What’s a typical day in the life of a doer? We went behind the scenes with Video & Animation Fiverr Pros Sania Jhankar and Reema Dutt of Luminoustudios, aka Luminous123 on Fiverr, on a Short Video Ad shoot in Brooklyn. Watch the video to see their creative team in action, then check out the interview below to learn more about how Sania and Reema use Fiverr Pro to take the friction out of working with clients all around the world so they can focus on what they really love doing: storytelling through video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpQcO3NGR-M
We are the co-founders of Luminoustudios, a short-form video production company that specializes in creating engaging visual content for brands of all sizes. We produce video content on Fiverr for companies, brands, and people who are looking to tell their story in an effective and affordable way! Sania and I (Reema Dutt) met in undergrad at NYU. She was studying film and I aspired to join the entertainment and media world, though I wasn’t formally in film school. When we met, we realized over time that we had similar aspirations and complementary skill sets. We did nearly a dozen small videos together in school and shortly after graduation, we began producing feature films. While features were amazing and taught us nearly everything we know about the nuances of production, we realized the life of producing an actual film, until it reaches the market, was long and slow. We wanted to tell more stories, more often, so we could hone our craft further and share it with the world. This was around the time when entertainment, media and tech were intersecting in a very unique way. We saw a gap in short-form content creation. Video had proliferated the market for some time then, but it never felt like an approachable marketing tool for younger companies to leverage because of budget constraints and resource limitations. Most people felt they had to spend millions to produce an Apple-esque commercial and there were no alternatives. Since we started as indie filmmakers, we were all too familiar with creating high-quality and engaging content with limited resources, so this was how we built our niche and expertise. We serve a very specific market and we know how to create effective video content for that market - whether it be an early stage startup or a midstage enterprise company. As a global and female-run production company, we offer a unique perspective to the tech world, which shines visibly through our work. Our clientele includes names such as Google and Polaroid, as well as a diverse range of startups like Splacer and PHIND, with a unanimous focus on growth products and brands. Sania’s from Pune, India and has a BFA from NYU in Film/TV. Reema is from Chicago, IL. She has a BA from NYU in Economics and Journalism; MSc from the London School of Economics and an MA from USC in Global Media and Communications.
Producing video content is our full-time focus as Luminoustudios and Fiverr offers us the opportunity to have a wider reach in the market and rev up our business. We’re able to access more clients and strike more partnerships through our work with Fiverr.
Short Video Ads are 15, 30, 60 or 90-second spots that are primarily produced for online/digital purposes. These ads range in style, but they help convey information or a brand/company’s mission. They either highlight how something works (explainer) or why something exists (commercial). They’re best for early to mid-stage companies that are trying to increase their ROI, build brand awareness and easily communicate to their audience. The best part with short video ads is they can serve many marketing purposes and can be re-cut to serve a larger marketing strategy - so the same video can be used for social ads, website, trade shows or crowdfunding depending on how efficiently it’s scripted and cut.
Walk us through your video ad creation process. What information do you need from a buyer to set them up for success?
Our focus is to be as strategic and cohesive as possible with our clients to ensure that we’re on-brand when we’re producing video content for them. Our first step is to understand the goal of the video and the key points that they want to convey in the video. Along with that, we always ask for access or product samples so we can inherently understand how it works and how best to creatively convey our client’s story. We also always ask for clients to send us reference videos of styles, moods, and tones that they like so we can develop a concept that is in line with their preferences. From there, we jump into 4 phases: creative development, prep, production, and post.
How long does the process take, from start to finish? How should a buyer determine their budget?
On average, we ask for about 4-6 weeks to produce quality content. A lot of the timeline depends on how quickly clients get back to us with feedback, as well as how complex the production is. If it requires animation or motion graphics, we sometimes need more time in post.
What are the key elements of a good short-video ad?
1) High-quality footage and audio.
2) A clear and cohesive structure so the information is digestible.
3) An engaging pace so it’s not too slow or too fast.
4) A clear call to action.
5) A consistent aesthetic that matches a brand’s voice.
Tell us a little bit more about working with Mesh Canvas. How did you construct the ad that we see in the behind-the-scenes video?
Mesh Canvas was a lot of fun for us, especially because the client gave us creative freedom to explore engaging and upbeat options, but they were also super collaborative. The process was similar to what we described above. They shared some samples of what they liked with us, but they also clearly articulated their goals. We were able to suggest some clever takes and ways to make the video effective for the channels they were using to distribute the content. Simultaneously, they sent us samples of the photos themselves and we were able to see first-hand how valuable and useful the product was - this made it easy for us to write a sincere script and a relatable concept. Once the script was finalized, we jumped into prep and a 1-day shoot schedule.
How have your skills grown since joining Fiverr? What are some of your favorite projects or buyers you've worked with?
We definitely get more variety when it comes to the type of content we’re producing so this keeps our skills fresh and let’s us perfect them further. Mesh Canvas was certainly a favorite because it was creatively unique for us so we were able to try something new and because we were probably the target market! Haha Both Sania and I could totally see ourselves using the product. We’ve also done a lot of testimonial content on Fiverr that we really enjoy because we’re able to meet some really cool innovators and learn about their journey. It’s very inspiring!
Has working on Fiverr changed the way you think about your profession and/or freelancing?
I don’t think it’s changed the way we think about our profession but it definitely has created more opportunity and an easy avenue to reach our market more deeply and widely. It cuts out a lot of the frustrations that occur in traditional business development.
What are your goals for 2018—and what can we expect next from you?
We definitely hope to keep producing more visual content on Fiverr! Our goal is to delve into the narrative video ad space further where we’re producing ad films, as well as supporting mission and socially-driven entrepreneurs to help them share their stories more broadly.
Want to know more about short video ads? Ask a question in the comments below—or shoot the Luminoustudios team a message on Fiverr Pro about what you’re working on and what you’re looking to do.
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