White Whale Pictures, Inc.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the environmental manager of Bisti Fuels, a North American Coal Navajo mining operation.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with White Whale Pictures, Inc.?

We wanted to create a promotional video that featured some of the good things we do in our community.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

White Whale Pictures, Inc. has produced two videos for us that are both about eight minutes long. Both videos are about our work with our community, but they each focus on different areas. The videos are live on YouTube and the website.

Their team was involved from the very beginning to the very end. In the pre-production stage, they gave us ideas on how to present what we wanted to the public. We worked together on a script, and they helped us iron out our vision. White Whale Pictures, Inc. helped us figure out how to get the best shots as well as some cool animations and features.

Then in the filming stage, they came to our mining site and took some photos and video footage. They also assisted us in interviewing some people and then putting a story together.

What is the team composition?

We only worked with Justin (Owner).

How did you come to work with White Whale Pictures, Inc.?

White Whale Pictures, Inc. produced some safety videos for us in the past, so we got back in touch with them for this project. We received a couple of quotes from other companies in our local area but decided to go with Justin.

How much have you invested with them?

The total for both videos was $20,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement lasted from March 2019–May 2020.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’re very pleased with White Whale Pictures, Inc.’s professionalism, experience, and detailed understanding of their business. They’re really good at helping people who have never dealt with a video production project before. They led us through the entire process.

Justin is good at providing ideas to make sure that what was produced had the effect that we wanted. He did an excellent job of achieving our objectives. One of the videos even helped us receive the Excellence in Surface Coal Mining Reclamation Award from the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.

How did White Whale Pictures, Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

Justin did an amazing job with project management. He understood our business and what we needed, even when we didn’t know what we needed. We mainly communicated through weekly conference calls, but we also discussed one-off questions through emails. Justin was dedicated to helping us put the whole package together and delivering a product that everyone was really happy with.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was really impressed by the vision Justin had after taking the time to talk to us and understand our objectives. He had an incredible ability to take what we verbally said and put it into motion to produce the videos. The second video, in particular, went above and beyond our expectations. It looks amazing, and he did a great job.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything. We had a budget and were trying to stick to it. Justin did a good job of trying to produce the best possible results within the budget we had. There wasn’t much else he could’ve improved on.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you have the basics of your story and where you want it to go. Give those details to Justin, and he’ll lead you through the whole process.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Keller Homes, Inc. I oversee all sales and marketing activity including our Design Studio and staff, Director of Sales and the Director of Marketing. Keller Homes is a local, production home builder founded in 1983.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire White Whale Pictures, Inc.?

We determined it was time to update some of our video assets to promote our company and point out what separates us from our competition. Our intention was to use the videos throughout our promotional avenues. Web, CRM, social media outlets and so forth.

What were your goals for this project?

Improve the quality of our videos. Present information in an engaging way. Ability to use the videos on multiple platforms.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I was exposed to videos that White Whale produced for the Chamber of Commerce. I liked the way they produced a video that took a fairly dull topic or event and made it engaging. The Chamber uses the videos to promote their events much the way I wanted to do for our company. The Director of Marketing for the Chamber gave White Whale a hearty recommendation. Ease of relationship, timeliness and quality of production were all given a high rating.

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

We had several meetings with the video producer to identify our needs and began to set a timeline for the project. Script was developed and reviewed by both teams until we came up with the final messaging . White Whale took video on location for 2 days then put the product together. We made a few modifications and received the final product.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

White Whale took our feedback in stride and came back to us with several options. They were open to collaboration and understanding our goals was important to them. Often artistic consultants are more opinionated and do not accept feedback easily.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As was the initial plan we have used the videos in multiple formats. In particular White Whale cut snips for us that could be used as banners throughout the website. I can not site specific numbers as it relates to analytics but that was not the intent. The intent was to improve our content and use the videos across multiple platforms and not have a product that would be dated quickly. Feedback from users has been positive.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

White Whale followed up with us at every juncture. I was very pleased with their timely response and completion. Any delays were on our side as we had to juggle multiple projects and this was just one of our priorities at the time.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The quality of the production and turn-around was impressive. Definitely appreciate that they had a genuine interest in knowing our company and our goals.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Better communication on the challenges we would have during filming would have helped. We were filming in a production environment which is not always predictable. The next go around we will all understand the hurdles and plan more time to adjust for this.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the VP of Membership Sales for the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire White Whale Pictures, Inc.?

Video production for our 8 yearly Signature Events

What were your goals for this project?

We were looking for a artistic and professional way to promote our Signature Events.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We weren't actively looking for a vendor, but after getting to know Justin and seeing the caliber of work that he does our conversation started to focus more on how he could help us. His price was very fair for the caliber of work that he presented and our member base was blown away with the end product.

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

Justin consistently kept in touch with your Communications Team to let them know where he was at. During the Event, he actually brought a team of people to help and was there before, during, and after the event.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

He was very timely in getting back with our team to make sure that everyone was pleased with the end result. He kept giving us options to make sure we were capturing the exact message we had in mind.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I really can't give a quantitative account in change, but our Board was blown away in the much higher level of creativity he showed us with the final video.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

He was extremely responsive in working with our entire Chamber Team. There were a few last minute changes that he dropped everything and took care of our needs.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I always expect a high level of professionalism and Justin didn't disappoint, but it was the creativity in the final product that made everyone's jaw drop. To make a celebratory luncheon and a Mayor's Speech look fun, professional and desirable is actually a very tall task and he hit it out of the park.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I wish White Whale didn't move out of the Colorado Springs area so we could use him more often.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Startup oil and gas service company with proprietary environmental technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire White Whale Pictures, Inc.?

Educational and marketing video for environmental technology.

What were your goals for this project?

Simplify explanation of technology through animation.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Long term relationship working on many previous projects.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Develop script, animation, music and execute within a 30 day window.

What was the team composition?

Justin was lead along with several resources from his network.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

Video was on time and accomplished the goal of explaining the technology in a simple and concise way in a very short video.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Very easy, high sense of urgency and was pushing me - which is not normal usually the other way around. I like that.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their vision for the video, sense of ownership in the product, and the quality results they produced impressed us. Everything …..we actually made no changes to the first cut we were so happy.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None.