Chase a cloud

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Creative Director at National Geographic /Walt Disney Company Japan, which runs television networks and media services.

For what projects/services did your company hire Chase a cloud?

This is the first-ever online event produced by National Geographic Japan. our objectives are 3 components:

1. increase subscription of our official Nat geo YouTube channel
2. develop new targets
3. increase awarness of National Geographic Explorers Explorer in local market. so we needed an imaginary /premium storytelling video to enhance the event.

What were your goals for this project?

As mentioned, the increase of traffic in Nat Geo YouTube channel was main goal.

How did you select Chase a cloud?

our US Brand team had worked with Chase A Cloud a few years ago. I already saw videos produced by them, which were just amazing works. They knew our brand. There were no questions to work with them.

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

They worked with us at the past. so it was quite easy to start how they adopted our brand languages in this project. They spent a huge amount of time to research and interview with our talent, Yukinori. At the same time, they scoped in Japanese culture to make depth in message of the video.

Since Covid-19, there were many difficulties to make this project possible; no travels, super limited accesses to film and time. They were humble to communicate with a talent, locations, and local film unit. It was every day work to solve problems and execute ideas. It was so hard for them, but they made an amazing work more than I imagined.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

We had no issues to communicate in distance. Despite a time difference between Bulgaria and Japan, they backed up daily call to make things without any problems. The whole process was well managed to plan on time.

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

The event made a great success with over 150% traffic of views. We had hundreds of live chat comments. It lured viewer's eyes at the beginning of the event and kept them for rest of the show. I really believe that the impact of the video made its success.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The most important thing was that they respected our flow at most. They carefully picked up what we had, then they managed the whole project with no stress.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

You can see a variety of visual techniques in the video; animation, CG, and of course great cinematography. They were 4-5 people team, each one had deep knowledges and skils ol each components. they were like "7 samurais"! But the most impressive part of their service is both their idea and storytelling skills. I mentioned early, they had keen eyes in cultural mixology. They mixed a balance between reality and Fantasy.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I really do work with them more to show people the best visionary experience.

I am the founder of a Bulgaria-based nonprofit that more so feels and acts like a bootstrapped tech startup. We are building a global community of Bulgarians who are trying to stay informed and enaged with Bulgaria, with a focus on education, professional development and community building. All of this is powered by our platform.

We introduced a paid membership model into the organization recently and needed someone to try and distill the various things that we do into a short, yet informative and engaging explainer video. We wanted to use it as one of the key things to promote the membership opportunities -- so a crucial piece of work.

How did you select Chase a cloud?

I'd known the guys previously, but hadn't worked with them. We sent out an RFP to 3 studios because this was our first animated video project and we weren't sure what to expect.

They came back to with a winning proposal -- timely reponse, clear communication and expectation setting, asked a ton of questions before prescribing a solution, found a cost-effective way to do the video (we are a self-funded nonprofit so more cash goes to the cause that way), great portfolio of work. It was a no brainer to work with them, clear best choice in all catefories

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

We initially had a couple of meetings / calls with the Chase a Cloud team to discuss our goals and that's the best solution to get there. I liked that they didn't straight up say invest X (a fair % of the total), but looked for alternative solutions. We then proceeded to work on the script, each iteration of which was sent to them for commens and they made valuable improvements on the copy.

In parallel, we talked about art direction and animation style -- the guys were sharp enough to notice that we had discrepancies between our brand styleguide and the landing page we wanted to do. This is  outside of their field of work and quite easy to just not bother, but it shows you their focus on quality in all aspects.

The Voice Over we settled on, interestingly, was the one they had recorded for the sake of putting together the first video draft. It was just so natural and flowed so well we opted to stay with it. 

We only had minor comments on the actual drafts. They showed us an initial draft which was quite promising and shortly thereafter, the whole thing was complete. They took our feedback to heart and quickly adapted or explained why a certain thing had to done that specific way -- I liked that, they had a vision and wanted to make it happen.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

Quite smooth. They used just the right amout of PM tools to keep us engaged without overcomplicating the relationship. Once we decided we were going to work together, we moved conversations from emails to Discord where we had a channel just for our project.

We interacted directly with the creatives which was great -- short feedback loop with fewer people. Response times were super quick, it was like they were on our team! And we are probably their smallest client so great customer service :)

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

It's still the early days, but we're received overwhelmingly positive responses for the video! A few people messaged to say how much they enjoyed it. We've had several people become members in the first day after launching the campaign as well, a good start.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

As mentioned above, we synced up quite well and they felt like a part of our team. Could have not been happier with their attitude, approach, committment to quality and timelines.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

It's hard to point out a single impressive thing, they are just a full package. But I had to pick one, I'd probably say their willingness to go above and beyond in making sure what you get is a polished final product that delivers results.

Are there any areas for improvement?

None that I can think of :)

Please describe your company and your position there.

Lynx Animation Studios from Macedonia is specialised in high-end 2D animation, video games and illustration. Our international team consists of highly skilled artists and animators from around the globe. We develop and produce our own IP’s, both for traditional film & TV, as well as for the video game industry. Lynx Animation Studios is today the biggest 2D animation studio in the Balkans. We train our artists and animators in-house. I am creative director.

For what projects/services did your company hire Chase a cloud?

John Vardar vs the Galaxy - a feature animation we're working on.

What were your goals for this project?

They were doing layouts for some of the scenes .

How did you select this vendor?

We met at MIFA Annecy 2019 and we instantly had a click. They showed me their previous work which is very high quality.

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

We delivered storyboards and concept art, Chase a Cloud delivered back layouts. In many places, the layouts were better than the actual storyboards.

What was your vendors' project management or feedback process?

Very professional and highly organized.

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

The film is still in production, yet, we decided to continue with Chase a Cloud not only in the preproduction process as previously intended, but in the production as well.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Surprisingly, there weren't any problems, which is rare in this industry.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The creativity and efficiency. They managed to deliver more than we expected.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not that I can think of.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm an executive producer at Tongal. Tongal is a studio on demand powered by a global creative community. We connect entertainment companies and brands with up-and-coming talent to develop video content via our proprietary tech platform.

What challenge were you trying to address with Chase a cloud?

We needed video production services for a range of projects.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We've worked with Chase a cloud for three years now. As a full-service production company, they do everything from pre-production to post-production, and delivery. We started out having them produce an animated video for a client, as a smaller project. We later hired them for a few projects with National Geographic and National Geographic Kids. Our latest project with them has been for a 14-episode animated series for Mattel and Fisher-Price. They typically do animated work for us, but they also excel at live-action.

What is the team composition?

It depends on the scope of the project, but we typically work with anywhere between 5–30 people from their team.

How did you come to work with Chase a cloud?

We found them through our platform. As an open forum for anyone in the world to submit pitches to do work, we'll post a brief on our site to complete a project. In this case, Chase a cloud had the strongest pitch, so they were greenlit. 

How much have you invested with them?

Our most recent project with them had a budget of $500,000–$1 million.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working together in October 2016 and our engagement is ongoing.

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

Their animated series, “Rescue Heroes,” on the Fisher-Price YouTube channel has garnered tens of millions of views. We were definitely aiming for high view counts, high engagement and likes, which we've definitely seen. They're truly creative visionaries. 

How did Chase a cloud perform from a project management standpoint?

The reason we have worked with them over and over again is that they're very dependable, they put everything into the project, always meet deadlines, and are very responsive to feedback. We spend a lot of time with them trying to assess what's the most efficient and appropriate production schedule and workflow to make sure everything runs smoothly. There's an open line of communication, making things transparent and as smooth as possible. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are unique in the animation space in that they can do everything from pre-production to post-production. Not many international animation studios have those capabilities. They handle development, breaking down scripts, storyboarding, animatics, voice recording, and everything else. They're really skilled at putting everything together, and that increases efficiency and saves money.

Another place where they stand out is in that they're really capable both in animation and live-action, which not many production companies can say. It's a really big aspect for us; for example, they did a National Geographic docu-series for us in which not only were they able to travel around and capture live footage, but they were also able to add high-level special effects and little bits of animation to enhance the video to make it stand out. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

In the beginning when we worked with them, they didn't have a dedicated producer on their team to be purely logistical, which is especially important with more complex projects. Since then, they've found ways to do that function by hiring the right people to spearhead the production management piece of the puzzle.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Because it's a team that's extremely capable and very hands-on, and one that likes to be involved in creative discussion, you can get more out of the engagement if you involve them in the earlier stages of the creative process. They have great ideas and they like interacting with the entire process. It would be something to take advantage of.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a company in the video gaming analytics space. We provide video ad optimization for free-to-play games. I'm the founder and CEO.

What challenge were you trying to address with Chase a cloud?

We first contacted them years ago, just as we were launching our first product. We needed a product explanation video.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our first project with them was a short animated video. The process was highly structured, and we knew that we wanted a fun video that viewers would watch all the way through. They guided us through the whole process, and they helped us establish the goals, messaging, and branding within the resulting media. We worked together on the narrative script, then they produced all the animation. We changed little things, but they got everything right almost immediately.

As the product evolved, we made changes and re-released the video. We've since produced two or three other videos through the same process.

What is the team composition?

Our main point of contact is their CEO. I'm not sure how many animators and music creators work behind the scenes.

How did you come to work with Chase a cloud?

We looked for similar products that we liked and discovered one that Chase a cloud produced. We reached out to them and started working together.

What is the status of this engagement?

The first video launched before a big conference in March 2014, and I believe we started working together that January. We've since worked together on other production projects, and we still have an active relationship.

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

We're a B2B business, so our website doesn't have the kind of traffic a B2C business might have. The video definitely helped our business, and we got a lot of positive feedback from users. We asked new users how they found us, and at least 40% of those users mentioned the video that Chase a cloud produced. It was one of the strongest reasons that potential customers reached out to us.

How did Chase a cloud perform from a project management standpoint?

Making a video like this is a complex undertaking. They were very meticulous, and we were incredibly happy with their leadership. They managed the project perfectly.

What did you find most impressive about them?

At the time, local agencies would have charged twice as much for the level of quality they provided. On a human level, they're an absolute pleasure to work with. They took leadership in the project, and their approach was unique to our product. They took a deep dive to understand our product and our goals, and they did a tremendous job. Based on the effort they put in, they could have easily charged us more.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can't think of anything they should improve. From our perspective, they're perfect.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Take advantage of their creative leadership, and don't direct them too much. Explain your goals to them, and they'll give you great results if you let them follow their own process.