Chronicle & Humour – Cambodia: Bernard becomes an influencer
Bernard has always had things to say. For eight years, he has said them to the bar owner, to lost tourists and to anyone who sat a little too close. Then one day he found out that young people were making a living talking about Cambodia into their phones. He wondered why not him. Nobody dared answer.
It all started with a video. A young Frenchman in a linen shirt was filming a bowl of noodles in a Phnom Penh back alley. “The city's best-kept secret,” he said. Two hundred thousand views.
Bernard knew the stall. He has been eating there since 2019. That secret was his to reveal.
That same evening, he announced at the bar that he was launching his channel. Its name: “Bernard in Cambodia.” He had considered “The Real Cambodia by Bernard,” but it was too long for his thumb.
The gear
Bernard invested. A tripod from Orussey Market. A clip-on microphone that crackles. A ring light, which he sets on the bar table and which gives his face the glow of an aquarium.
He also worked on his persona. He would be “the old hand.” The one who has seen it all. The one nobody can fool. It is not about playing a role, he explains. It is about being yourself, only with better lighting.
The first video
Title: “10 mistakes ALL expats make in Cambodia.”
The video runs twenty-three minutes. Bernard could only come up with four mistakes, but he develops them. He covers foreigner prices, young people who “never stay,” overpriced coffee and a 2020 dispute over an apartment deposit that takes up nine minutes on its own.
It gets 41 views. Twelve of them are Bernard, checking whether the sound works.
The algorithm
Bernard read that you have to “understand the algorithm.” So he asked a young web developer from the bar, who explained the basics: short videos, an expressive face, a hook in the first three seconds.
Bernard remembered the hook. His next video opens with: “They're lying to you about Cambodia.” The rest lasts eighteen minutes and never says who is lying, or about what.
He also tried the short format. Thirty seconds in front of the Royal Palace, straight to camera: “This is the Royal Palace.” Then a long silence, because he had forgotten what came next.
Success at last
One Thursday, Bernard's phone starts buzzing non-stop. A video has gone viral. Forty thousand views overnight.
It is not his.
It belongs to Dara, a tuk-tuk driver who films his rides for his own channel. On Tuesday, he drove Bernard. For the whole ride, Bernard explained to him the history of Phnom Penh, the traffic jams, the right way to drive and the fair price of a ride, which he then haggled down.
Dara added subtitles in Khmer and English. He added nothing else. At the very end, he simply looked into the camera and smiled.
There are plenty of comments. Many are in Khmer. Bernard cannot read them, but he sees a lot of laughing emojis. He concludes that the audience loves him.
What's next
Bernard got in touch with Dara to suggest a collaboration. He has a series in mind: “The Expat and the Driver.” He would explain the country, Dara would drive.
Dara agreed, on one condition. He keeps the camera.
Comments