Pat Animation

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Marketing Comm. Mgr. of Kiva Confections, a leading cannabis company located in CA, AZ, NV, IL, HI and MI.

For what projects/services did your company hire Pat Animation?

We hired Pat Animation to create a 1 min. animated teaser video and 2 min. brand launch video for our new brand Lost Farm. We need graphics, voiceover, music and titles.

What were your goals for this project?

We hoped to create a visually-stunning, mind-bending animation that conveyed the brand points and experience of Lost Farm edibles. This would debut on our YouTube and Instagram pages and be shared in newsletter blasts, as well as be used as a training material for budtenders and others in the industry. It was to be both entertaining and educational.

How did you select Pat Animation?

I contacted a number of individual animators as well as animation companies after looking at work on Behance, Vimeo, and LinkedIn. Pat Animation had the most personable team, the best pricing, the best examples, and seemed to understand the project better than any other choice. They were the unanimous choice for me and the rest of my team.

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

Starting in mid July we engaged Pat Animation. We provided a full script which they turned into a storyboard that we gave precise notes on. This process continued with the rough draft of the video all the way til the final. We also choice the voiceover actor from suggestions Pat Animation provided and then gave extensive feedback on the voiceover performance to get it to our liking.

We contributed reference materials for the graphics like images of the products and other elements we created to support the brand launch (stickers, colors, swag, etc...). Pat used all of this to create graphics that were on-brand. We made several revisions in the editing process and they always delivered new cuts in a timely manner.

They also added subtitles on the final video, which was not in the original contract.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

We had two people giving feedback who compiled notes from a team of five. We had many rounds of feedback implemented and were very happy with the results.

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

The video has had an overwhelmingly positive response- from our sales team who uses it to sell the product into stores, from the founders of the company, from dispensaries, and from consumers. we feel that this animation hit all of our brand points and was both educational and entertaining in all the ways we needed it to be.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They were excellent and timely at communication, scheduling and managing expectations. We did all feedback via email and in GoogleDocs for collaboration.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The final product is absolutely stunning and exceeded our expectations. They were delightful to work with- flexible, patient and understanding about our creative notes and why things needed revision. It was a true collaboration and they were incredible partners.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We had an incredible experience with Pat Animation and see no areas needing improvement.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a creative director for a B to B industrial safety marketing agency

For what projects/services did your company hire Pat Animation?

We asked Pat Animation to create a Charlie Brown Christmas style animation. They were asked to create characters based off of photos we had taken of our client's team and make them look similar to the Charlie Brown Peanuts style characters. Then they were asked to animate the cartoon to fit the script we had came up with.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to drive leads and engage with our customer base.

How did you select this vendor?

I searched for animators on fiverr and linkedin.

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

We required that the video be based off of the popular Peanuts, Charlie Brown, cartoon. Pat and his team created characters based off of photos of our clients team. Then they created scenes and background based off of our script and photos of the client's facility. Once the characters were approved, they created storyboard sketches of each scene. They moved to animation with VO provided by our client. Very minimal changes were needed and they nailed the look and feel of the Charlie Brown cartoon.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

I worked directly with Patrick and he managed his animators, sketch artists, and team. There were very minimal changed needed and most was completed through email.

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

We hope to see more leads and project developments from our email video campaign.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

I worked directly with Patrick and he managed his animators, sketch artists, and team. There were very minimal changed needed and most was completed through email.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Patrick was very receptive to any feedback that I gave. They followed direction perfectly with very minimal revisions or edits needed. Projects are always more fulfilling for both the client and the creators when there isn't a need for multiple revisions.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We were satisfied with Pat Animations final product. They followed direction, revised when needed, and delivered on time through the entire process.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of Taloflow, a cloud management company.

What challenge were you trying to address with Pat Animation?

We have a product that is coming out of beta and we wanted to build some awareness for that. We needed to be able to educate a sophisticated customer pretty quickly about what we do and what’s unique about our offering.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Pat Animation created a one minute animated video. Their team began with a storyboarding step, which involved finding a unique angle that would catch viewers’ attention. We mapped out the message we wanted to share with our potential customers and prospects. Their team did a lot of cutting to make sure it was concise yet powerful.

The next step involved going through illustration and design boards, in which the different scenes of the storyboard were visually translated. This allowed us to see what the likely animation would look like. The one minute video was broken down into about nine or ten core illustrations. 

The third step was to get a voiceover made. Pat Animation got a bunch of different samples from voiceover providers in which they were reading the script to help us get the best fit. The next step was actually animating the video. Their team took the designs from the design board, integrating the voiceover, and completed the animation.

Our final step involved reviewing the video and looking at small things we could tweak. We ended up changing a couple of things in the animations that were very minor. The whole project took us about two weeks from start to finish.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact was Pat (Founder & Producer, Pat Animation). I know he has a bigger team, but it was good to interact primarily with him and not being bounced across different people.

How did you come to work with Pat Animation?

When we decided to make an animated video, we looked at many of the usual firms that show up in the first results of a Google search. A LinkedIn post asking for referrals eventually led me to Pat Animation.

How much have you invested with them?

We have invested $5,200.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement with Pat Animation ran from June–July 2019.

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

Our stakeholders love it. We haven’t put in any effort into promoting it. Early on we got feedback on the video from customers, it was pretty on point in terms of messaging.  

How did Pat Animation perform from a project management standpoint?

They did a good job. They’re very collaborative and interactive. Pat and I shared a Google Doc and would edit things together in real-time. I liked being on the call with him to real-time any of our concerns and get feedback. We also had regular Zoom meetings.

Pat is very much on the ball. We would never have to wait a couple of days to hear back. We always communicated in real-time so nothing got lost in context. He was always willing to get on a phone call which was great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The cost-benefit of the experience impressed us. I’ve never seen anything like it. I know that I’d have to pay three to four times more to get this quality somewhere else.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, it’s been a pretty good experience.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you know your subject matter well. Our team had done some preliminary thinking about our message. Coming into work with any animator or video production company, it’s smart to have a story or message you want to share. Even if you have an initial storyboard draft or Google Doc somewhere, that will go a long way to kick things off. At the end of the day, know your subject matter to best equip whoever you’re working with.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Director of Communications for a national non-profit focusing on justice system reform.

For what projects/services did your company hire Pat Animation Studio?

We contacted Pat Animation to produce a short animated video for our 30th anniversary celebration.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a short, powerful animated video that could stand on its own or show as a part of our conference's opening ceremony 30th anniversary retrospective.

How did you select this vendor?

We put out a call for animators on LinkedIn and were contacted by Pat almost immediately.

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

We needed a video for our 30th anniversary celebration and due to circumstances beyond our control we broke ties with our contracted videographer one month before the event. We put a call out on LinkedIn for an animator and Pat contacted us immediately. We quickly set up a call and walked him through what we needed. He was extremely accommodating of our timeframe and budget, and worked quickly to get the project up and running. He quickly grasped what we were looking to do and offered critical and insightful suggestions on how to execute our vision. Despite our quick timeline, he made sure that we were a part of the process every step of the way. I can't speak highly enough about how fantastic he was to work with under less than ideal conditions. His professionalism, skill, and commitment to getting the project right helped save our event.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

Pat made sure that we were involved in each stage of the production. We started with a big picture discussion of the video and worked our way down to a storyboard, design details, movement, color, music etc. As the video moved from storyboard to initial drawing to full animation, Pat made sure we had an opportunity to provide feedback. It was a perfect process for us.

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

Pat's video was shown during the opening ceremony of our 30th anniversary celebration. The feedback was universal, our audience loved the video and found it to strike the perfect tone for what our organization is all about.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We were working under a difficult timeline but Pat's project management made us feel comfortable and confident that we would get a final product that we loved.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The hands-on approach is unique among animators we have used in the past. I found Pat's intuition and creativity not only unique in this space but crucial to helping us deliver what we needed to. He was able to quickly understand our project and offer insightful ideas that propelled it to success.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We would absolutely work with Pat again.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the director of A&B Media Consultants. We’re a media consultancy based in the UK.

For what projects/services did your company hire Pat Animation Studio?

We hired Pat Animation Studio to produce a total of six videos for two separate projects. We wanted videos of varying lengths that were each made for a different touch point in the advertising journey.

What were your goals for this project?

Our goal was to have a set of top-quality, message-driven videos made within a short timeframe. We wanted to use these videos to spread awareness of financial claims products and drive leads for our client's businesses. In addition to the videos, we requested still frames of their animations that we could use for static ads on search engines and social media platforms.

How did you select this vendor?

It took us a considerable amount of time to find a suitable animator for our project. After seeing one of Pat Animation Studio’s videos, we decided to reach out and discuss a potential collaboration.  

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Pat Animation Studio created a 20-second video, a 15-second video, and a six-second video for each campaign.

What was the team composition?

We dealt directly with Pat (Founder, Pat Animation Studio), who oversaw the entire process and liaised with the illustrators and animators.

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

We’ve received positive feedback regarding the animations, and our client has been generating more business since the videos were released.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was excellent. Pat was a pleasure to work with, and his team collaborated well with ours. My company is made up of creatives and filmmakers, so we were very hands-on during production. Pat and his team seemed to enjoy that, and we ended up pushing boundaries together to create high-quality work.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We were impressed with Pat Animation Studio’s ability to adapt and deliver within short time constraints. Our expected turnaround for the animated films was around 2–3 weeks, and for the range of cuts we’d asked for, we believed that following our timeline was going to be a challenge. They managed to meet every deadline for two separate projects.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I would say no. Their delivery was under budget and within our time constraints. They really did pull off a miraculous job.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO & founder of Go2Practice, a fitness startup. It’s a digital directory of every gym across the US.

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

We hired Pat Animation Studio to create videos that introduced our early-stage startup to both sides of the marketplace: businesses and consumers.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Pat Animation Studio created two videos for us to use as marketing tools. For the B2B side, their team created an animated video to describe the business aspect of the startup to gym and facility owners. The video for consumers was a different product, but both videos were packaged together.

What is the team composition?

Pat (Founder & Lead Producer, Pat Animation Studio) was my main point of contact.

How did you come to work with Pat Animation Studio?

I found them on LinkedIn. Pat seemed sincere, and I was impressed with our talk. I also saw examples of his work on YouTube. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Pat Animation Studio between February and March 2019.

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

Our LinkedIn engagement and views are substantial. I’ve received more views on LinkedIn due to the videos than anything I’ve posted. It was a step-by-step process. I’ve never worked on an animated video before. Pat Animation Studio was organized, providing me with an outline of everything. Their team was receptive to feedback. If I didn’t like a voiceover or graphic, they changed it instantaneously. Pat Animation Studio brought my goals to life. With this being the first animation project that I’ve done, it was nice working with them.

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

Pat Animation Studio was professional and responsive. We mainly correspond through email and Google Docs. If we have a ton of questions, we can hop on the phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve been approached by various companies that specialize in animated videos, but from an initial perspective, Pat Animation Studio was inviting and friendly. I took a risk, and it paid off. Their team was willing to play around with pricing. I wasn’t comfortable with paying too much upfront without knowing the result, but they broke it down to ease that fear. I ended up not doing that, but it was great to see that they were flexible.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was a creative brief that wasn’t as functional as it could’ve been. It also took me a while to do. It wasn’t valuable to the project.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If customers come in with a vision or find one along the way, put it in an initial brief. For example, I wanted the idea of optimism and motivation for working out to be evident within the videos. I showed them examples I found online, which helped. If I had that frame of reference earlier on, it would’ve benefitted everyone.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the managing director of CanTrack Global, a specialized provider of battery powered and wired tracking devices mostly used in the commercial vehicle and construction sectors.

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

We wanted to find an engaging way of explaining what we do to our clients, so we were looking for a vendor that could help us create educational animated videos to make our services clear and interesting.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Pat Animation created two animated videos. After going through a creative brief with their team for the first project, they overlayed animation onto some footage to bring it to life. In the second project, we had a video that we weren't completely happy with the production quality of, so Pat Animation's team added special effects to make it more compelling. In both instances, we collaborated with their team on storyboarding.

What is the team composition?

We only worked with one project manager, which was very beneficial because it helped keep everything organized and he got to know our creative process very quickly.

How did you come to work with Pat Animation Studio?

I posted something on LinkedIn and they were one of the companies that got back to us.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about $3,000 for both projects.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from March to July 2013.

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

We haven't officially launched the videos yet, but our soft launch on social media has already received a lot of views and positive feedback. Pat Animation created incredibly compelling videos of a relatively boring product. The first video has received about 10,000 views on LinkedIn and another 10,000 on YouTube. Internally, we've been very impressed by the quality of their work as well. As a small business, their videos help give us a big company look and feel.

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

The project manager I worked with provided continuous feedback throughout the engagement. They never made it seem that any of my many requests were unreasonable, so I don't think I could have received better customer service. Each project only took a couple weeks from start to finish; they worked on them continuously until they were done. After taking the time to get to know our process on the first project, the second project required fewer iterations, saving us on time and cost overall.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They understood our creative needs and were a pleasure to deal with. Their customer service was excellent, and we received high-quality deliverables at an affordable rate.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be as clear as possible about how you want your final product to look and provide their team notes throughout the process. I provided feedback on each scene, giving them as much direction as possible, which helped them deliver a better product in the end.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the marketing manager of Miami Air International, so I run our sales and marketing apartment. We operate a fleet of six Boeing 737-800 aircraft that cater to corporate groups, U.S. Military, civic groups, professional sports teams, and more.

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

I wanted video content to educate our prospective customers on the services we provide in a quick and comprehensible format. The videos needed to be short, but visually engaging.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Pat Animation Studio made four videos, each was between 45–60 seconds that focused on a specific piece of our business. The first video was a general overview of our company and our services, the second detailed our three unique branding points, the third was about our fleet of aircraft, and the fourth gave information specific to our corporate market.

We provided the team with the overall concept and a brief description of the points we wanted to cover in each video. Then, they put together an initial script and we sent it back and forth until we were both happy with it.

What is the team composition?

I only interacted with Pat, but he had a team consisting of a scriptwriter, designer, and someone to record and produce the content.

How did you come to work with Pat Animation Studio?

I found Pat on LinkedIn through a reference from another company that had used his company in the past. I chose to engage after seeing an example of the quality of his work. Also, the pricing was very competitive compared to our other options.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May–June 2018.

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

We haven’t fully launched the new videos yet, but we included them in an email marketing campaign and received positive feedback. Clients praised the innovative and understandable content. Additionally, these videos give us the opportunity to improve our outreach efforts through not only email, but our website and social media accounts, and we expect to see an increase in the number of charter bookings we receive.

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

Pat’s project management skills were excellent. He was responsive to messages and questions and went out of his way to propose alternate solutions to improve our project. The team had a flexible and quick work ethic and paid close attention to detail.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were eager to completely satisfy our expectations.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Pat Animation Studio is one of the best vendors we’ve had the opportunity to work with. We are very pleased.

Any advice for potential customers?

I recommend potential clients are very thorough in their briefings and project descriptions to give a clear idea of the goal of the video.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m a product manager for a firm that seeks to solve industry-wide challenges by reducing labor in production processes and by automating factories using big data and machine learning.

For what projects/services did your company hire Pat Animation Studio?

We needed an introduction video for one of our products.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a high-quality video delivered on a very strict timeline.

How did you select this vendor?

We spoke to and got quotes from more than 10 companies. Pat Animation Studio surprised us with a fast response, quick solutions, and a competitive price range.

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

They worked from a video storyboard and created a voiceover.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

We held daily calls to set up and confirm every detail of the storyboard and voiceover. We also communicated through email and shared document management.

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

They finished the video in time and we had time left over for improvements. The video’s quality was exactly what we were looking for.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We felt very comfortable working with them. Because of the limited timeline, we needed a fast feedback cycle, which worked exactly as planned. We had control over every step of the process and had really good communication with them.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We were impressed by the quality they delivered on such a limited timeline.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, we’re completely satisfied.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO and founder of Univoice Corporation. Our company has about four full-time employees and seven contracted workers at any given moment.

For what projects/services did your company hire Pat Animation Studio?

We were in dire need of an animated product walkthrough to help with fundraising and kickstart our digital demand generation efforts. The walkthrough needed to be engaging, concise, and effective.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to create a video that would clearly explain the product's features and functions while also captivating the user's attention and producing an emotional reaction. Our overall goals were to secure more funds and higher advertising click rates.

How did you select this vendor?

Initially, we did a Google search for animated video production companies before thoroughly evaluating the top three options. We decided to move forward with Pat Animation Studio’s team because they had a strong track record for success, and the CEO demonstrated a high degree of professionalism during our introductory call.

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

The scope of the work included overall video layout, scripting assistance, storyboarding, sketching, animation, production, and voiceover. My role was consultative on the scripting and storyboarding elements, but they were responsible for all of the above items.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

Pat (Founder & Lead Producer, Pat Animation Studio) led a team that was specialized across various functions, including scripting, illustration, animation, production, and video editing. The team worked well with me on several rounds of feedback.

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

Visually and functionally, the video exceeded expectations. It produced the desired reaction while clearly relaying the product's features and functions.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

They performed very well from a project management standpoint. We used Google Drive and WhatsApp to collaborate.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was impressed with their professionalism, skill level, cost, and speed of delivery.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that I can think of.