Cut 'N' Run Studios

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the President of Grau & Associates, LLC. We are an association management firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Cut ‘N’ Run Studios?

My clients, who are trade associations, needed videos developed. These are primarily training or educational videos for members or promotional purposes.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They have done four projects thus far. One video was an animated digital video intended to provide education about a specific type of immigration program. They took the rough script and content we’d developed and made the video. 
They created online training materials in another project.

What is the team composition?

Justin (Creative Director, Cut ‘N’ Run Studios) was the main point of contact for me. Depending on the project, I did communicate with another person as well. It’s possible they brought more people in that I’m unaware of.

How did you come to work with Cut ‘N’ Run Studios?

They were referred by a colleague who had worked with them previously.

How much have you invested with them?

I spent $15,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with them in September 2018, and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

While I don’t have specific metrics, I can say that one of their videos was so on-point that it has become a non-dues revenue generator. They were involved in creating three out of eight training materials videos that will be going online. 

How did Cut ‘N’ Run Studios perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re responsive, timely and professional. They communicated early and often, answering calls day or night. Timelines and schedules were kept. We had scheduled calls for progress and feedback.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are extremely professional. They reach out whenever they need to; they aren't the type to let things linger or procrastinate in any way. Their professionalism and responsiveness are very important to me. They’re easy to work with.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There were a couple of software programs they admitted to not being fully aware of, such as Articulate. It didn’t cause problems for us, but they may want to incorporate that into their portfolio for future projects.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to partner with them. 
 

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

My name is Jared Bajoras. I am the co-founder of Churchill Pictures, LLC with Damiano Fusca. We are an independent film production company out of Pittsburgh, PA and Los Angeles, CA. We were established in 2008 and have produced 2 full length feature films and numerous other video productions in the past 12 years or so.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Cut 'N' Run Studios?

We hired Cut 'N' Run Studios on both of our feature film productions ("Deference" (2012) and "The Unsung" (2017), still in post-production).

What were your goals for this project?

To create a feature film that would stand out amongst the vast saturation of other current films on the plethora of streaming services and "hard copy" (DVD/Blu Ray) markets. To make a film that would become prominent within the US film festival circuit (we began submitting in 2019). Ultimately establish a top tier disrtibution deal with the film.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We met owner Jordan years ago working on random video projects in the Pittsburgh-Area when we were learning the trade (video production/Filmmaking). We have collaborated on numerous productions over the years (from commercials, short films, promotional videos, and the feature films).

Describe the video(s) and the process in detail.

"The Unsung" feature film completion was a long, challenging process. This comes with the territory with most, if not all, independent features. We worked "hand in hand" with Cut 'N' Run from very early on in the process.

The first big event in the process being auditions that we held at their studio for casting purposes. The next being, after the script was finished, the first table read at their studio with the main cast.

From there we completed pre-production with Cut 'N' Run Studios. This led to the production of the film, principal photography beginning May 2017. Production of the film wrapped in July 2017.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

Cut 'N' Run has always had superior preparation and organization. Probably the two biggest components needed as the foundation of producing an independent feature film. This was probably our biggest reason in choosing to hire Cut 'N" Run to complete such an important project to us.

They gave feedback every step of the way and we were grateful at the end of the process to have all developed such an amazing team. Everyone worked hard together and bounced idea off of each other to get past the various obstacles we faced.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

So far, "The Unsung" has been accepted to 3 US Film Festivals, had a very positive write up recently from a programmer at the "Utah Film Festival & Awards". The film has garnered a strong interest on-line and within social media with the release of the trailer, consistent updates of the film's progress, and the film's website.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We have developed an amazing working relationship with Cut 'N' Run Studios. The workflow has been something that we could have only hoped for. In our past experiences creative projects can create a lot of animosity between team members.

In particular, a feature film production requires so many "moving parts" (from actors, wardrobe, effects, editors, sound, catering, director, producers, etc.), that it was nothing short of a miracle that the entire cast and crew gelled so well. In our opinion, the end product reflects this.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The communication between our team and the team at Cut 'N' Run was impeccable. We were able to professionally discuss issues and work out various obstacles as a team. As we previously stated in this review, the most important and impressive things to us, were Cut 'N' Run's preparation and organization.

Are there any areas for improvement?

There are always areas for improvement and with our experience with Cut 'N' Run one of the only things I can think would have to do with post-production. We had some issues with editing that we had some difficulty overcoming.

However, even with this and as hard as it was, we were still able to communicate with Cut 'N' Run and figure things out. In the end, we complete our very challenging, heavily difficult goal.