Mana Animation Studio

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the managing partner and executive producer of OneNinth Media. We’re essentially a creative content agency and a video production company. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Mana Animation Studio?

I've collaborated with them a couple of times, and we've brought them on as animation experts to help create content for a couple of our clients. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We brought Mana on for our project with a new solar company. We had a script written on our side. We also had a general idea of what the customer wanted after they sent us a couple of reference videos to know their preferred style. 

At the beginning of the engagement, we received a cost estimate from Mana based on the script and references. Then, we worked with Jorik (Executive Producer & Founder), who collaborated with us to figure out the project’s timeline, which was a bit of a crunch. We also had a bit of a challenging budget. 

Then, Mana created style boards for us. When those were approved, they created storyboards, which went through a couple of rounds of tweaking. On top of that, they animated everything and did all of the necessary original illustrations. While they worked out all of the timing and transitions, Mana also identified and licensed stock music that had the right energy for the deliverable. 

An additional request came in the middle of the project, so we expanded the scope slightly. Mana provided a number of workable illustration files for the customer, who used all of what they created. The customer also wanted the team to pivot the look and feel of their website. 

What is the team composition?

I work directly with Jorik. 

How did you come to work with Mana Animation Studio?

I initially had a couple of contacts and vendors that we’d gone to frequently. However, for this customer, I was looking for a specific style, and I wasn’t necessarily sure if our vendor partners could pull it off. As such, I wanted to see a fresh perspective, so I looked on Vimeo for animations that I liked. I found one of Mana’s, and I went down the rabbit hole. 

I wound up on a major channel and saw a ton of their work. I reached out and received a prompt response from Jorik. We set a Zoom meet-and-greet session, and I liked his energy; he seemed super sharp. In the end, my communication with Jorik sealed the deal, and I decided to give them a shot. 

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve invested around $12,000 in their services. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in March 2020, and the engagement is ongoing. I actually have them bidding out a new project for me.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re not in charge of managing the metrics on this project, but we do two things. First, we try to make our customer look like a superhero to whoever is above them. If we’re working with the CMO, we make them look amazing to the CEO. If it’s the owner of the company, we make sure their partners, stakeholders, or investors are happy. Second, we look for people that make us superheroes to our own customers. That’s our approach to things.

In relation to that, the feedback we’ve received from the customer and the liaison officer who tapped us for this project has been through the roof. They couldn’t be happier with what we’ve created within the parameters that we’ve had to work with — that’s how I measure success for this project. Ultimately, the customer has been so happy with what they’ve seen. 

I’ve worked with a lot of other animation firms that have a pretty broad range of experience, and Mana is certainly at the top of the stack — they’re consummate professionals, and I don’t hesitate to refer them to colleagues.

How did Mana Animation Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

We don’t use any specific tools to communicate; it’s mainly direct communication. I’ve felt we’re in good hands with Jorik from the start. Being one of the owners of Mana, he’s taken care of us from A to B. Even with the budget and timeline hurdles, the team has been efficient in the process. They don’t skip any steps, and at every milestone, we’ve been impressed with the deliverables and communication. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

The most impressive thing about Mana is the quality of their work. Going above and beyond is part of their DNA. 

Having worked with lots of other similar groups, I find many teams to be less accommodating. With those teams, we’ve had to spend an exorbitant amount of time to help them understand things. With Jorik, everything is understood, and a lot of things are anticipated even before they become an issue. He’s ahead of things on every step of the engagement. They’re the kind of people who make working together pleasurable, while other people make it challenging. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

Quite honestly, no, there aren’t any. As a manager and operator, I always feel like there’s room for improvement when dealing with any teammates or partners. However, I can’t think of anything in the case of Jorik. The engagement has been pretty flawless. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t hesitate to reach out to Mana even if the project is still in its early stages. If you’re thinking about what’s possible, or if you’re unsure of how to approach something, consider them a resource and get them involved in those conversations. They can enhance the creative side of things and give insights or recommendations that you can take into consideration before making final plans.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Bonsai Media is a digital marketing agency, and we design, develop, and market companies to establish their online presence. We’re a team of about 25 and I’m the CEO and founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Mana Animation Studio?

We were looking for someone to do high-quality animated explainer videos. The client that we were working with puts an emphasis on diversity and inclusion, and the challenge was taking what the company typically communicates in about 2–4 work sessions, down to 8-minute videos.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Mana Animation Studio created and produced 16 animated videos for our client. There were eight topics and each of them consisted of two videos; a 90-second explainer video, and an 8-minute video with the full details. Some of the topics we produced include building a culture of empathy and capacity for change, root cause analysis, creating a theory of change, development measures, and measurements of learning.

These videos present complicated subjects that are used in improving systems. These topics help create more equitable outcomes, so they're used for educational purposes to ensure that communities that are not as well off, have the opportunity to learn.

Our clients spent most of their time helping their customers understand what a root cause analysis is. These videos were able to help with how they can efficiently help educate their customers, so they could have more time improving their work.

This particular project also coincided with the website redesign and rebrand that we were working on. We collaborated a lot in this project to match the brand revamp.

We finished that project with that client and we’re just about to start on another project.

What is the team composition?

We worked with around 3–4 people on this project. We had an animator, an illustrator, and our main point of contact, who managed us and the client. 

How much have you invested with them?

So far, we’ve invested around $100,000–$120,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them for about 3 years now. This particular project lasted from June–December 2018. We will continue our partnership so we can work on a new project together.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

From a quality and cost perspective, they were able to help us find something that worked within the client’s budget, and they did exceptionally well. We’ve gotten great reviews and feedback from the clients — they really liked how the animations took these complex topics and made it very easy for them to understand. The videos were fun so it was enjoyable for them to learn these subjects. Additionally, the client has also gotten more funding to do more of the videos.

The metrics, like the number of times people are watching it on Youtube and Vimeo, were really good. People were watching almost 80% of the videos, and for an 8-minute video, that doesn’t happen all the time.

The team was great, they made the project work, and they were able to meet the deadlines. There were times when the client was a day or two late and they were really good at making up for those times. Our schedules were really tight where if one thing is a day late, it would impact a lot of things. Hats off to the team and their ability to adapt to changes and bring the complexities of the subject to life.

How did Mana Animation Studio perform from a project management standpoint?

They worked within our project management software, Teamwork, which was really nice because not every vendor will do that. Most of the time they will have their own project management software. We typically communicated through conference calls, emails, and in-person.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It’s their quality of work. There are a lot of companies doing explainer videos, and as an agency, we wanted to stand out. The actual visual of their work is outstanding, and they did a great job of taking complex ideas and subjects and making stories out of them. It’s easy to make things look pretty and not tell a story, but their work was easy to consume and very effective.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I’m not sugarcoating anything, but they were able to pull the project off from a timeline and budget perspective. I’ve worked with a lot of video production companies, and I will solely work with Mana Animation Studio going forward. They do what they say they’re going to do, and they turn the work around pretty quickly. I would be stretching to find something they could improve on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My biggest advice would be to trust the process. Most of the time people will see wireframes and storyboards for a video, and think that’s what the video is actually going to look like. They don’t realize that all the storyboard does is communicate the structure of the video and the script.

Another piece of advice would be to get the most out of the relationship. Make sure you know your key messaging and what it is you’re trying to communicate. From there, they’ll be able to take it, run with it, and do really great work.