Six Degrees Productions

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the general manager at West Coast Windows. We manufacture windows and doors, and our installation division renovates old houses with our products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Six Degrees Productions?

We hired Six Degrees to produce a corporate video and several tutorials and service-related videos for our Youtube and website.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We worked with Six Degrees on three different projects: a corporate video, a timelapse video, and some tutorial videos. For the corporate video, they filmed our manufacturing plant and showroom and also filmed on-site. They added voiceover and animation as well. Finally, they came up with a three-minute video that told the story of our company.

The second project was tutorial videos for our website. These how-to videos showed customers all of the things that they frequently ask our service department. Things such as how to adjust the wheels on their patio door or how to remove a screen.

The third video was a timelapse of an installation in front of a house. The film showed our team removing its original 19 windows and replacing them with our products.

What is the team composition?

I worked directly with Lee-Anne (Co-Owner). There was also a teammate who was the videographer.

How did you come to work with Six Degrees Productions?

I interviewed three companies through Zoom, one of which I had previously worked with. I looked at their demo reels, and Six Degrees had pretty unique videos.

We already had an interview-style Q&A video, and I didn’t want another one of those. We wanted something different, and Six Degrees could offer that. We liked that they added lots of animation into their videos, so we picked them. Also, Lee-Anne was very easy to work with from our first interview. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $9,000 CAD (approximately $7,300 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked on these projects from October 2020–April 2021. We wrapped up on all three projects, but I’ll keep Six Degrees in mind should we need to do more video content.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Everyone in the organization was very positive about the videos. They loved their feel and content. However, it’s too early to tell the impact since some of the videos went live just recently. For instance, our corporate video went live less than a week ago, but I’m hopeful it’ll generate interest toward our company and increase leads and sales.

Additionally, this video showed our company’s 45 years of history. We hope that customers will see that we have the experience to back up our warranty when they see the video.

How did Six Degrees Productions perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated mainly through email. Six Degrees was very easy to work with. They had a shooting schedule, and they were always punctual. They were very well organized, so nothing ran over.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Six Degrees did things differently. Their demo reels were hipper. Additionally, the animation and neat angles they used made the videos look different from any other corporate videos we’d seen. Additionally, they did lots of drone footage, which is great because most of the houses we work with are beautiful, and they captured that with aerial footage.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I think they’re really good.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give Six Degrees the creative freedom to propose whatever they want. Every industry is different, so explain to them what you do. Having their team come up with ideas worked better for us than just telling them what to do. We let them do their work, and then we told them what we liked and what we didn’t.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital marketing manager at TalentClick Workforce Solutions. We’re a personality behavioral assessment company that helps organizations hire and develop top performers. We consider ourselves as a SaaS HR support.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Six Degrees Productions?

We were looking for a two-minute sales video to introduce our company to the early sales funnel prospects. It had to explain who we were, what we did, and what was our product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Six Degrees Productions provided a full service to create a video. Our CEO submitted a rough draft of our script along with our brand guidelines. They came back, reworked our script, did a storyboard, helped us select a voiceover artist, and did all the animation required.

Six Degrees worked with stock footage and captures of our product, and they turned it into something great. The video is pretty new. We received the final copy recently, and now we’re in the process of posting it and getting it out there.

What is the team composition?

We only had one main point of contact. This person was the head of production but acted as our project manager.

How did you come to work with Six Degrees Productions?

We had an intern who compiled a list of video vendors that met the requirements that we were looking for. Initially, we selected a different vendor, but we had a terrible experience — the quality of their work was atrocious, and they were significantly more expensive.

Six Degrees was the only one to respond after we got out of that agreement and went back to the list of our top three choices. We had a meeting with them that day, and I was immediately impressed by their professionalism and the information they provided. I instantly knew that the quality of their work was going to be what we wanted.

The initial impressions were backed up when the project manager sent us a proposal with some of the scoped-out ideas that we talked about in our meeting. They went a little bit over our budget, but we were totally fine with it because of how everything turned out.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent less than $3,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We had our initial meeting in March 2021, and Six Degrees completed the project by the end of April 2021. We’re very likely to go back to them in the next three months for more work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I was impressed with the look and feel of the video created by Six Degrees. This project was very important to me as I’m in charge of our brand, and they nailed it.

The executive team also gave very high praise to the video — the overall qualitative feedback was amazing. We’re very excited about it and are looking forward to using it for sales.

How did Six Degrees Productions perform from a project management standpoint?

We only communicated via email. When we were in the review process, we were able to leave timestamp comments on the video as well. This helped us consolidate our feedback and make it easy for them to make quick changes — we worked seamlessly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Six Degrees’ expertise in the market added so much value to our process. They provided us with great options to display our product and did an amazing job surpassing our expectations of the final look — we loved our final product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Our video target time was one minute and 30 seconds, but when we turned in the script and Six Degrees edited it, it pushed the video to be a little longer. It resulted in a video of one minute and 48 seconds, which is only 18 seconds longer. They could’ve pushed back the time a little bit by cutting unnecessary information. However, we were thrilled with the result.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go for it. Be sure to be open to their suggestions because they have a lot of expertise to bring to the table. We had our vision locked in, but we were open to their suggestions as well.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a government agency that delivers professional services and provides comprehensive administrative support to clients. Our team specifically supports the development of external communications products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Six Degrees Productions?

Our business deals with a complex subject matter. In recent years, we've recognized that we need to find ways to better engage with clients to improve understanding. We thought a good approach would be to develop new videos, but we don't have in-house support for this work.

What were your goals for this project?

We hope to see an increase in traffic to specific web pages. We intend to promote the videos on a home page and on social media.

SOLUTION

How did you select Six Degrees Productions?

Our team searched online for local animation companies and selected three potential vendors to contact. Based on internal criteria, we decided Six Degrees Productions was the best fit.

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

Six Degrees did a great job to learn our business and goals. They guided us through the script writing, storyboarding and animation stages through sharing drafts and feedback via email. They took on the tasks of finding an appropriate voice-over actor and music. The products were two fantastic explainer videos.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

We had a lovely and approachable production manager to guide us through the feedback process. She weighed in where appropriate and helped to facilitate decisions. Her experience and advice was much appreciated.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Not yet

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The production manager we worked with met our expectations in terms of communicating, scheduling and project managing. Her availability was open some evenings and weekend, which contributed to the success of meeting tight timelines.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

We were impressed by the first impression they made. We appreciated the effort that went into the pitch. They explained the process and helped make it concrete so that we clearly understood the process. They also challenged us during the script writing stage--rather than simply accepting our requests, they poked at gaps to ensure the best possible product.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We are very happy with the quality of their deliverables. For potential future projects, it might be helpful if they could give one or two examples of review criteria (i.e., what to look out for).

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the co-founder, CEO, and creative director of Akinji Entertainment Inc. The company creates boardgames, card games, and tabletop roleplaying games. We are the creators of the successful title Cataclysm: the Roleplaying game.

We are readying to launch a kickstarter for the boardgame that takes place in the same world.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Six Degrees Productions?

Video production. Six Degrees created an amazing digital commercial for our upcoming kickstarter Cataclysm: the Boardgame.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted a video to tell the story of the Cataclysm world, share details about the game and its pieces, as well as grab the viewers attention.

SOLUTION

How did you select Six Degrees Productions?

We had been searching for a company to do this. When we found Six Degrees and messaged them they responded so quickly and positively we wanted to work with them. They were willing to work within our budget and that was spectacular.

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

The video is roughly 4 minutes long with a narrative and musical track playing in the background. It showcases a great deal of our game artworks as well as has animated figures moving throughout the pieces.

The narrative is of the world of Cataclysm and highlights some key events. Halfway through the video the narration changes to speak about the game components and thr characters in the game. All fully 3d rendered with amazing smoke and magic effects.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

Lee was INCREDIBLE! She was communicative and positive throughout the entire project. She gave my partner and I lots of slack (as we both work as full time educators) and was so easy to approach and speak with. The management team took all of our feedback and turned it into remarkable results. Nothing was ever too much.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Kickstarter has not yet launched. But preliminary reactions to the video have been extremely positive.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Excellent! The Six Degree team worked efficiently and quickly and the communication was always excellent!

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their willingness to think outside the box and educate us about their processes. They kept us in the loop every step of the way and answered any questions or concerns immediately.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Honestly. No.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Our company is on a mission to make meaningful internal communication easy. We are dedicated to building tools that save time and improve employee communications, while building an incredible community of experts, practitioners, and educators to elevate internal communication professionals and their organizations.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Six Degrees Productions?

Help us create our new Brand video.

What were your goals for this project?

• Introduce our company to new audiences
• Present our product in an easy-to-follow way

SOLUTION

How did you select Six Degrees Productions?

One of our team-members had worked with them before, and highlighted good quality and turn around.

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

Once we get in touch with Six Degrees to meet and agreed on our goals, we submitted our brief, brand assets and the script so they could help us with the creation of the video.

A couple of days later their team provided a document with references of the look and feel for the product animations. Then they help us to shoot some of our employees without them leaving their homes. We kept a close-open communication refine the post-production and hit our thigh deadline of 4 weeks.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

They centralized all our communication through one person how was always available and open to our feedback and internal process. As we worked alongside them since the beginning of the project with a clear direction and idea of what we wanted, the process was very smooth and well managed.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

It is still too early to see the outcomes, but we are very happy with the final product, and the way we collaborate with them.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The whole process was handled remotely because of COVID, so having a project manager who was easy to communicate was vital. They provided us frequent updates and sneak peeks of the video for us to give feedback, and were very flexible with the multiple channels we used to communicate within our company.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They had a comprehensive discovery process and really got to the core of our goals and needs - then delivered on them.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not that I can remember.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Concert Properties has been proudly developing, acquiring and managing Canadian real estate since 1989. From condominiums to seniors' active aging communities, and commercial properties to public infrastructure to rental apartments, we create resilient, thriving communities across Canada. I am the Director of Corporate Communications, responsible for all internal and external communications, including the company's brand and reputation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Six Degrees Productions?

Trades training students are in direct need of financial help, now more than ever. Despite not being able to host our annual golf tournament to raise funds for trades training across Canada ($3.5 million to date), Concert and our supporters were determined to provide financial assistance to students impacted by the pandemic This year, Concert and our partners were able to raise much needed donations to each institution. We wanted to hear from students and educational administrators directly how these funds have helped them. The ides was to produce short videos for each institutions (2 in Ontario, two in BC). The challenge was doing so amidst the pandemic.

What were your goals for this project?

Produce engaging, emotional videos that captured the essence of our key messages, and that would generate positive feedback on social channels.

SOLUTION

How did you select Six Degrees Productions?

We hired Six Degrees because as a Board member of IABC/BC I had seen the excellent work they had one there and knew the could deliver. And they did. Not only shooting several locations across Canada, but also taking previously shot footage and seamlessly editing it into the narratives.

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

Four 2-3 minutes videos with animation, location videography, graphics and titles and music, plus a long fifth video consolidating content for the other four videos (for our partners).

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

Very responsive. Always got back right away. They always ensure that necessary questions are asked and answered.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Not quite yet. Results are currently being captured.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Top quality as a reasonable price, engendering trust.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None I could see.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a marketing specialist at Rand Merchant Bank, a corporate banking institution.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Six Degrees Productions?

We needed someone to create an explainer video that would position our capabilities. The video would be used for pitches and external communications with potential clients.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Six Degrees produced two explainer animated videos for us. In doing so, they had to recreate two different brands that we had internally. 

The videos will be used for my internal clients for various reasons, but essentially to position our capabilities.

What is the team composition?

I dealt with one person who was managing the entire process. In the background, I’m sure there was a digital person who was building all the animations.

How did you come to work with Six Degrees Productions?

We chose them based on their quality of work they provided us in the past. It’s purely a relationship based appointment. We were comfortable going with them compared to the other agencies.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in November 2019-June 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

They deliver good quality work. The turnaround times of the video production are good, as is the quality of the animations. They met the briefs and what we were expecting. I will be using Six Degrees again.

How did Six Degrees Productions perform from a project management standpoint?

Both their project and account management were very good. The team was always able to quickly make the changes I sent to them, and they often came up with innovative, creative solutions. We communicated mostly through email, and sometimes on the phone.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Six Degrees is agile and creative.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Their communication could be broader instead of relying on email. They could do more one-on-one or telephone calls.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open to working with a credible supplier that can produce quality work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am a past president of the International Association of Business Communicators, British Columbia, or IABC/BC. We are an industry association of over 500 communication professionals across the province of British Columbia that provides professional development, mentoring, awards, and networking opportunities to the communications field.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Six Degrees Productions?

We were hoping to tackle a few things in our work with their team, number one of which was that our communication did not feature enough human stories. We weren’t actually reflecting the diversity and depth of our membership, and we were also approaching our 40th anniversary, so we figured the best way to celebrate that would be to paint a picture of our community at this point in time.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their team helped to capture eight member stories in video format over the course of our 40th anniversary year, 2019–2020. We identified the members on our end who we wanted to be featured, and from there the Six Degrees team handled the process of finalizing our storyboards, filming the features, and editing the final product together into a video that we were able to release.

What is the team composition?

Their videographer and head of production were both on set and in contact with us about the editing, so it was a fairly small but nimble team.

How did you come to work with Six Degrees Productions?

Lee-Anne (Head of Video Production) and her team had recently moved to the California area and were getting to know that chapter and its members, and we saw an opportunity to partner with them to help the brand. Because the partnership developed relatively organically, we didn’t really consider any other agencies in the process.

How much have you invested with them?

Our contract with them is worth about $15,000, but they delivered the work pro bono as a way to benefit the organization as a whole.

What is the status of this engagement?

In the end, the project will have run from September 2019–September 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Viewership and engagement levels that we are seeing on this content has been exponentially higher than any other video content we’ve ever produced. The number of comments, shares, and reactions is fantastic, and beyond that, our conversations with new members and individuals applying to be on our board have cited those videos as a significant influence in their perception of the brand.

The Six Degrees team really is amazing. Their work was meticulous, so creative, so prepared, and always went the extra mile to provide everything that we needed in one place. They always thought about the format and the audience and used that to determine how to really capture their subjects in ways that made them shine.

How did Six Degrees Productions perform from a project management standpoint?

As an association, we are run by volunteers, so for a vendor, it can sometimes be a challenge to keep us on task because we are obviously more involved by our day jobs. They did a great job of being flexible but also very on the ball so that we never slipped behind on anything and had a great overall experience.

The lighting was always perfect, their team provided coaching to the story subjects to help them be more comfortable on camera, and they had a really discerning eye on the editing table for what content would resonate the best with people. We really appreciated their partnership throughout all of the work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

A member of our board was on scene during filming and remarked that she couldn’t wait to work with them in a professional role because their attention to detail was truly astounding. Any slight reflection or anything that could have distracted from the message was taken care of so that they made sure we were getting an excellent result.

They were consistently gracious and fun to be around, and it made the partnership really enjoyable to be a part of. When you’re working with someone for close to a year, that is always a huge plus, so it was something we really appreciated.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Honestly, we’ve been pleased with everything they have done throughout their work with us. I really don’t have any complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

One thing that worked really well for us was coming in from our end with a solid strategy and idea of what we wanted to achieve in the final product. That included pretty developed storyboards and a sense of humor in the content and that way they were able to simply apply their methodology to what we had rather than having to do a lot of guesswork about what we were looking for.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am co-founder of Fantastic Life. Fantastic Life is the world's first hormone balancing nutrition app. It helps its users assess the hormone levels within their body and accordingly recommends appropriate foods and diet to restore their hormonal balance. We are a startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Six Degrees Productions?

We needed an introductory video, showcasing the company and product. We needed to explain how the product functions, its benefits and the use case. Six Degrees did an amazing job at hitting all of those objectives.

What were your goals for this project?

1. Introduce the company to the world
2. Explain the product and its features
3. Capture the various uses cases
4. Explain product benefits

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had known six degrees for a while from local networking. Amongst all other associated in the area, we found six degrees to be professional, capable and came with the experience we were comfortable with. The initial conversation put us at ease with regards meeting our criteria. Lee-Anne was very quick to understand the requriements and the objective and quick to come up with a plan of attack.

Describe the project in detail.

The project involved a preliminary conversation with the co-founders. Requirements gathering exercise if you will. Once the requirements were gathered, the folks at Six Degrees over the course of a few emails were quickly able to define a roadmap for how the shooting would be done, what was required leading up to it etc.

A series of questions were developed for use as a guideline. The day of the shooting started on time, the team was efficient at setup. It was our first time shooting and making a video and the team made us extremely comfortable. Can't stress how important that was for us. The videos came out professional and no amount of nervousness was ever visible through the videos.

What was the team composition?

The team at Six degrees comprised of Lee-Anne and Chris at the forefront. Six Degrees behind the scenes had a large crew that was involved in various aspects of video production to deliver the product in record time.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The team took a little over 2 weeks to produce the finished product. We really did not have any tweaks and updates. One really significant attribute of the entire exercise was that, there wasn't a lot of back and forth during the editing process. Six Degrees pretty much nailed it right from the get go.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Once engaged, Six Degrees pretty much ran with everything. They organized the shoot, they created the plan, a roadmap and a strategy/approach. They were true professionals that made this first time engagement for us painless and seemless. We just had to follow their lead. There struck a good balance between in person meetings and email/phone communication. The balance was quite efficient.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their professionalism combined with the quality of their work blew us away. Not to mention their comfort, the speed of the engagement, and the ease of doing business

Are there any areas for improvement?

None. We are going to be using six degrees again for all future video production.