CG Production Co

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a video producer at Portage Creative, a production company.

What challenge were you trying to address with CG Productions Co?

We were looking to hire a cinematographer on several occasions as well as someone that could help us run livestreams, so we decided to go with CG Productions.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We typically hire CG Productions when we’re looking to subcontract work for an additional crew member. We typically just give them a call to see if Chase (Founder) is available. We’ve always worked with him, and we can put him into any kind of scenario because of his well-rounded production background. 

He helps us with lighting setups, camera work, and audio. He usually is in a supporting role as a second shooter, but his work is on par with a primary shooter.

We’ve done online content for popular social media platforms and our client’s websites, most of them are in the education, industrial, and religious industries. We’ve done a big production for a Catholic church in Canada and the US. 

What is the team composition?

We’ve only ever worked with Chase, but we know that he works with other people and owns the company.

How did you come to work with CG Productions Co?

We found CG Productions through a personal connection in the industry, and we’ve known Chase for years. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve probably spent $5,000 CAD (approximately $4,000 USD) for his services over the years. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with him around March 2019, and the work is ongoing. We just recently called him about another project.

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

The Facebook and YouTube livestreams were really successful, with one gaining over 3,500 views, but the ones Chase helped us with have reached 8,400 views, 1,700 comments, and 47 shares which is pretty good.

How did CG Productions perform from a project management standpoint?

Chase is excellent at communication and helps us get the shots we need. He's very proficient, and I don’t need to give him as many directions as I would other people. He always comes forward to voice creative ideas. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Chase is very knowledgeable on a broad range of production topics, which is important because we’re always entering new situations, and no video is ever the same. I definitely feel that whatever the challenge, he can face it because of his broad experience and technical and creative perspective.

He also has a really calm disposition, even when we’re working in high-pressure or time-sensitive situations like livestreams, or when we have to be in and out of particular environments very quickly. He’s collected and can get the shots we need. 

Those are his biggest strengths, and I find that any time we work with him, we’re successful.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing I can think of. I’ve always been satisfied. If anything, I do wish he was more available, because sometimes we need him at the last minute. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Do not underestimate what Chase can bring to the table. You should hire him early on to make sure you get everything that he can offer in terms of creative and technical advice. Be open to what he offers beyond the camera.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m Cassidy Davis, a sales representative, and co-founder of TEAMDavis. We’re a mother and daughter team and we work under the umbrella of RE/MAX Hallmark Chay, a realty brokerage.

What challenge were you trying to address with CG Productions?

One area that we wanted to improve is our marketing — particularly, video marketing across all platforms.

What was the scope of their involvement?

CG Production Co provides us with their video production, photography and marketing services. Initially,  we asked them to help our company with two different avenues. One is to capture all the houses that we’re selling, and the other one is to create video promos marketing our business. We do a walkthrough process for the actual house, and that includes photos and video. I present them with different ideas on how I want to capture different stories and bring them to life.

Our video and photo content are all published on our realtor website, teamdavis.com, as well as our Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube accounts.

They also provide us with content marketing, and help us figure out the best way to get our content out there and reach the most amount of people. A lot of it has to do with how we configure our website, how we post on our social media channels, or publish ads.

What is the team composition?

I work mostly with Chase (Founder).

How did you come to work with CG Productions?

He’s done a lot of work for different companies that we’re affiliated with. We’ve seen his previous work and thought he would be the best person to talk to.

How much have you invested with them?

Over the last two years, I would say we’ve spent about $1,000–$2,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

The ongoing partnership started in February 2019. With real estate, there are always new houses and listings, so we need new content all the time. We’re still working with their company, and they’re always our first choice.

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

We definitely have evidence of their work because we still have the videos and photos on a lot of our platforms. We still use and push their creations to present to people, even if it’s older content.

Our clients love them and they’re always so surprised by how nice their houses look. In terms of our personal videos, we get a lot of great feedback saying the content is great, and our videos look very professional. 

How did CG Productions perform from a project management standpoint?

CG Production Co perform professionally and are always on top of the project. Chase is good at directing and managing our timelines. And because of their experience, they’re able to determine what’s good and what’s not good. As a project director, he’s been able to take our ideas and bring them to life.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The way he brings his creative flair to every project is very impressive. I might have an idea of what I want, but I have no idea about the steps to get there. He’s just been very good at bringing those thoughts, ideas, and vision to life.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s always room for improvement, I would say one area that needs improvement is how they do their bookkeeping and invoicing — It’s not bad, but it’s a bit slow. I like keeping all my books tidy and clean, so maybe they can just make that process quicker.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Going into the partnership, you’re going to get his opinion and professional advice. If the output is not exactly what you want at first, be open and keep those lines of communication going and your vision come to life.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

The organization is Mapleview Community Church in Barrie, Ontario Canada. My position is director of ministries — I oversee most of our ministries and staff and assist our lead pastor.

What challenge were you trying to address with CG Productions?

The challenge we had at that time was our live stream component. We have quite a good setup, but it definitely needed to be upgraded. That’s what CG Productions brought to the table for us.

What was the scope of their involvement?

CG Productions provided us with their video production services for our live stream. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, our online presence became our first priority and our only platform. The team helped us decide what we needed, and what purchases to make to upgrade all our equipment. In terms of live streaming, audio is the biggest part so we needed to upgrade our soundboard, along with new cameras, cables, and screens.

We had done so many things for so long, that we had to do something more. So in the season of upgrades, we acquired new software and tangible items, like newer cameras and things like that.

They already knew what we had, and then they were the ones who decided what we needed to get. They were very resourceful on what would work for us and searched for the right product. They didn’t necessarily suggest the most expensive products, but they always presented the right and feasible ones — the whole process was well thought out.

After that, they helped us film our live streams on site, taking over the laborious and operational part of it. YouTube and Facebook were our main live streaming platforms.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with Chase (Project Lead) who I had here as an overseer.

How did you come to work with CG Productions?

I know Chase because he attends our service. Our familiarity with him and his work made him more trustworthy for sure. He went above and beyond to help set us up in the right spot for this time. It became really challenging when COVID-19 hit, but he was able to rise to the challenge and bring us a lot of different things.

How much have you invested with them?

For the ballpark figure, we spent about $25,000. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from September 2019–March 2020.

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

The overall presentation on our platforms is so much better now thanks to CG Production Co. Our viewership is also up not just because of COVID-19, but because of the upgrades.

How did CG Productions perform from a project management standpoint?

They went above and beyond, met our expectations, and were in it to win it. If they had to reroute or rewire something, they didn’t just leave it, they were going to finish it and make sure it was done right — they’re really good at problem-solving.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I think the most impressive thing is they didn’t give up until they found a reason why something wasn’t working. They were also really resourceful, and made sure to provide us with the best option. They really went the extra mile to figure out what we needed.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Nothing because they provided everything that we needed at the time for what we were doing. They had a great personality, a great disposition, and an amazing work ethic. There wasn’t anything we needed to be done differently.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’re thinking of working with them, make sure you have a point person who’s well aware of what’s probably already in their facility. Be very clear on what it is you would like to have, because the technical world is not always a layman’s world. Additionally, the technical components of things aren’t cheap so you got to invest in that. I think people don’t realize that you have to spend money if you’re looking for help in that area.

Allow the team to know what you want, and give them time to research and give you the best possible option you can trust.