7 Hills Productions

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and CEO of All Things Tall. A unique clothing brand website that provides clothing for women 5’8 and above.

What challenge were you trying to address with 7 Hills Productions?

I hired 7 Hills Productions to help me film interviews for a Kickstarter campaign to gain funding for my business.

What was the scope of their involvement?

7 Hills provided video editing and production services for the introduction video of my brand.

The purpose of the video was to introduce All Things Tall, share the live reviews of the models, and feature my interview where I discuss how the company came about.

What is the team composition?

In the beginning, it was just Merve. However, over the course of time, it’s been her and two other people.

How did you come to work with 7 Hills Productions?

Prior to working with 7 Hills, we hired another videographer to do the project. The video was about the story of the brand and how it came about. It would feature interviews with the models, and they would review the clothes that I designed. Part of the exchange I had with the models is that they would get copies of the video. However, when it was time to provide them a copy, he just wouldn’t do it — they dropped off and refused to edit the videos.

So I scrambled looking for somebody and I found 7 Hills on this platform that I can’t recall. Merve (Founder) responded to me in 30 minutes and told me to send her everything that I had. She told me it could be done in seven working days — she finished editing it in just three.

How much have you invested with them?

It cost me about $1,000 for the videos to be edited.

What is the status of this engagement?

This project started and ended in January 2018.

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

It’s kind of hard to discuss metrics, but what I would say is that it gained a lot of attention and views on my YouTube channel. It also led to some purchases, which was really the goal with it being a brand new clothing line.

From having a website with no video, to having her come in and tell a fantastic story of what the company stands for, it really picked things up for me — it was a complete 180°.

How did 7 Hills Productions perform from a project management standpoint?

Merve’s communication was incredible. She always delivered the projects ahead of schedule and she was really easy to work with. She definitely knew when to take control and when to step back, and was fantastic at making talent feel comfortable.

Whenever we strayed off, she knew how to bring us back to the point of why we were all doing this. She’s amazing and her company is amazing.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive thing about her was she brought enough equipment to where she had cameras set up all over the room — this is so she caught each moment. It was just really genuine and authentic, and it makes her an incredible storyteller.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If she could clone herself, that would be great — but yeah, she’s incredible. Even the assistants she brought in were easy to work with. I really think a lot of people can learn from her on how to run their businesses and be humble, strong, and get the job done. To answer this question, there are no improvements needed.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would tell them to listen to her ideas. You might go into it thinking you want something done the way that you saw in your mind. However, I would consider her opinion because in addition to being a storyteller, she’s also incredibly creative. She’s worked on so many different projects and has so much experience, so I would really listen to her.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our organization is an e-commerce manufacturer and retailer. We make leather bags and other leather goods and then sell them on our own website and other online marketplaces such as Amazon and Etsy.

What challenge were you trying to address with 7 Hills Productions?

We’ve been working together on video production projects.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They’ve made videos focused on several of our products that showcasing all aspects of each product. We want our customers to see how our products look when used in real life. Each of our videos has grown in scope, with models and rented filming locations being incorporated as time has gone on. We’ve published these videos on our YouTube channel, our social media, and our website.

What is the team composition?

Personally, I work with two team members, but I know they have a full team behind them.

How did you come to work with 7 Hills Productions?

One of my friends referred them. When I checked their website, I saw that they’ve worked with major companies and celebrities. Additionally, their high-quality video portfolio caught my attention.

How much have you invested with them?

Up to now, we’ve spent $12,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since April 2020, completing three projects and scheduling one more since then.

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

Over the past four years, we’ve been putting together videos for our product. Previously, we put together more amateur videos internally or through social media influencers. These videos would get some attention, but nothing out of the ordinary. The first professional-grade video that we made with 7 Hills Productions surpassed our previous experiences with customer interaction. We saw 10 times more likes and comments than normal on that video. When we started uploading videos about the general production process, we began to build a subscriber base.

All this attention has driven customers to our website and helped increase our sales numbers. Even after completing their purchases, customers who felt the videos represented the products well come back to the site and leave positive reviews.

How did 7 Hills Productions perform from a project management standpoint?

We haven’t had any problems with deadlines. We’ve communicated mostly over the phone and by email. Any questions that come up during production are quickly routed to our team so that the overall project can be completed efficiently and correctly. They use QuickBooks to collect payments, which we like.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of their work and their price range have stood out. They finish work quickly and are very organized.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We haven’t had any problems with them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust their team and let them work.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the senior manager for a hospital and healthcare company based in southern California. Physicians, healthcare providers, and non-healthcare providers work there. We have over 15 hospitals and 200 clinics. I work in the graduate medical education side, which focuses on the residents and fellows that are training in our county on our campuses. We have over six training campuses and over 33 training programs.

What challenge were you trying to address with 7 Hills Productions?

What we usually do is invite medical students or residents during the residency recruitment season. In 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic taking place, the capital was limited. We needed to find a way to present and promote our program ahead of the residency recruitment season. One of the thoughts was to have a video, and this is where 7 Hills Productions came in.

What was the scope of their involvement?

7 Hills Productions was able to produce these videos and showcase each of our training programs through social media websites and also through open houses that a number of our programs had. Each of our programs had their own props in mind of what they wanted to present. A number of faculty and program directors, as well as those in training, were interviewed to be filmed.

The understanding was to have to edit before the final high-resolution piece and for about 95% of the time, we were able to hit that. They would give us the first version, I would share it and give feedback, and we would exchange this process a couple of times. For the other 5%, there was just a bit more back and forth to it.

What is the team composition?

We primarily worked with Merve (Founder) and she brought in an additional photographer and videographer. One of our sites was a bit further out and she was able to bring in an additional two videographers as well.

How did you come to work with 7 Hills Productions?

I was introduced to them through another vendor that we use. This vendor worked with 7 Hills Productions previously and, because I trust this vendor very much, they arranged a meeting with 7 Hills Productions. Within a short period of time, we engaged them to do this project with us.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about $50,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started around the end of August and wrapped up by November 2020.

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

They were able to cover the 33 different programs in six different sites within a very short period of time in addition to then having to turn all of the B rolls around into various areas. The feedback and outcomes were just amazing and good for our program. Directors and physicians highly recommended it. 

How did 7 Hills Production perform from a project management standpoint?

They emailed us links to Google Drive or Vimeo and that’s the primary way we communicated, as well as through texting. Whatever situation we were in, like if we needed to reform some things because Merve felt like it wasn’t good enough quality, she was able to share that with us ahead of time and was honest. Even if it was beyond our scheduled time, she made accommodations for that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

7 Hills Productions went above and beyond in terms of the quality of the work, their professionalism, responsiveness, and timeliness. They were able to capture our vision in a short period of time. Merve was able to pull all of the information together and create something that we’ve never had before. Overall, the experience was all really positive. What was most impressive was how well Merve knew what she was doing and how quickly she was able to understand the goal of our outcome. I really admire her honesty, integrity, and work ethic for the quality she was producing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

If anything, we could have had more time to plan and more flexibility.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I strongly recommend working with them and compare them with other companies, but definitely don’t overlook them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president and founder of TKMG Academy, an online learning destination for businesses and leaders that want to learn how to perform at a higher level.

What challenge were you trying to address with 7 Hills Productions?

We launched a new product to help people learn how to perform at a higher level. In connection with that, we hired 7 Hills Productions to produce online courses regarding business and leadership performance improvement.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Merve (Founder) is the cinematographer and she brings her crew when we shoot videos for our online learning courses. We typically rent a studio and film on a green screen. After that, they just add backgrounds to our courses. She's also in charge of editing the videos. 

We've already filmed nine courses. Our first online course was completed in August 2019, and we continue to shoot every 6–8 weeks. However, we haven’t been able to strictly follow that timeline during the early days of COVID-19. Moreover, they’ve also filmed the welcome video on our homepage. 

What is the team composition?

We work with Merve and she works with two other people during our shoots. I’m just not sure if someone is helping Merve with editing. 

How did you come to work with 7 Hills Productions?

We saw Merve listed on Thumbtack. It's a platform where you could see creative people.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $5,000–$10,000 per course.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started collaborating in August 2013, and we continue to work with 7 Hills Productions. 

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

We don’t attribute any of our revenue to 7 Hills Productions’ involvement, but they’ve been very helpful to us when it comes to content and instructor delivery. If they’ve developed something of very poor quality, our sales will suffer, but that didn't happen. If they’ve created something like that, we would’ve stopped using them after the first course.

How did 7 Hills Productions perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve offered good quality for the price, and they provide excellent project management and communication workflow. We’ve had a couple of Google Sheets that we use to track progress. However, we mainly communicate by phone and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Merve asks good questions and she understands what we’re going for. She also understands what we’re trying to achieve, so she can accommodate those when shooting our videos. She has also offered many options or alternatives that we've picked from.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think they can do things differently. We’ve learned a lot as we’ve gone and we’ve adjusted our processes a lot. I don’t think any of the things we faced could’ve been avoided — it's really just the nature of the work. Overall, I’m very happy with them. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Just be clear as you can be on what you want and need. Additionally, place great emphasis on the quality you want to achieve.

Be open to listening to Merve because she’s an expert when it comes to video and audio. You can consider what she has to say as a possibility.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of digital marketing at an edtech startup. We specialize in Montessori education. I head up a lot of the paid advertising and content creation.

What challenge were you trying to address with 7 Hills Productions?

We needed professional and exciting video content that would help us acquire customers.

What was the scope of their involvement?

For over two and a half years, I've worked with 7 Hills Productions and Merve (Business Owner) on several projects.

Most of them have been a series of videos that showcase our education programs. It typically involves Merve and I working with a school that's based in Southern California. We would get a tour of the classroom and building, provide voiceover for all of the information parents would want to know, and then work with Merve on post-production and editing.

The videos are between 3–10 minutes. We use them for parent online engagement, and that could target a new parent looking at a program. Sometimes, we'll do internal videos as a thank you to our teachers.

We've also worked on projects where Merve's recorded events and keynotes. Our team is spread out globally, with schools all over the world. We will fly people in once a year to do several keynotes and working sessions for two or three days.

What is the team composition?

Merve is our main point of contact, even serving as a director and TV camera operator. We've also worked with Mehmet (Business Partner).

How did you come to work with 7 Hills Productions?

I found her on Thumbtack in Southern California. She was working in LA at the time, and I'm based in Orange County. On Thumbtack, Merve had great reviews. She was also the most professional and responsive.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing engagement with 7 Hills Productions started in April 2018.

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

Every project has been great and easy with Merve and her team. They’re always professional, making the best videos for us. We have a unique and niche product, and the 7 Hills Productions team makes world class videos for us.

Merve’s videos are some of the best I’ve seen out there in terms of quality. From the fact that she shoots with a 6K camera to her precise and clean editing style, she’s extremely minimalistic when it comes to special effects and music.

How did 7 Hills Productions perform from a project management standpoint?

Merve is extremely communicative. We always have a good rapport through text, email, or phone calls. She’s very responsive, so there’s never an issue.

What I like about her is that she’s into pre-production. She takes project management seriously, and she knows that working details out with her team makes everything move smoother.

Some of the simplistic videos she’s created have been our best advertising. We have a lead generation pipeline that’s very typical. We try to find families who are either unfamiliar with Montessori or our brand and make them interested. The videos are often the first touchpoint.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The overall quality. Merve’s extremely experienced, working as a director in Turkey and LA for a number of years. Secondly, their customer service is excellent. There is a pretty quick turnaround, and she excels at project management.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I wish all my videographers and photographers were as responsive as she is.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would say do it. Merve is great. The more pre-production you can do on your end, whether it’s a script or your idea and vision, helps with their creative process. They want to create a video that the client wants.