Omnislash Visual

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Creative Director at a corporate communications agency headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Our company employs about 35 people who serve corporate clients across Canada, US and some in Europe. I oversee the design, production and quality control of the work we produce.

For what projects/services did your company hire Omnislash Visual?

We engaged Omnislash to produce an interview-like video of the FrontWell CEO to engage analyst and investor interest.

What were your goals for this project?

In an effort to promote a newly established company, we needed the video to be engaging, well crafted and professionally executed.

How did you select Omnislash Visual?

Our team searched for video production companies in the Connecticut, we narrowed down to 3 ultimately selecting Omnislash for the quality of their online presence and initial discussions with their team.

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

We had an initial briefing meeting and discussed our objective. The team at Omnislash visited the CEO for a scout of the location, providing detailed options for the best possible shoot locations. This was a tight timeline with a narrow window to shoot the video. They provided all footage for our team to select the appropriate takes, then followed up with trimmed and colour corrected footage in various resolutions. They followed up with suggestions on editing and any last minute requirements.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

It was a light team on set due to the sensitive nature of the subject matter as well as the current global health situation. On set they were professional, courteous and friendly towards our client.

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

The client is content with the outcome and 2 months after the launch, promotions continue as well as interest in the company's success.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Omnislash was quite flexible, which helped us achieve what we needed in the timeframe allowed. They provided a real-time scenario of the set and followed up once shooting was complete.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their efficiency, professionalism, responsiveness and support throughout the process.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Speed and efficiency was key, however not at the expense of quality. They managed to provide both in the time frame allowed. In the end, the outcome was great and we would definitely recommend and work with Omnislash again.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a producer for Synthetic Cinema International, we do TV movies for Lifetime, Hallmark, and NBC.

What challenge were you trying to address with Omnislash Visual?

I’ve known Paul (Director) for years. He’s worked on lots of our editorial credits for years. He takes a movie and uses animation to put it together. He also assists with digital effects — whether it’s making summer look like winter or removing a boom pole. His company is one of our partners on digital clean up.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Recently, he did the 3D title and credits for a Lifetime film. The film before that he did the opening title, credits, and green screen work. We filmed the product in Connecticut in the summer and he added mountains and snow. Those are the recent ones, but he’s worked on many projects.

What is the team composition?

It’s mostly been Paul, although he has a team behind him.

How did you come to work with Omnislash Visual?

I met Paul doing television commercials years ago. Over the years he’s moved around on what he did, but he’s always been a partner.

How much have you invested with them?

Every job is different – it’s on a job by job basis. I’m guessing that credits are around $3,000, an animated title for a couple thousand, and he’s worked onset as a post-production supervisor for upwards of $10,000. A graphics job tends to be between $2,000 and $5,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together back in June 2010, and they’re still our partner.

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

He’s incredibly meticulous about what he does. I work with a lot of directors on different films, and he has to work with our post-production team and the director. He’ll receive instructions from us but is able to work with the director’s feedback as well. He’s fantastic at making it work from both the artistic and financial side.

In a recent film, he did a lot of green screen work with a stalker killing someone in a car. That’s really tough to edit the reflections just right. He worked very hard to get that correct and it’s a testament to how his quality is well above average.

How did Omnislash Visual perform from a project management standpoint?

He’s very good. He creates a Google Sheet for the director and all others to see. He color codes it, keeps it incredibly organized, and manages the post-production well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

He does fantastic at animating photographs and 3D modeling environments which looks amazing.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t have anything. Over the years, we’ve developed a great relationship at what works and how to be the most efficient.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I think it’s a matter of communicating properly, managing expectations. Paul always tries to do better than expectations are.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the media manager of an industrial instrument manufacturer. We manufacture pressure and temperature instruments for power plants, wastewater facilities, and other industrial companies. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Omnislash Visual?

We were aware that content marketing would be important to us as a business. Communicating the technical aspects of our product and how to do things with it would definitely add value. We also wanted to establish ourselves as experts in our field. Specifically, we wanted to do it with videos.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Omnislash Visual has created several different types of videos. They did some for our HR department, for promotion, and for instruction. For example, one video talked about how to recalibrate our instruments. Omnislash Visual is able to integrate computer-generated (CG) animation, which is sometimes more visually pleasing and makes the processes easier to understand. They also handle all the editing to make sure the images flow well and tell the story.

What is the team composition?

We work with about four people at a time on a given job, but it depends on the job. Sometimes, we need crew members for lighting and sound if we don’t do voiceover, for example.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent roughly $200,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The partnership started in September 2014 and is ongoing.

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

We don’t have metrics for the videos. They’re out there, available in different ways, and they add to our overall brand recognition and loyalty. Our field sales folks show some of these videos when they visit customers because it makes it easier to explain things. We’ve gotten good feedback from our sales force on how important the videos are and requests for more. I’m not in direct contact with our end-users, but I know a lot of people are very appreciative of our tutorials such as how to calibrate something. They can save a lot of money by doing it themselves rather than using a calibration lab.

How did Omnislash Visual perform from a project management standpoint?

What I really like most is that they’re very collaborative. Omnislash Visual is in a tough position; folks on our end lack the experience to give proper instructions, but Paul (Director) is always very diplomatic and flexible. 

They’re also very visionary. When our side doesn’t give a full script and storyboard, Paul grabs information from the ensuing conversations and makes it into something. Even when we don’t know what it is that we want, they can guide us through that process. They’re more than people who shoot a camera; they can patch together a smooth story and tell it through video.

In addition, Omnislash Visual uses the latest equipment and state-of-the-art technology. For example, they use LED lights that don’t generate heat and a camera with a teleprompter built into the lens. Paul is especially sharp on the technical side. He understands our products very well; he’s good at absorbing customer’s business intricacies and using them to make a better video. When we talk, it’s like I talk to someone who’s worked at our company for a long time; I don’t have to explain anything; 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Omnislash Visual adds great value, accepts changes, and doesn’t add charges. Their quality of work is excellent. I particularly love how collaborative they are. We have a great dialogue back and forth. It’s a very good relationship, which makes the whole thing go so much easier. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t point to anything I wish they’d do better. Any issues we’ve had have been completely our fault. Sometimes, we approve our script and storyboard and then decide to make changes after the video is done. Nevertheless, Paul gets it done anyway. He’s the diplomat who saves the day. 

Any advice for potential customers?

Before production, the customer should think through what they want and define as best they can before taking to Omnislash Visual. The hardest job is starting with a blank sheet of paper. Omnislash Visual can run with it, but it makes everyone’s life easier to be prepared and provide as much information as possible.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder and senior managing partner of East of Ellie, an events agency. We produce corporate events and internal meetings, as well as experiential events and live-function format corporate conferences.

What challenge were you trying to address with Omnislash Visual?

One of the things we never realized was an opportunity for us was the design component of our work. Being an event planner, we’re responsible for the logistics and the planning and execution of our events, but one of the things that consistently comes up in our to-dos was more of the creative elements — everything from a poster or a banner to a twenty-foot graphic that could take over a wall.

We wanted to be able to come to a client with a clear concept and identity for the event and showcase it through visual functionalities. A lot of the things we did were entry-level when we started but Omnislash showed me what we were really able to offer to our clients. They became a huge partner of ours in the execution of all the creative work for our events.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Where they really brought value was doing 3D-rendering work. For example, we did an event at a movie production company in California that had movie sets set up; we were responsible for branding an entire city block with four or five different brands that we’re going to be at the event.

Omnislash helped us recreate that footprint and add the branding for each of the brands so everyone had a full view of what a 3D model would look like when the event was executed. That helped us get approval on some of the executions and modify things in real-time, making on-site execution easier. It took a lot of the guesswork out of how it would look.

They’ve also created opener videos. Especially in the events world, people need to be easily accessible. They’ve worked with us as a partner on shows where our clients want Instagram videos with specific functions and graphics turned around in 24 hours; we would never be able to do something like that in-house but Omnislash helped us execute.

What is the team composition?

We work with 1–2 people at a time — usually the owner and creative director. We normally have one person for each part: music, video, film.

How did you come to work with Omnislash Visual?

We met them through a friend of a friend. We were working with a web developer that decided to move to a broader platform that included marketing offerings we didn’t need at the time. They then introduced us to Omnislash.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent over $200,000 with them so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since August 2014. Even if we’re not executing on something, Omnislash is always a partner in ideating and us pitching to clients.

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

We don’t have any direct metrics, but I can tell you that the area of our business they work in has grown 35% since we started working with them. We wouldn’t have had the capacity or ability to compete in the live-show, large-format space without them as a resource.

How did Omnislash Visual perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re fantastic. I don’t mean to sound overly glowing but this is my favorite agency to work with. To their own default, they’ve never let me down. I’ve worked overnight with them getting creative stuff ready for the next morning. They’re an extension of my team because they go toe-to-toe with anything we’re willing to do.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their ability to brainstorm and be a collaborative partner is really important. When it comes to my side of the agency, we have a knack for figuring out the experiential side, but when that translates to how you executive it creatively with a video or a recap or a graphic, we’re somewhat lacking. Being able to download them on all of the details, give them our concepts and pitch decks, and then ask them how to take everything to the next level is a huge win.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could be a bit more understanding of the events industry would be helpful. Obviously, it’s hard to be a jack of all trades, but the event world is very specific. A better understanding would, potentially, help everyone make more money.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Let them do what they do. Omnislash is not someone who just executes; it’s not where their value lays. Being able to collaborate with them and brainstorm and come up with ideas is their best quality. When you get them to buy into the work and get excited, the return on the work is exponential.