Colormatics

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of brand marketing for a freelancer platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Colormatics?

We wanted to produce a series of direct response television ads.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

This was our first time running TV as a marketing channel, so it was all new to us. We worked with a TV media buying agency to learn the general best practices for creating direct response ads to drive our desired impacts. After that, we wrote a series of scripts that we then worked with Colormatics to produce.

Colormatics was involved from the post-script phase onwards. They handled the production and post-production and then delivered each spot to distribution networks.

In all, we had six unique scripts with three versions of each, adding up to 18 total spots of 15–3-seconds for the shoot. About 12 of the ads were made for TV and digital while the rest were exclusively for digital. The goal was to shoot our commercials in a similar style but with slight differences to find what performed best. 

What is the team composition?

We had three main points of contact.

How did you come to work with Colormatics?

They’ve been our production partner for a variety of projects, from capturing footage at live events to working on campaigns to helping us with case studies.

We reached out to two potential production partners but decided that the Colormatics team was best for what we needed. From the briefing to making the decision to getting started on things, it was a tight timeline.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent about $45,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The partnership started in the first week of May 2020, and we just finished in June of the same year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Our metrics are based on quantitative analysis. We wanted to figure out what creative is most effective in driving traffic to our website. We’re testing these TV spots against other creative we have. We haven’t gathered enough insights yet, but from a satisfaction standpoint, we’re super happy with the products we got. It was exactly what we were hoping to achieve.

How did Colormatics perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything was seamless. From the brief to the handoff of the first deliveries, it took fewer than five weeks. Colormatics was super efficient in managing the timeline and process while working remotely. We kept in touch daily or every other day over email, video call over Microsoft Teams, phone calls, and texts. We couldn’t be on-site while they shot each spot, so they set up a livestream so we could follow exactly what was happening the day of.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I didn’t need to tell Colormatics exactly what we needed; they already had a basic understanding of our product and our objectives. That made it significantly easier to manage my side.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I had a call with them the other week to debrief the project, and I told them that it was a flawless experience on my end. There’s nothing they could’ve done better. They far exceeded my expectations in what they delivered and how smoothly the project went.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be super clear and direct about what you want to do and how much you can spend. If you both have a clear understanding of your budget, objectives, and timelines, that’ll make the process much easier. Colormatics is more than capable of managing the whole process with that information.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a project manager under the business development department. I’m leading the way on our e-learning platform that features on-demand courses and in-demand skills. Our target audience is our brand’s larger digital marketplace. I decide which content we want to publish on the platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Colormatics?

After I approve scripts and instructors for our content that’s made from scratch, their team produces the video lessons.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We film our original content with them from start to finish. Our courses are two hours long, so they film the instructors in a studio as they reach the class. Each course takes an entire day of filming at a studio. From there, they’re responsible for editing the content and launching it on the platform. The editing process requires them to upload their footage to a collaborative platform that makes it accessible to all of us. At that point, we’re able to give feedback on each video before they do their final edits. 

I’ve been able to consult with their team on course topic ideas, and they’re willing to provide us with feedback. Of the 60 courses in our catalog, half of them were created by their team.

What is the team composition?

I’ve been working with Sean (Partner) since day one. He also has an amazing crew that works both on set and in the editing room.  

How did you come to work with Colormatics?

I heard great things about them from the larger digital company that I work for. The business has been very pleased with their work for other departments, so it was an easy choice based on the success our company has seen in the past.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $100,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in September 2019, and our teams still collaborate.  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The work process has been amazing. We’ve always been able to complete the production process in a single day on set. That’s always been the goal for us. Working remotely has never posed a challenge for us because I can trust in their ability to produce quality work in the production and editing stages. 

Our users can tell that their content is high-quality. We’ve received great responses from our learners about our videos. Therefore, we’re able to price the courses accordingly, so that’s benefitted us as well.   

How did Colormatics perform from a project management standpoint?

They provide all their work on schedule. It’s been very convenient to talk with them quickly over WhatsApp, and they respond immediately. That allows us to easily keep track of the timeline and stay on schedule.   

What did you find most impressive about them?

Sean has mastered production. He’s professional, fun to work with, and attentive to our schedule. No one is perfect, but they truly do an amazing job of managing projects and taking our feedback.  

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear with them, jumping on calls to align with information to make sure that everyone is on the same page. They do a great job.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner and founder of Big Sky PR. We’re a PR agency, and our niche is public involvement and public awareness work. Primarily we do outreach for government agencies around infrastructure and transportation projects.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Colormatics?

We worked with them on several different projects, and most of the challenges were around educating audiences about specific traffic mechanisms.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

In Montana, roundabouts are very unpopular, and the public really battles them. We worked with Colormatics to create a campaign about how to drive through one because that’s feedback we regularly receive from the feedback. They developed a series of educational videos that were very creative. They found a group that makes elaborate miniature towns and created a video showing a small car going through a roundabout the right way and the wrong way. They did a lot of the scripting with us as well. They also did a four-part series for us on accessibility, as well as 6–7 other series of videos for us.

After talking it through and brainstorming, Aaron gives us the first scripting and storyboarding. We get everything approved with our client, and then they’ll do casting if that’s necessary for a video. They also handle the site selection in collaboration with us, as well as equipment rentals. After the shoot, they handle the post-production.

What is the team composition?

We work with Aaron and Chris primarily.

How did you come to work with Colormatics?

Aaron originally connected with us looking for PR agencies that needed production support. We choose not to have those services in-house. We found we could leverage the experts in their respective areas without taking on all that overhead, and we’re a small agency. I was talking back and forth with Aaron and then these projects came up. He was very organized and affable in the initial conversations, as well as interesting and fun to work with. He was easy to relate to

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent a little over $100,000 with them.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since February 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The roundabout series ended up being not only really popular with our audiences, but it was also a regional winner of a major advertising competition.

Overall, their videos perform very well. We put them out organically, and they’re evergreen. We can use them multiple years in a row across multiple projects. Their materials are very high-quality and make sense for the clients to invest in. They’re used in social media, stakeholder communication and education, presentations. They’re sitting on our website and YouTube as well.

One of the general client feedback pieces is that they do a great job boiling down technical content into an accessible, entertaining, interesting way that the average person can appreciate and enjoy. That’s not an incredibly easy thing to do either – making transportation creative.

How did Colormatics perform from a project management standpoint?

Aaron and Chris are people I would be friends with if I wasn’t working with them. They don’t’ ‘bring a lot of ego to their work, which I really appreciate. For the most part, they’re responsive and pretty well organized. I’ve worked with some fairly large creative departments before, and project management is usually one of my biggest complaints. Colormatics has done a really nice job.

We communicate on a weekly basis what we need for timelines, but I think that’s something both of us could be doing better — having more formalized timelines. We haven’t missed a deadline yet though.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I love their positive energy. Creatives, in general, come with ideas, but I feel like they care a lot about their work and bringing a different look and feel to every presentation and project. We primarily do transportation, so for them to come in and say “how can we do a different take on this.” They take personal pride in and ownership of their work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There have been a few times where we had to prod to get some things across, but those are hard to assess because they were during time periods when our workload was so extreme that it’s hard for me to know if it may have been us falling behind instead of them. There could be opportunities for more formal scheduling. For the most part, they give us concrete deadlines and follow through on them though, otherwise, I wouldn’t be using them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come with an open mind and be willing to let them present different ideas you may not have thought of yourself. A lot of their ideas really pay off.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was a senior producer at a retailer of hunting and fishing equipment.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Colormatics?

We needed a partner to help web and marketing content for products.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We had a larger production in which we collected high-quality B-roll footage to use throughout the year for different promotions. One of the products was promoting some new archery equipment, and we used a Hunger Games theme. They would shoot product launch videos for us, too. Sometimes they would do all of the post-production and sometimes they'd do animated pieces. Sometimes they would just shoot.

What is the team composition?

I had one main point of contact and brought the team that he needed for the different sizes of the projects.

How did you come to work with Colormatics?

I knew of their owner when he was still independent and used him as a DP. I reached out to him later and learned he had started Colormatics.

How much have you invested with them?    

We've invested $100,000 – $150,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in September 2014 and wrapped up in September 2016.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We would A/B test a lot of the content they delivered to us against no video or something we shot in-house, and their work was always a higher return on investment.

How did Colormatics perform from a project management standpoint?

They were always great. I come from a production background and It's always nice to have other professionals who speak the language. They definitely scaled to our needs. We communicated via text and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They always had really high integrity. There were never any missed deliverables. We always got what was promised.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they were always good to work with.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They know what they're doing, they're the experts. Trust in them and good things will come.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for a sport and entertainment lifestyle marketing company. We do a lot of live experiential content, sponsorship strategy, hospitality, and hosting. I work on our digital team, so I run our in-house video production capabilities.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Colormatics?

About 75% of the work we do involves creating content for our clients’ social media feeds through either real-time content or directing talent-driven shoots, and the other 25% covers recap videos and training content. We partner with Colormatics to help us out when we have bandwidth issues on multiple projects or to tap into their expertise in certain areas.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Last year, we worked with them on a product shoot for a Japanese makeup brand. Chris, who runs Colormatics, has an extensive history with product shoots and lighting so that was a really great opportunity for us to partner with them and get their help capturing that content.

In addition to that, we worked with them on a couple of major brand advertisements when we had bandwidth issues making it difficult to tackle all of the projects we had at once. They are involved in both on the ground efforts from shooting to postproduction, as well as strategy and planning from time to time.

What is the team composition?

We usually interact directly with Chris and Aaron, and they manage their teams from there.

How did you come to work with Colormatics?

My boss met Chris through LinkedIn, and we ended up grabbing drinks with them when we were in San Francisco last March. They seemed like a really good fit, so things just kind of expanded from there.

How much have you invested with them?

The total cost has been about $50,000 over the course of three projects.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our first project with them was in March 2019 and we have continued to partner with them on a variety of projects since then.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I don’t have specific metrics right now, but from a subjective perspective, they’ve been great to work with. On the makeup shoot alone, we tapped into Chris for his expertise and paid for him and a shooter to be on site. He brought a PA on free of charge and also shot behind the scenes photos for us, while also helping to manage all the lighting. That commitment to going above and beyond demonstrates their willingness to partner with us in a way that most vendors do not.

How did Colormatics perform from a project management standpoint?

Everything they’ve done for us has been organized and detailed throughout all of their work We haven’t had any issues. They are super professional, always filling needs, and we really appreciate their flexibility when it comes to budget and making things work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

We have loved every minute of work they’ve done for us in the short time we’ve been able to work with them so far. I really looking forward to collaborating on some fun stuff with them in the future.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Not in my experience, no. They don’t need a lot of oversight, they just run off of your debrief and execute the work to a T.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I’m a big believer in open communication, and Chris is a great communicator, so just be upfront with your brief, what the budget is, and what you’re hoping to get out of it. They will respect that and really deliver on everything you ask them for.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the digital marketing manager at the Spokane Symphony.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Colormatics?

We didn't have any good quality videos, and we know it's an excellent way to reach our customers since what we do is so visual.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They provided a lot of interviews with our musician and our new director. They did an awesome video encompassing our last season called "Sound of Spokane". The video took our musicians into different parts of Spokane. They help a lot with the strategy and I give them a bunch of different links for things we like.

 As far as interviews went, we worked on some questions that we wanted to ask the musicians together. They really brought the interviews to life in a way that we could've never imagined doing. Production for "Sound of Spokane" was literally two days, and they turned that around in two weeks, which was amazing. We ended up broadcasting that over social media, tv, and our website.

What is the team composition?

We had two main points of contact and worked with 3-4 other people from their team.

How did you come to work with Colormatics?

We put out a bid to five different companies and really liked Colormatics and what they brought to the table. They were the only company that came up with a clear plan of which video would drive the most value.

How much have you invested with them?    

We've invested $100,000

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in May 2019, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We got a lot of calls and emails from people about the commercial they'd seen. We got a lot of good feedback from in and out of Spokane. We even engaged with a lot of our younger folks, which is a tough demographic for us to reach.

How did Colormatics perform from a project management standpoint?

It's really fun to work with them. They're really professional, efficient, and they always get back to me right away. It's pretty uncommon to have someone get back to you in one to five minutes. They've been great with communication and being creative. They made it really fun to put it all together.

What did you find most impressive about them?

 They'll meet to capture what your business is all about and make sure they highlight what you want. It's nice for me to rely on them to do a good job because it makes my job that much easier.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they've always surpassed our expectations.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is just to go for it. Make that initial meeting with them, they're really smart guys, they're really on top of it and they'll really get you the results you're looking for.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the creative director of The Integer Group.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Colormatics?

We were looking for video production services for an advertising project we were working on with a client.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They produced video spots to run on e-commerce sites and social media. They also did some still photography.

We presented the concept to them and they brought it to life. We worked collaboratively on-site; they produced and directed, as well as filmed, while my role was to ensure our vision came through.

There were two products. The first was project consisted of a 15-20 second video, still photography, and GIFs for social media. For the other, they did one or two standard videos and a social media video.

What is the team composition?

My main points of contact were Chris (Director) and Sean (Producer). They each worked with other team members.

How did you come to work with Colormatics?

I had worked with them before. When this project came up, I invited them to bid on it, and they won.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested between $50,000 - $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from August – September 2019.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The end products looked good. The clients were happy with them. The team from Colormatics did great working with the client’s changes, and explaining their choices and strategy to the client. 

How did Colormatics perform from a project management standpoint?

They were adaptable and flexible with all the shifts in the project. They joined in all the calls, stayed engaged and committed, building goodwill with the clients. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They stayed aligned with us. That was essential in meeting deadlines and producing a successful product. Chris has a calm presence on set, rolling with everything thrown at him and meeting demands while not compromising his direction or vision. There could’ve been much more tension with the client if not for his demeanor and capabilities.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We felt there was a big miss on the wardrobe and accessories pieces for the actresses. They weren’t necessarily current. This did take up some time to address and caused some frustration for the client. It wasn’t a huge deal in the end, but it could’ve been if we hadn’t sourced the right things on the fly.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

The team is attentive and will ride it out to the end. I would also have to suggest keeping an eye on wardrobe and set accessories to make sure they’re on-trend and in-line with the vision. Colormatics comes in at a good, competitive price-point.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm a creative director at Wanderhouse.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Colormatics?

We were shooting some documentary-style testimonials and needed to partner with a team that was innovative and scalable. We wanted to capture something visually compelling for the budget that we had.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They handled production management and shooting. They also did all of the scheduling and logistics. We did five different interviews over the course of three days and I was coming out from Seattle and they were in New York City. They made sure the crew was informed and handled payments. Additionally, they prepped the files and did all the pre-editing work.

What is the team composition?

We had 3 people from their side.

How did you come to work with Colormatics?

I was familiar with their work from separate projects. I knew they were dependable and they were my go-to vendor in that area.

How much have you invested with them?    

We've invested $10,000 – $20,000.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in April 2018 and wrapped up May 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They killed it, as usual. I wouldn't hesitate to use them again. Everybody who was associated with the project was beyond happy.

How did Colormatics perform from a project management standpoint?

They're the epitome of professionalism, but they're also the kind of people you'd want to hang out with outside of work. We communicated via phone, email, and

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their versatility and ability to innovate under tight budgets is incredible. They're committed to visually compelling work.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, everything they did was on point.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to work with them in a collaborative manner rather than just as hires. They have a lot more to offer than just production services.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the principal at Envisaging Productions, Inc.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Colormatics?

We worked with Colormatics on a feature film.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Colormatics was responsible for the sound mixing and color correction during post-production for the film. The team provided suggestions about music, sound effects, and other ways to enhance particular scenes. The primary goal of the color correcting was to make the film look cohesive and beautiful before delivering it to networks.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two individuals, Aaron (Producer & Partner), who mixed the sound, and Chris (Director & Partner), who was responsible for the color correction of the entire movie.

How did you come to work with Colormatics?

I’d worked with Aaron on a prior show, and he reached out to me when we were producing this film. We were confident about Colormatics’ abilities and decided to partner with them.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent between $50,000-–$75,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We brought them on from April-June 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team did a wonderful job. They have access to fantastic facilities and do terrific work while remaining malleable and collaborative. We had some technical challenges before a screening in Los Angeles, and Colormatics worked with us remotely to troubleshoot and get us through it.

They always go the extra mile to help the creative process and to problem solve. 

Colormatics is a joy to collaborate with.

How did Colormatics perform from a project management standpoint?

Colormatics’ project management style is excellent; they’re very buttoned up. The team was always ready for our sessions and never kept me waiting.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re filmmakers themselves, so they bring an extra level of expertise and understanding. Chris is a director of photography and has a beautiful eye. Together, they have a great creative sense which really adds to the end project.

Also, the team can understand the perspective of a director, and can perfectly tread the line between offering collaborative solutions and maintaining the director’s vision.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing that I can think of.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Get them involved early. Let them know what your vision is, and allow Colormatics to start generating ideas. Also, you could really benefit from hiring Chris as your DP. We didn’t for this project, but I definitely would in the future.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior marketing communications specialist at a regional credit union, and I lead creative advertising campaigns. We have 200,000 members in Washington and Idaho.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Colormatics?

We had been doing a campaign since 2014, and they felt it had gotten a little stale. They didn’t know how to evolve it without losing the heart of it. 

I came up with a campaign. I thought Colormatics would be the best people to evolve it and make it look the way it needed to look with motion graphics combined with live action. It needed to look high-end, but also local.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our team came up with the idea to highlight people who are doing good online in their little corner of the Internet. When we brought that concept to Colormatics, they started discussing different ways we could visualize it. They translated our idea into a visual language. 

The video is a combination of live-action and motion graphics. We filmed an interview, but we also wanted to bring the social media accounts of these members to life. We used social media accounts as a flash-back mechanism. Then, we brought those accounts to life so it would feel as though the action was happening in real-time.

Now, we’re working on turning the voiceovers from the interviews into animated illustrations. We feel like those might perform stronger organically on social media. We wanted to test the two videos to see which performs better, but due to COVID-19 we’re going to have to wait a while before we launch them.

What is the team composition?

There was a core team of three people, including a producer, the VP director, and the editor. With subcontractors included, there were eight people. The rest of the people outside of the core team were on the film crew or worked with motion graphics.

How did you come to work with Colormatics?

I had talked with them previously when I was in the ad agency world. They’d come by and talked about their skillset and showed us their video reel. There was a good rapport there.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve invested $10,000 to $49,999 with the team so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November of 2019, and the partnership is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The leadership team and our team are both very happy. I presented the first TV ad that we created at our staff meeting, and everyone was very impressed and excited about it.

How did Colormatics perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very laid back but still get the job done, which is a nice balance. We use Frame.io for feedback on the post-prodcution side. Overall, it’s a combination of Frame.io, text, and email.
 
Are there any areas they could improve?

As a team, we’ve talked about wanting to draw the interviewees out of their shell a bit more. I think their interview tactics could be improved a little bit.
 
Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure both the client and the vendor are comfortable giving direct feedback to each other.