Jump Cut Films

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Silva Brand, a full-service branding and marketing agency in Chicago. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Jump Cut Films?

We’ve hired Jump Cut for their video services. For context, videos are used by some of our clients to showcase their products and services. A lot of them are associations, so our team tries to use video to profile their members and instructors. Overall, videos are a powerful tool in promoting our customers’ businesses, and Jump Cut helps us with them. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

When we first hired Jump Cut, we needed them to edit video footage for a major global association that had ordered 30 videos from us. They took hundreds of hours of footage and edited the videos. 

We do scriptwriting, storyboarding, casting, photography, and music design. Jump Cut then handles the editing once we’ve captured the footage. They’re responsible for postproduction. 

What is the team composition?

We work with their principal editor.

How did you come to work with Jump Cut Films?

Jump Cut was introduced and referred to me by a friend who was a filmmaker. I met with Michael (Producer, Editor & Director), who directed a couple of award-winning documentaries. In other words, he was an exceptionally good filmmaker and editor. It was on that basis that we talked to him and hired Jump Cut.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $40,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We hired Jump Cut around June 2015, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ve had videos that have gotten hundreds of thousands of views. Some of them are 60–90 seconds long, while others are three minutes long. The viewership numbers for these videos have been tremendous. 

How did Jump Cut Films perform from a project management standpoint?

Jump Cut’s project management has been incredible. They know every part of our process from receiving, transcoding, and uploading footage on Google Drive to going back and forth with the client to get the fine cut. The team is exceptionally responsive, and I never have to wait for them to respond to each of our steps. If we have a request, they get it done within the same day. On top of that, they’re thorough and detail-oriented. 

To communicate, we mainly use emails and phones if needed. Sometimes, we do a studio day at their editing suite; one of our members will come over and sit with them — things go faster when we’re in the same room. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re perfectionists; they don’t want to do just good or decent work — they want to do exceptional work. In fact, Jump Cut sometimes comes back to the end client with new solutions that the customer hasn’t thought of before. When the client makes a request, they’ll test it and won’t give up until it’s done the right way. Overall, they’re incredibly proud of their work, so they want to get things right. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Jump Cut might want to get some additional people to work with them. When they get a big job — such as a large feature documentary — their capacity isn’t enough. They become busier, so they can’t take on any additional work. We have to work around that.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Send Jump Cut examples of the work you’re trying to do. It’s easy to find examples online from expensive agencies that are at the level of quality you want. Send those examples to the team, and they’ll use them as a great reference point. They’ll be able to approach the project with more specificity. Overall, be as specific as you can about your expectations, and they’ll do incredible work for you.