omaha, Nebraska, you know, not working. but, but, yeah, I mean, I remember when, I remember before enron, when when, get a get a good job, keep it 40 years was, like, still the thing. And and, I mean, it's changed so astronomically. And even, you know, working working with you and and chatting with you, I have to keep mindful what's even though, like, I'm here, I've got a lady in Tennessee, I've got some folks overseas in Croatia, but we're a team. We're we're people that spend significant amounts of time together. Am I keeping them happy? Am I doing what I can to make sure that they're fulfilled and just even having that contact with you really reminds me of what kind of a ship am I running? You know? I can't put a ping pong table anywhere. I can't do it. so how am I going to

Farran Tabrizi:

You can't play Zoom ping pong. You know? It's kinda

RJ Redden:

-- He's doing ping pong. yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. I, so so it really is. It's important. Culture is important. Even if you are, you know, if you're a solopreneur, it's it's still there. If you are working with people --

Farran Tabrizi:

Mhmm.

RJ Redden:

-- gotta think about it. So --

Farran Tabrizi:

Absolutely. I have to think about it, and I don't even have people I work with every day. You know what I mean? but but I want those people to I want those good people to stick around and want them to continue working with me and want to continue working with me and supporting my vision and what I'm doing. You know what I mean? So there's there's something to learn for everybody.

RJ Redden:

There is. And and you know, one of the things that I think about now that I never thought about before 2020 is where am I putting my money? whom, you know, because, like, when I choose to work with somebody, it's because I like them because I like what they're about, obviously, but also, you know, I'm I'm investing in those people. you know, if I hire you for some video, I'm investing in you. And I think that people I mean, it's been my experience that people are much more careful about where they put their money. have you experienced that as well?

Farran Tabrizi:

Well, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, Yeah. I mean, like, as and especially when you're dealing with, like, you know, it's a little bit different depending on the deck the the size of the organization I'm working with, but Yeah. Absolutely. I'd say with this, with definitely the smaller folks out there. Smaller businesses, I mean. Yeah.

RJ Redden:

Yeah. super cool. well, I do wanna get to, one of the stories we haven't gotten yeah, so far. And it has to do with you and have the edit videos. Can you tell us when you've gone and you've you know, unpacked your stuff for a number of days and and caught a whole bunch of footage at someone's placed and you're beginning your kind of editing process. What's your first step?

Farran Tabrizi:

Well, Okay. So, like, think about when you're watching a movie, you know, at the theater or whatever, and you've got that intro music and the music that they roll at the credits. You know what I mean? Like, how impactful are those 2 shock song choices, right, in a film? So music to me just sets the tone, and I'm a huge music fan, middle head. Like, I'd love I mean, I really love all all music, but So, you know, music, also royalty free music has come a long way that you can purchase. You know what I mean? And so So to me, it's all about finding that tune, finding that vibe, you know, usually it's something I pick up on while I'm with the client, you know, I tried to throw away from anything being, like, too corporate sounding, you know, and really trying to get that, yeah, that feeling that vibe. And, that's really where, like, the editing starts for me. Like, I'll I'll sort the clips out and kinda cut out, you know, like, you know, label things up and stuff like that. But I throw that track down, and then I just, like, listen to it. And I just start seeing, like, the images, the pacing, and I remember the moments that would fit really well. And so, and music really is what drives, like, all my editing. Yeah.

RJ Redden:

I I just love that story. because it just is you know, you think of video people as people just kind of behind the camera, but like, spending time with you. I just know you're really an artist and that you're using all of the different senses that you can. You're you're not starting the video editing with let's watch a whole bunch of this. You're you actually start with a completely different medium and then draw that in. I just think that's fascinating.

Farran Tabrizi:

Alright. Well, I think probably it probably also helps that I am the editor too. You know what I mean? So when I shoot, I kinda shoot for the edit. Right? So

RJ Redden:

--

Farran Tabrizi:

Yeah. You know, and and and again, this is, again, I benefit, I think, of the boutique video production model. You know, it's like if I'm, you know, if if if I've got a crew over here shooting everything and sending me footage, I gotta go through it and start getting familiar with it. But when I leave something, I've already got a sense of it. I know where things are. And sometimes that inspiration might have hit, like I said, while I'm there, or by the time I come home and I'm and I'm sorting through it a few days later, you just get a feeling. And then, and then I have I use great resources, like, like, I'll I'll plug music vine. I love music vine. They have great music. They're constantly producing stuff. It's funny too. I tend to like, there's certain artists that always end up becoming the ones I select. And I just you know, you could type in almost anything and something will come up and then you just start getting into I'll spend like a good hour or 2 just finding the right song, you know, to edit too. Yeah.

RJ Redden:

well, well, you've definitely got me sing in your tune. Ferron, but you knew that already. gosh, I wanna thank you. I wanna thank you for coming on, and talking about your story, everybody, you can find, summer school dropout, all of the You can find that on LinkedIn, Ferron's newsletter, to breezy Productions.

Farran Tabrizi:

Yeah.

RJ Redden:

and, And where, you know, where should people get a hold of you? If they need some video stuff, what's a good way to get a hold

Farran Tabrizi:

Well, as she mentioned, LinkedIn, I'm hanging out a lot at. So if you message me there, that's a great place to start or just check out to breezyproductions.com. and fill out a contact form and it kind of guides you gives you a little bit of what to expect with working with me and you can check out some of the samples and Usually, we just start with having a

RJ Redden:

20

Farran Tabrizi:

minute phone call, and I just get to know you and see if it's a good fit. So

RJ Redden:

-- Yeah. Well, you know, thanks for coming on and and talking to my audience, about you've been amazing. Now, I know I know you need to get back to the little one. So, we're gonna wrap it up, Hey, everybody out there. we're closing down the bot cave for the day, but, we are, we're throwing a party next week. We got power networking. Come join us. because you know it's a good time, totally free event. It's on LinkedIn, and, would love to have you there And you know what? In the meantime, enjoy your adventures. Take care of yourself, but take care of each other. and we're out. We'll see you later.

RJ Redden:

It's just not quite there it is. Hello, everybody. put those goggles on. You are now in the Epic Engagement Adventure. My name is RJ Reddin, but you know me already, so we're not gonna go over all that. What you need to know is this. The person beside me on the screen right now knows more about guiding people on an epic adventure than almost everybody I know. fair and Tabrizi, I am so happy to have you here today. We met at an ewomen meeting randomly, like, 6 months ago or so. Yeah. and now she's just one of the most treasured persons in my circle. So please, everybody welcome the Farron, and Fair and tell us who you are and what you do.

Farran Tabrizi:

Well, thank you for having me, RJ. I don't get to do this kinds of, appearances often. So, okay. Who am I? Well, I am a video storyteller. I I've been in the video space for over 20 years and, started my career. Well, let's Let's back it up. I started holding a camera probably when I was about six years old. So you could always find me with, you know, where which project in it through my house and on our our little adventures as a family. So I'd say it it goes as far back as 1990 when I was six years old. but as a, you know, a teenager and stuff, I always thought, oh, I I wanna get into, you know, I wanna be the Nextiva and I wanna be a movie director. I wanna do film. And my dad would always be like, oh, he's always practical. And, like, that, you know, you're never gonna make it an industry. It's too competitive. Shut down my dreams. but, I was able to start a small business doing event video production while I was in college. And that proved to my dad that video could be lucrative in other ways. It doesn't have to be big film. So I went off to school. I was able to transfer over to San Francisco State and get my degree in broadcast radio and television. And, I chose that over film because it was more technical. I I I liked the idea of, like, field production and documentary style stuff. And, I graduated college in 2006, which was basically like the dawn of YouTube. So, yeah, some things in the perspective here. Right? So, I mean, our newer generations only know having YouTube, like, from day one. Right? So, anyway, so that that just kinda puts some, the timeline kind of into perspective. I went to San Francisco State, so I ended up sticking around the Bay Area went to LA and I, like, ended up working, for different, companies startup level usually that we're trying to embrace video, put video platforms you know, on online. And so I was kind of at the forefront of that producing content, kind of a one woman show I would be doing everything from the writing, the hauling, the gear, the shooting, the editing, and putting it up on a bit. So that's kind of where I started my career. And, and then about 10 years ago, I decided, to fully leave corporate world. I didn't fully leave it because I ended up getting corporate clients, but starting my own business and just doing that full time. So for about 10 years now, I've been running to Brissy Productions, a boutique video production company out in the San Francisco Bay area, and I have a whole host of clients. I've got big tech. I've got small business owners. I've got, growing companies that are basically trying to show off how awesome it is to work with them and I get I get I get kind of a backstage pass into all of these different, individuals and organizations, and I get to, I get the opportunity to tell their story through video. So, it's pretty awesome.

RJ Redden:

Nice. And you said you said a boutique, kind of a boutique video shop. What did you mean by that?

Farran Tabrizi:

We're small. Like, our our general crew is about 2 to 3 people, you know, give or take. I can wear all the hats. I try not to all the time because there's always beauty when you bring another talent and great better ideas that come from it. but when I say boutique, I mean, you work with me from day 1, and I will be at the shoot, and I will be the one editing the content. So I work very intimately with my clients. I call most of my client's friends, to be honest.

RJ Redden:

Well, it's true. I mean, like, who would you rather work with? you know what I mean? And I I'm also careful to only invite people into my circle who I want to spend the time with. I have taken other jobs as you probably have too. and had the undesired consequences from that. So, yeah. Well, there's a there's a gift and a beauty in being small, and, and, in part of it's that flexibility, I think.

Farran Tabrizi:

Mhmm. Yeah. Absolutely.

RJ Redden:

so what are what are some of the greatest lessons you've learned from from, you know, being out there on your own for 10 years.

Farran Tabrizi:

Oh gosh. Always just hit record even if you're not in. I've I've actually forgotten to hit record in such a big moment for my past, but I didn't want to admit so give yourself ample time. Just hit record. Roll. Just roll while you're hanging out. Sometimes that might be some of your best stuff. You know, I think also embracing the fact that I am small, that I am boutique. I find that to be a really big benefit actually because, you know, most of the people that come in front of the lens, this is like their first time doing it and be it, you know, whether there's a spokesperson for the they work for or they're selling their their own brand or themselves or their services. Like, they're usually pretty intimidated about being in front of a camera with lights and, you know, mic'd up and all that stuff. And so I like to I I I I bring all that, but I bring it in a in a intimate level and a small, like, you know, I don't I don't have massive production crew. you know, you're on a huge studio hearing. You know, it's just we we keep it stripped down. We we have the basic the bare necessities of what we need. You know what I mean? And and honestly, most most of my clients say that they kind of forgot the camera was even rolling. know, we were just having a conversation. And so and that's really where you get the best stuff. Right? So, I have, you know, I've had to work with lots of different people you know, you want them to be vulnerable on camera. You want to get to the the heart. Right? So, so I find that being small is an advantage me and having that fact that I'm, excuse me, my voice is shut. but, you know, just that I that that there is the fair and touch on every piece along the way. I can guarantee that you're gonna be in good hands, and we're gonna tell your story the right

RJ Redden:

That's that's such a gift, I think, because, you know, if you're if you're gonna spend money and especially if if you're small too and you're gonna trust somebody, it's good to know, that the the captain of the ship is, you know, gonna gonna take care of you. Gonna, going to make you look good. I know that. I know that for me, especially, Lyn, I know a lot of re your recent work has been culture videos, for corporations. So how did you how did you start to start to do that? What drew you to doing, corporate culture videos?

Farran Tabrizi:

Well, I, you know, it kind of found me because, you know, being you know, just being that my business is in the San Francisco Silicon Valley, you know, we're kind of at the forefront of how workplaces are changing. You know, we always have been. You know? And even when I was in corporate world, I mean, it was just there was just such a stark difference from how organizations were run on the other side of the country, you know, or middle of America. Right? We were the first to be, like, casual every day, not just on Fridays. We were the, you know, first to be getting fed your lunches. You know what I mean? And having lots of fun events within the office to to, you know, promote team building and whatnot. So, so there is this need to, you know, show that aspect in this really highly competitive market, the the bay area is, right? And now with hybrid approach and new talent from everywhere, you really gotta set yourself apart. Right? So, so clients would just come to me, you know, wanting, hey, you know, we need to we've got, you know, some major hiring efforts, and we want to just kind of show off how awesome it is to work here. And, I just found that that was, like, the best first job to have with the client. You know what I mean? Like, first of all, you hope that every client is an ongoing client, right? And they usually are. but this is like the perfect gateway video because we get I get to sit with the the CEO I get to sit with the executives. I get to sit with just all the other people that are a part of the up that organization, and I get the opportunity to interview anywhere from like 10 to 20 people and really tell the story from all perspectives, right, rather than just having, like, you know, the founder speaking and kind of giving us a boring sales speech about, like, this is what we do and, you know, this is who we are. I get to talk to the the the individuals that work there every day and live and breathe the core values and So those just are like some of my favorite projects that I get to work on, and they inevitably end up becoming repeat because I get to know them. I just I almost you know, I also I sometimes I get I get a little lonely being a small business owner. You know, I I sometimes I I'm social. I'm I am a textbook extrovert. So there are times I miss. I I like envy my husband to go to work and like have the the water cooler conversations, you know what I mean, or the happy hours. And so when I go to when I get to go spend a couple days with the company. Like, I feel like I get to be, like, an employee if there's for a couple days. You know? And because I get that, I don't know, that experience, that really intimate experience with them, I get to tell the best story. Yes.

RJ Redden:

Yes. Those were that's where the best stories come from. Isn't it? The best story isn't the, this is what I put out there. to, so that people will take a look at me when they're rolling by on the internet. The real story is underneath all of that. and you're able to get to that in a way that communicates the real stuff with other people. Well, it's pretty amazing.

Farran Tabrizi:

It is. I feel really lucky.

RJ Redden:

Recently, I know you took a little, took a little road trip. I an it's definitely an epic adventure for sure. You wanna tell the people about your old road trip.

Farran Tabrizi:

Yeah. I love to. so I had this crazy idea, you know, the beginning of the year, it was, like, March. Right? And we had my we had a wedding in New Orleans, and we had my husband's 4 beautiful birthday in Whistler. We we had kinda, like, capped out on his PTO and money just, you know, to go travel. And we're like, well, shoot. How are we gonna I mean, we work we love to be on the road. We love to do stuff. You know, we're we're always out there. know, get going out there with kids, but it's on a plane or a car, whatever. And so I'd had this random wild hair idea that, you know what, maybe My kids were both in preschool.

RJ Redden:

1

Farran Tabrizi:

of them got stuck kindergarten. He just started this week. We survived 1st week. and, You know, I was like, what if we just skip the preschool over the summer? I will just take a lighter summer. I will maintain my client load and not try to worry about hustling and getting new clients. And, and he he has the flexibility of working remotely. So we're like, why don't we just go and travel and use the money that we would have been spending on preschool, which I ain't cheap. and reallocate that to the flights and rental cars. And what we did is we had a, you know, we made a list of all the people and places we wanted to go. We had a lot of people who moved in the last couple of years to start families and they moved out of the Bay Area and You know, so I called it the the new baby, a new home tour. So we we made a list and we we, we bought one way flights rented a car and and then drove drove, drove, drove, and then flew out from other destinations. That way we can cover more ground. And we went as far as finishing off in DC and did 14 states in total. And, it was an epic It was an epic adventure. and I would totally do it again. and I decided that, As a part of me trying to be a little bit more vulnerable and tap into maybe, like, what my story is, I decided to write a short series of I guess blog articles for LinkedIn called summer school dropout. And there's 6 articles that kinda document the lessons and The lessons learned and the experience is made, and I hope it inspires. I know it has already inspired people to do, to do something similar. or to think outside of the box. You know what I mean? Yeah. So people thought we were crazy and then all of a sudden I'm sending photos to my family and they're like, wow, your kids are seeing all of this, and they're not even they just turned 5 and 3. So so it was pretty cool. I would do it again. and we got to spend time with people that we just could not see for years. So it was pretty cool.

RJ Redden:

Well, and and part of the part of the incredibleness, I think, too, of this trip, I mean, not only was it like, okay, let's Let's take a left turn. You know what I mean? with the way that you spend your time, so it was a big shakeup in, you know, because there were a lot of things to heal. But you also had, like, a creativity fire hose, going on. You had some moments in the middle of this trip. Can you talk about that?

Farran Tabrizi:

Yeah. Oh my god. Like you just need to get out of your normal everyday mundane space. I think to get that spark of creativity. And as a, you know, when I was when it was just my husband and I, like, we would do that all the time. We would go in places all the time. There wasn't a lot stopping us from crazy ideas. And, you know, I think the last 3 to 5 years, I've kind of succumb to, like, you know, I can only do this much. You know, my, you know, my kids are young, blah blah blah blah blah. and there was just something about getting out of my house, being on the road, those long drives would just turn into, like, creative juices flowing. You know, everyone falls asleep, and normally I'd be like annoyed and be like, hey. Someone, stay awake and keep me up, but my brain was just like, going and going and going. And ideas, like, ideas I had were actually, like, turning into, like, plans. You know what I mean? that I was making. And so, I had a lot of inspiration about, you know, a lot of new ideas on my business. and I also had to have some new business ideas that now I'm actually already putting into play. So, gosh. Yeah. Like, I need to do this for myself just to have those moments every year. You know what I mean?

RJ Redden:

Yeah.

Farran Tabrizi:

I need to do this again for that reason alone. It was so I was also reading, Eve Brodsky's listening on tape, you know, her unicorn space. And I, like, I'm like, oh, yeah. I've got my unicorn space, like, while I'm driving. It was pretty great. You know?

RJ Redden:

Nice. Yeah. I I know that, you know, I mean, you've got you've got so many things coming up now. Can you can you talk about your upcoming podcast? Because I do think that, I I I'm I know I'm tuning in. can you tell us about that?

Farran Tabrizi:

Yeah. Well, I just kinda thought, you know, with all this talk about company culture and so many things changing. And I was like, where how can I touch more people? Like, how can we talk more? How can I learn more about what's happening in the workplace? and a podcast just seemed like a really natural fit. I wanna bring on people who are running organizations, And maybe even people not necessarily running them, but, like, you know, people within the organizations that just wanna speak for, like, how progressive their companies are. And so we're hoping to put together a short little, series and see how it goes. I've never done podcasting, but I've been very interested at it ties in with one of my business ideas that I'm working towards right now. So which is a might be a podcast studio. So, anyway, so there so starting with my own to really learn the process so can help people produce, you know, maybe their own as well for the future would be cool. But, yeah, it's just a way for me to get talk talking to more people more frequently. You know what I mean? And learn and just learn really, like, immerse myself in the world of, you know, I guess it's like HR, right, but it's like, it's just so much more than what HR to be. and I yeah. That's that's what I'm working on. Is that clear? Sorry. I haven't really had a problem with my pitch for it yet. So it's

RJ Redden:

--

Farran Tabrizi:

No. No. That's totally okay.

RJ Redden:

do you can you share the, the title? Because I think the title is pretty fabulous.

Farran Tabrizi:

called Beyond the ping pong table.

RJ Redden:

it's so beautiful. So beautiful. yeah, I mean, you've got to say HR to me, and I remember the company I worked for 20 years ago, you go into that office. You are in deep. you know, I mean, like, you know, the it it has changed and and and, you know, and and, you know, people just knowing what kind of work cultures are out there, all corporations are not set out to kill you, steal your spirit. And, you know,

Farran Tabrizi:

here we are. There's whole teams dedicated now. to people internally. You know what I mean? The making the keeping the people happy.

RJ Redden:

That's amazing.

Farran Tabrizi:

That's what makes the whole the world go around, right? You know what I mean? Like people with a company, if you've got a bunch of disgruntled employees. You know what I mean? work should not feel it's just it's just evolved too much to you know, it shouldn't it shouldn't feel like it's the you know, the 9 to 5 grind all the time, and it's you know what I mean? You gotta show them. I don't know. It's just it's just changed so much. And I And I wanted to talk to more people about that and have really good conversations. Yeah.

RJ Redden:

Well, and especially, you know, with the generations coming in, They're no longer accepting a grind. No.

Farran Tabrizi:

They're not. They don't -- A guy's standard. Yeah. Pardon me wants to be like, payer dues, but, you know, funny.

RJ Redden:

Cause I remember when I started, you know, working for corporations and stuff and really kind of trying to fit in, which I did not, Omaha, Nebraska, you know, not working. but, but, yeah, I mean, I remember when, I remember before enron, when when, get a get a good job, keep it 40 years was, like, still the thing. And and, I mean, it's changed so astronomically. And even, you know, working working with you and and chatting with you, I have to keep mindful what's even though, like, I'm here, I've got a lady in Tennessee, I've got some folks overseas in Croatia, but we're a team. We're we're people that spend significant amounts of time together. Am I keeping them happy? Am I doing what I can to make sure that they're fulfilled and just even having that contact with you really reminds me of what kind of a ship am I running? You know? I can't put a ping pong table anywhere. I can't do it. so how am I going to

Farran Tabrizi:

You can't play Zoom ping pong. You know? It's kinda

RJ Redden:

-- He's doing ping pong. yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. I, so so it really is. It's important. Culture is important. Even if you are, you know, if you're a solopreneur, it's it's still there. If you are working with people --

Farran Tabrizi:

Mhmm.

RJ Redden:

-- gotta think about it. So --

Farran Tabrizi:

Absolutely. I have to think about it, and I don't even have people I work with every day. You know what I mean? but but I want those people to I want those good people to stick around and want them to continue working with me and want to continue working with me and supporting my vision and what I'm doing. You know what I mean? So there's there's something to learn for everybody.

RJ Redden:

There is. And and you know, one of the things that I think about now that I never thought about before 2020 is where am I putting my money? whom, you know, because, like, when I choose to work with somebody, it's because I like them because I like what they're about, obviously, but also, you know, I'm I'm investing in those people. you know, if I hire you for some video, I'm investing in you. And I think that people I mean, it's been my experience that people are much more careful about where they put their money. have you experienced that as well?

Farran Tabrizi:

Well, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, Yeah. I mean, like, as and especially when you're dealing with, like, you know, it's a little bit different depending on the deck the the size of the organization I'm working with, but Yeah. Absolutely. I'd say with this, with definitely the smaller folks out there. Smaller businesses, I mean. Yeah.

RJ Redden:

Yeah. super cool. well, I do wanna get to, one of the stories we haven't gotten yeah, so far. And it has to do with you and have the edit videos. Can you tell us when you've gone and you've you know, unpacked your stuff for a number of days and and caught a whole bunch of footage at someone's placed and you're beginning your kind of editing process. What's your first step?

Farran Tabrizi:

Well, Okay. So, like, think about when you're watching a movie, you know, at the theater or whatever, and you've got that intro music and the music that they roll at the credits. You know what I mean? Like, how impactful are those 2 shock song choices, right, in a film? So music to me just sets the tone, and I'm a huge music fan, middle head. Like, I'd love I mean, I really love all all music, but So, you know, music, also royalty free music has come a long way that you can purchase. You know what I mean? And so So to me, it's all about finding that tune, finding that vibe, you know, usually it's something I pick up on while I'm with the client, you know, I tried to throw away from anything being, like, too corporate sounding, you know, and really trying to get that, yeah, that feeling that vibe. And, that's really where, like, the editing starts for me. Like, I'll I'll sort the clips out and kinda cut out, you know, like, you know, label things up and stuff like that. But I throw that track down, and then I just, like, listen to it. And I just start seeing, like, the images, the pacing, and I remember the moments that would fit really well. And so, and music really is what drives, like, all my editing. Yeah.

RJ Redden:

I I just love that story. because it just is you know, you think of video people as people just kind of behind the camera, but like, spending time with you. I just know you're really an artist and that you're using all of the different senses that you can. You're you're not starting the video editing with let's watch a whole bunch of this. You're you actually start with a completely different medium and then draw that in. I just think that's fascinating.

Farran Tabrizi:

Alright. Well, I think probably it probably also helps that I am the editor too. You know what I mean? So when I shoot, I kinda shoot for the edit. Right? So

RJ Redden:

--

Farran Tabrizi:

Yeah. You know, and and and again, this is, again, I benefit, I think, of the boutique video production model. You know, it's like if I'm, you know, if if if I've got a crew over here shooting everything and sending me footage, I gotta go through it and start getting familiar with it. But when I leave something, I've already got a sense of it. I know where things are. And sometimes that inspiration might have hit, like I said, while I'm there, or by the time I come home and I'm and I'm sorting through it a few days later, you just get a feeling. And then, and then I have I use great resources, like, like, I'll I'll plug music vine. I love music vine. They have great music. They're constantly producing stuff. It's funny too. I tend to like, there's certain artists that always end up becoming the ones I select. And I just you know, you could type in almost anything and something will come up and then you just start getting into I'll spend like a good hour or 2 just finding the right song, you know, to edit too. Yeah.

RJ Redden:

well, well, you've definitely got me sing in your tune. Ferron, but you knew that already. gosh, I wanna thank you. I wanna thank you for coming on, and talking about your story, everybody, you can find, summer school dropout, all of the You can find that on LinkedIn, Ferron's newsletter, to breezy Productions.

Farran Tabrizi:

Yeah.

RJ Redden:

and, And where, you know, where should people get a hold of you? If they need some video stuff, what's a good way to get a hold

Farran Tabrizi:

Well, as she mentioned, LinkedIn, I'm hanging out a lot at. So if you message me there, that's a great place to start or just check out to breezyproductions.com. and fill out a contact form and it kind of guides you gives you a little bit of what to expect with working with me and you can check out some of the samples and Usually, we just start with having a

RJ Redden:

20

Farran Tabrizi:

minute phone call, and I just get to know you and see if it's a good fit. So

RJ Redden:

-- Yeah. Well, you know, thanks for coming on and and talking to my audience, about you've been amazing. Now, I know I know you need to get back to the little one. So, we're gonna wrap it up, Hey, everybody out there. we're closing down the bot cave for the day, but, we are, we're throwing a party next week. We got power networking. Come join us. because you know it's a good time, totally free event. It's on LinkedIn, and, would love to have you there And you know what? In the meantime, enjoy your adventures. Take care of yourself, but take care of each other. and we're out. We'll see you later.