Arthur Keir

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the program manager of a nonprofit. The foundation’s aim is to support young founders in developing and emerging countries.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Arthur Keir Films?

We hired Arthur (Owner) for one of our conferences where we brought 25 young founders to Berlin where they received training and attended workshops.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The purpose of the video was to show the world what we are doing and to get new start-ups to join our program. He filmed us for two days and afterward, he created a video for us which summarized the whole conference and what we were doing. The video was around three minutes.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Arthur. 

How did you come to work with Arthur Keir Films?

We didn’t know him before, but I believe I found him through Vimeo. I had Googled and found different options. The things he had done were very good and professional. He was very supportive of our project and the idea behind the foundation which was very important for us as well to have someone who understands what we are doing. We had the same ideas, and he had good ideas on how to really capture the whole feeling of the conference. We have been very happy with his work.

How much have you invested in them?

We spent €1,300 (approximately $1,522 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with him in October 2019, and I think we got the final video at the beginning of November.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We got really good feedback from the people that we shared the video with. It is really important to have exposure to interesting partners and investors, and the feedback we got from them was really good, as was the feedback from the founder. Overall, it was a great success, and as a foundation, we were really happy with the video. He really listened to what we wanted and had great ideas. He did very professional work, and he did a really good job of integrating into the group.

How did Arthur Keir Films perform from a project management standpoint?

We never had any problems. He always responded very quickly. He met the deadlines and really valued our feedback. When it came to finishing the video and putting all the parts together, we were able to give feedback multiple times and he adapted the video to what we wanted. It was very easy and very professional, and it was everything that we wanted.

What did you find most impressive about them?

He brings the whole package. He brought in new ideas but at the same time, he took in our ideas.

What I personally like about the video is that it is done in a very modern way. He is able to capture people and feelings. When I watch the video now, I have the same feeling that I had during the conference. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think he could be more confident and I think he could have promoted himself better. Other than that, I can’t think of anything.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just go for it. I have worked with different videographers before and Arthur is a really good choice.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a freelance opera singer, theater performer, and comedian.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Arthur Keir Films?

I produced my own comedy show in February before the coronavirus shutdown happened. The show was a musical comedy, something between Cabaret, spoken comedy, and some slapstick things. I needed a short trailer for the show to present to theaters, agencies, and concert venues that might be interested in buying the show.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I told Arthur (Owner) about the repertoire, what the music would be like, and especially what the show was going to be like. There are a lot of different things happening in a short amount of time, so I needed the trailer to be eclectic. He needed to do very different shots. The show is also serious at times; there are some romantic parts as well as some other parts that are fast and slapsticky. I needed to tell Arthur all those things in advance so he could get an idea and plan.

He came by for the rehearsals that happened two weeks before opening night. We had some dress rehearsals in costume. Arthur watched one rehearsal to get a better idea of what was going on and then started filming. We had two run-throughs where he filmed everything he wanted and got an idea for what he wanted to put together.

I gave Arthur lots of freedom to do whatever he wanted. I gave him a general idea and he saw the show, but I didn’t have a specific idea of how I wanted it to be. I left it more or less up to him.

After the run-throughs, he asked us to do some things again with the right lighting so he could get some close-ups. He explained he didn’t want to get into it too much while we were acting so he wouldn’t bother us. Following that, he did the editing.

What is the team composition?

I just worked with Arthur. He explained he didn’t need help because the stage is just a studio and isn’t very big. There weren’t wide angles or great distances to film and it wasn’t a big job.

How did you come to work with Arthur Keir Films?

I met Arthur through some colleagues a few months before the engagement. It was perfect timing because I had another colleague in the national theater who worked with him and some of his colleagues. We spoke a little bit, and he showed me some of his portfolio. He showed me some trailers and work he had done with musicians.

He had filmed for opera singers in a masterclass and a ballet documentary for the Berlin State Opera. I enjoyed that a lot because I liked how he looks at things. Arthur uses strong film language. I didn’t want the trailer just to be a goofy and bright comedy thing; I wanted it to have a little twist. After seeing his work, I was really impressed. It was pretty easy to get in touch and tell him some things about the show a few weeks in advance.

How much have you invested in them?

I invested around €1,500 (approximately $1,800USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement ran from January–February 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

I sent the trailer to some people, and the response was always the same. People liked it a lot and said it looked cool. There wasn’t an immediate success with the venues, agencies, and theaters because no one is hiring right now.

We’ve started reposting the trailer on social media and YouTube. It gets hits and people like it, but right now it’s difficult to say what the impact is because the industry right now in Germany is a little tricky. We do have some shows scheduled and the trailer helped with that because people need to have an idea of what we’re doing. It’s going well and the response, in general, is great.

The filming stage was a nice and good experience. I don’t have much to compare to, but Arthur has a presence because even when he was very close in proximity, I never noticed him. It was easy for me to act natural although I was being filmed really close up.

Arthur has a good way of doing what he wants and getting the work done without bothering the performer. That can be really difficult if we are on stage trying to act and sing. I was really impressed

How did Arthur Keir Films perform from a project management standpoint?

It was perfect. I chose the music and sent him the final cut of the music medley which turned out to be a little bit longer than what I said in advance. I felt it was a small problem because he mentioned he might not have enough slow shots because he wasn’t expecting.

Nevertheless, he was extremely accommodating and changed the trailer twice for us. Arthur did a great job. He was honest and gave me his feedback and recommendations, but when we decided to keep the longer version, he went out of his way to get us what we wanted.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Arthur studied music as well and he was a dancer before so he is very skilled with everything that has to do with rhythm and musicality. He’s a perfect match for any kind of work that has to do with musical lyricism, rhythm, dance, and musicians because he has a good instinct.

I really like that he has a very distinct language and chose shots that were good with lyrics, although German is not his first language, he really put a lot of thought into it and that impressed me a lot.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing to complain about because he did it all very well. I didn’t give him a deadline because I didn’t think we needed one, but he was done two weeks after opening night which was perfect timing. For me, that was more than fast enough.

I know how he works, and he might get lost in detail a lot. However, that’s probably what makes him perfect in the end because the cuts are perfect and it’s perfect with the music. The timing is really great, and it wouldn’t be if he wasn’t such a perfectionist. I can’t say anything bad about him.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Arthur is a little shy and isn’t extremely outgoing, so if you have an idea and already know you want something in a certain way, talk to him. He’s communicative but it takes a while to warm up. There’s really nothing I would complain about because, for me, it was a great overall experience.

Look at his portfolio first because he has a very beautiful and specific film language; it’s always good to know what you are getting into. He doesn’t just do what you say, he tries to create art with everything you give him.