Frame Freak Studio

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the co-founder of Kinda Funny. We are a group of podcasters and YouTubers who specialize in movie and video game content.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Frame Freak Studio?

A couple of years ago, I decided that I wanted to do a series of animated videos based on weird versions of me and the people who started the company. We funded the project through Patreon but I had never worked in the animation space so I didn’t realize how much time it would take.

We hired another talented animator to help us but he ended up running behind schedule because he was working alone. So, we reached out to Frame Freak Studio to help us.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I wrote out the scripts and we recorded the dialogues on our side. We then put them into Adobe Premiere and added sound effects. Afterward, Frame Freak Studio drafted a very rough storyboard based on the audio file that I put together.

After we approved their work, they started laying in the final animations. They were originally only supposed to produce 12 episodes but our team was so behind schedule. Frame Freak Studio worked on two episodes at a time to help us catch up and ended up producing 13 episodes, each between 3–5 minutes in length. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with three people and Rodrigo (Co-Founder & Marketing Director, Frame Freak Studio) was our main point of contact. 

How did you come to work with Frame Freak Studio?

We reached out to people who knew animators in the YouTube space and someone recommended Frame Freak Studio, mentioning that they were hungry to take on some projects.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with them from December 2016–December 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team was able to mimic the level of depth that our other animator was achieving and they produced the animations very quickly. Our priority was to deliver high-quality products to our audience as fast as possible, and the team delivered on both those fronts. The audience loved the animations so we would definitely work with Frame Freak Studio again.

How did Frame Freak Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

Their project management was very seamless. Rodrigo, who served as our producer, was very proactive and worked through the logistics with me. He was very communicative, which is something I appreciate when working with external teams. 

We never met in person so we communicated via Skype and email. The team kept me up to date on the progress of the project, which, as the client, reassured me that they were working hard. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They can take care of anything you throw at them. If we had given them a larger budget and a little more time, they would’ve scaled accordingly. They were really great to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind right away. We did have a few minor frame rate issues because we were in different countries but we figured it out pretty quickly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re considering working with them, don’t hesitate; just do it. They would be helpful to both a skilled producer and someone looking to get into animation for the first time.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We’re an IT consulting firm specializing in healthcare. Our company does large-scale projects with different hospitals and healthcare systems throughout the United States. I’m the marketing manager here. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Frame Freak Studio?

We were trying to create a fun, engaging way to capture attention for social media purposes. Our goal was to draw in interest to encourage leads to convert, whether that’s something on our website or a download for more information.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve produced three short videos with them, and we’re able to start a fourth project. They’re each about 30 seconds long. Each of them was short, animated explainer videos. The process was pretty simple and easy. Our team provided them with our brand colors and logos, but they animated everything from there. 

We handled the script, but the biggest challenge was matching the script to the picture. Of course, there were a few edits here and there, but they largely got it right on the first iteration. It was their goal to turn our not-so-simple words into a simple, fun piece of marketing material.  

What is the team composition?

I communicated mainly with one point of contact, but there were two individuals working on the project.

How did you come to work with Frame Freak Studio?

They sent a cold email to us while we happened to be looking for animated video agencies for help. It was good timing on their part.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent under 1,000 on the work.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2018, and our engagement is still ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They did a great job taking our complex wording and translating it into a video that was easy to understand. We just received positive feedback from a potential partner. In a recent conversation, they asked about the video, and I ended up referring them to Fame Freak Studio. Now, they’ve done a few videos together as well. Internally, we’ve had several employees complement the aesthetics, expressing that they’re looking forward to the next one coming out.   

How did Frame Freak Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

The project manager handled all communication, which helped smooth everything out. It’s been a simple, straightforward relationship. We’ve been using Basecamp, which has made everything easy to access. It also serves as another method of communication for us. I’m very happy with the way they conducted themselves during the project.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

Whenever I had a new idea or asked for changes, they were willing to accommodate me to come to a solution. We continue to come back to them for additional work because of the quality they deliver.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They do have some animation-related limitations, and their deadline approximation could be a little more accurate. There are some dependencies, but I was often unsure of how long tasks would take.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They do all the work and make the relationship easy.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am CEO of one of the largest branded merchandise companies in the USA. The Clayton Kendall business model is designed to help franchise communities and multi-location companies efficiently source and distribute branded merchandise to their end users. The integrated model creates efficiencies and economies of scale, while delivering brand consistency. The logistics component assures that our customers get what they want, where they want it, when they need it. Our customized online stores are the organizing principle for our user communities, centralizing the ordering and distribution of branded merchandise including apparel, signage/POP, promotional products and marketing collateral.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Frame Freak Studio?

We hired Frame Freak to create animated videos that express what our company does in a creative way. We wanted to create custom animated characters to tell our story and their team was perfectly suited for the task.

What were your goals for this project?

Create a cool way to get our message in front of new prospects and generate leads.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I had worked with them before on a previous project. On both projects they exceeded expectations, and were incredibly flexible.

Describe the project in detail.

Rodrigo and his team worked with us to develop the script, create the custom story board, and then helped us determine the best voice over artist to use for the narration. There were many rounds of revisions, but their team was very flexible.

What was the team composition?

The team that worked on our project included a project manager, an animator and a copywriter.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Typically when you are prospecting for new clients, they are used to the normal promotional giveaway, direct mail piece, and cold call. This type of custom animated video helps us tell a compelling story in under two minutes, and it's just cool. It's like watching your own mini Marvel movie. Clients are blown away.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Rodrigo and his team are very responsive, extremely flexible, and have an incredible talent for animation. We had interviewed several companies, but Frame Freak's portfolio and just how quickly they responded to everything made the decision very easy.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The quality of the animation is astounding. These guys are the real deal. If you want "Marvel" like quality, they are the only game in town at a reasonable price. We also had multiple rounds of revisions, and they never dinged anything extra and were always happy to accommodate. Just an overall great experience working with this team. We absolutely will be working with them again.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I wish I could clone their talent and have in house. I can't think of a single thing they did wrong or that I would want improved.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the executive producer of Simple Society, an animation production company. We work with companies that want to create videos for internal communication or institutional videos. We also hire other parties for filming, if our clients need that, and work for advertising agencies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Frame Freak Studio?

We do motion graphics, and we do 3D as well, but we don’t do 3D character animation. We hired them for that.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our advertising agency client created a rough storyboard for the commercial, and we made a second, more complex version of it. We gave that to Frame Freak for the computer animation. We hired someone else for the audio.

What is the team composition?

We worked only with Edmundo (Co-Founder, Frame Freak Studio) on this project.

How did you come to work with Frame Freak Studio?

We have many professionals in the country, and I’ve known Edmundo since university. We weren’t close, but he was well-known for drawing cartoons. We got to know each other, and I started working with Frame Freak because of that.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $8,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Frame Freak Studio at the beginning of 2018. We’ve worked with them on four TV commercials, which lasted 3–4 months. It always takes two weeks or more, including reviews and changes.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re super happy, and I’m always trying to get them more work because I enjoy working with them a lot. Our client was very happy with the animations as well. They’d hired someone else for a previous project because of their budget, and it was a bit of a disaster, taking longer to produce than it should have.

How did Frame Freak Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

They get guidance very fast. We spoke through Zoom, and we also used Frame.io to exchange feedback. We haven’t had any problems regarding the communication with Frame Freak. It’s been fluid.

They knew exactly how many hours it will take to do each task. I’m not only an executive producer, but also a coordinator, and it was really easy to schedule and plan the project in advance. There were no inconveniences.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re fast compared to a lot of studios I’ve worked with. They’re effective professionals who know their field and how to deliver high-quality products.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could improve in terms of narrative storytelling or editing. They’re animators, and they sometimes forget about editing rules. Since we were co-directing, it wasn’t a problem.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients should trust them; it will make the job easier. It’s important to give them basic necessary guidelines, as well as freedom. Frame Freak has a lot of talent.