Syrp, a New Zealand-based Kickstarter success story, has gone from crowdfunding a time-lapse motion control device to being a popular manufacturer of a range of cinematography products.
The Genie in action.
In 2013 Syrp’s co-founders Ben Ryan and Chris Thomson raised more than US$600,000, smashing their crowdfunding goal of US$150,000, to fund the Genie – a simple, portable solution for time-lapse motion control that uses no external wires, batteries or controllers.
It was a unique concept – they had nearly 900 units ordered after the 60-day campaign.
Four years on and the Genie is still the backbone of the business. It was originally built for time-lapse applications – slow movements – but has been fitted with upgrades and accessories allowing it to pan, track, and also have a tilt-axis, making it suitable for standard camera motion control.
Reviewers from far and wide (on the interwebs) have applauded the Genie, and despite upgrades it has become cheaper.
The first batch sold for US$1090, and now it retails for US$789.
The Genie Mini.
The huge success of the Genie has allowed Syrp to expand its range. It has added the Genie Mini, the Slingshot and the Magic Carpet – all motion control and tracking devices, most which work together for added functionality.
The Genie Mini was released in early 2016. It makes smooth panning for time-lapse and panorama video even easier. As a more compact alternative to the Genie, and well-priced at US$250, it’s designed for enthusiasts.
Syrp also sells filters, ballheads, and other accessories.
Between Australia and New Zealand, there’s few manufacturers specialising in cinematography and photo gear. Syrp is distributed in Australia by Blonde Robot, which moves gear by Tamron, Think Tank, Schneider Kreuznach, Metabones and many more.
ProCounter spoke with Ben Ryan, Syrp’s director, who previously ran a film studio.
Syrp became well-known as a Kickstarter success stories. But what went into growing it into what it is now?
Mostly through a lot of hard work and a fair bit of trial and error! After KickStarter we spent a lot of time setting up the business, the supply chain, manufacturing, sales network and so on. It’s really only been in the last year or so that we’re really feel like we’re in a good position to make products and do everything we want to do, which has been possible through an awesomely talented team that we’ve built.
Many photographers have expanded into time-lapse and cinematography. In terms of the clientele, are photographers buying Syrp products?
We definitely see more and more photographers getting involved with our brand. Time-lapse is a great transition tool for photographers to get into the video world. Since they are already familiar with composition and operating a DSLR they usually find time-lapse quite an easy transition. I think with the release of the Genie Mini we really got a lot of photographers on board. In general there is certainly more photographers wanting to shoot video and we have a nice range of interesting products for photographers to successfully make this transition.
I read that manufacturing the Genie initially went through China and Australia. Is this still the case?
We never manufactured in Australia but yes we manufacture our products in China. Some elements do come from other countries – the glass in our Variable ND Filters is made in Japan and then the filter is assembled in China. We’ve been really lucky in being able to build a close relationship with our manufacturer and to have a detailed oversight of the process, enabling us to keep a focus on the quality.
After the Genie, have there been any other products that have captured the attention of customers?
Just over a year ago we started shipping the Genie Mini and that has gone extremely well as a simple, affordable panning device. Additionally it gave the Genie capabilities to shoot 2-Axis and 3-Axis motion control by syncing them together so we got a lot of additional functionality with the release of that product across both the enthusiast and professional market.
With most camera companies based in Asia, Europe and the US, it seems as if NZ and Australia have struggled to bring many products to market. What have been the advantages and disadvantages of being NZ-based?
In general I think Australian and New Zealand companies have a good reputation and there’s probably some marketing and branding opportunities to utilise here. But the cons outweigh the pros. It’s challenging getting established in international markets – the expectations for US customers and dealers, for example, is that you are a phone call away. They expect fast shipping and good service so we’re working on making this a priority in the upcoming year.