{"id":68689,"date":"2017-03-23T16:58:08","date_gmt":"2017-03-23T15:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/2017\/03\/23\/mijn-filmscanner-om-analoge-films-te-digitaliseren-een-groter-succes-maken-voelt-als-een-jongensboek\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:40","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:40","slug":"mijn-filmscanner-om-analoge-films-te-digitaliseren-een-groter-succes-maken-voelt-als-een-jongensboek-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2017\/03\/23\/mijn-filmscanner-om-analoge-films-te-digitaliseren-een-groter-succes-maken-voelt-als-een-jongensboek-2\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It feels like an adventure story\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Where do Erasmus University students end up? In this section, EUR alumni talk about their career and life after graduation: what did they learn along the way? And in the process, we glean some useful tips on what you should or shouldn\u2019t do when building a career for yourself.<\/p>\n\t

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Leon Joanknecht<\/a> (39)<\/p>\n

Studie:<\/strong> Business Administration (1997-2003)<\/p>\n

Current job:<\/strong> Founder of Filmfabriek, established in Breda. Together with his team of three, Joanknecht builds and sells scanners that can be used to digitise analogue films and automatically restore the footage images. \u201cBuilding on the success of Filmfabriek feels like an adventure story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Career:<\/strong> Starting as a strategic consultant at Policy Research Corporation, Leon went on to work as a manager at asset manager Robeco. As chairman of Robeco\u2019s art committee, he selected new additions to the firm\u2019s collection, which are permanently exhibited in its new building opposite Central Station.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

\u201cI had a box full of old home movies of my three older sisters, my twin brother and me. I wanted to digitise these, but I wasn\u2019t too thrilled by the poor quality of the existing equipment. To extract the best possible quality from these films, I went in search of a better alternative.<\/p>\n

I eventually found an inventor online who had developed a very good device, but he lacked the commercial skills to market it. I ended up buying the rights to the film scanner from him. Unfortunately, he passed away shortly after, which meant that we also became responsible for its further development. The product has been well-received all over the world, and fortunately, this enthusiasm is only growing.
\nSince starting seven years ago, I have sold over 50 scanners. The scanner itself costs some 25,000 euro. Incidentally, I still haven\u2019t got round to digitising my own films.\u201d<\/p>\n

Valuable footage<\/strong>
\n\u201cMy ideal with this device is to digitise as many analogue films as possible and create a new online archive of historical footage. Wouldn\u2019t it be great if a random search term \u2013 say \u2018Rotterdam 1950\u2019 \u2013 yields a whole score of film clips? I can look at old footage like this for hours \u2013 even when I don\u2019t know who\u2019s in it. These images are incredibly valuable and they shouldn\u2019t be lost to posterity. I am also looking for a new investor in the film scanner: someone who recognises its value for our historical heritage and isn\u2019t exclusively interested in ROI.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Leon legt een film in zijn scanner<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Insecure <\/strong>
\n\u201cAs an entrepreneur, I love the fact that every day is different; including problems and setbacks. One day, I\u2019m getting to the bottom of a technical issue and I\u2019m on the phone with the tax people; the next day, I\u2019m eating lunch with a client on a terrace somewhere in Italy. While I have a lot of determination and conviction, I occasionally feel insecure too. For example, I will only find out whether our efforts to improve the sound quality have paid off after putting in the work. But there\u2019s nothing wrong with feeling insecure \u2013 it keeps you on your toes. You can move forward by asking people\u2019s help. That\u2019s why I never hesitate to call on my vast network of contacts.\u201d<\/p>\n

A roof-top bar in every city<\/strong>
\n\u201cDuring the first years of Filmfabriek, I still worked at Robeco four days a week. Together with Roel, my business partner back then, I would fly to clients in Tokyo and Las Vegas to explain how the device works. Due to all the investments, we hardly made any money off Filmfabriek in those early days. Our reward was going out after we had concluded our business. We had a tradition: wherever we were, we made a habit of visiting the local roof-top bars.<\/p>\n

I still travel to clients after we\u2019ve sold one of the scanners, for detailed explanations. I also hop on the plane if something is malfunctioning. My most recent trip was to Italy, to a town near Venice. [smiling] Nowadays, I keep going out for my own time, by the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Ik heb niet altijd gelijk\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI have been consciously working on my identity since my student days in Rotterdam. As an identical twin, this wasn\u2019t a big deal to me until I was 18 or so. I work on it by meeting new people via friends, networks and clubs. I\u2019m not always right, and I get a better insight into who I am by hearing other people\u2019s opinions.
\nAnd this includes trying new things. In 2000, for example, I helped organise Eurekaweek. I was handling PR \u2013 something I had never done before. Getting out there and raising funds rather suited me, so this experience yielded a very useful insight.
\nBesides doing new things and meeting new people, I have always attended a lot of trainings that helped me \u2018grow\u2019, both at the Junior Chamber International (JCI) networking club and at Robeco. And without my enterprise coach, Filmfabriek would have never become the success it is today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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