Type: Brand Video
Role: Director, Producer, Editor, Production Company
Some companies you just can’t help but fall in love with while creating their brand video, and Precision GC is one of those companies because they weren’t shy in showcasing their humor, vulnerability, and love for the job.
Here are a few things I learned while creating this brand video and interviewing the owner Tom Dawson:
To check out another brand we couldn’t help but fall in love with, watch AppDirect’s Keynote Opener. When dealing with unscripted material, you can’t write humor. But a good director will pick up on a subject’s sense of humor, and know how to draw it out on camera.
Patina Pictures is a creative video production company servicing today’s most prominent corporations and technology startups. We’re more than just a service company, we think strategically on behalf of your brand. We become a valuable extension to your marketing team. And we do this at non-agency prices, which is why 95% of our clients are repeat clientele.
Jon:
Precision started in 1994 and I came on board and shortly after the inception of the company.
Thomas:
We focus on multifamily, not for sale units. Our nirvana project is any project between 80 and 300 units and we’ve done a little over 500 or so of those projects, maybe 400. I should know the number. But Jon Opfell, who works for me, he’s an expert statistics, he’ll tell you.
Jon:
Tom and I have had the pleasure of working together almost 23 years. We’ve completed the new construction or renovation of projects close to 48,000 units through 17 states. Many of the clients that I work with presently, I’ve worked with for decades. Oftentimes a client will call me in a mad rush for something and it’s simple for me to provide them with the answers that are needed because I’ve been in that position with them before.
Thomas:
It’s really a people business, from our clients to our employees, to our subcontractors. I’m trying to get a feel for where they are and what will help motivate them or help them make a good decision. It’s really about getting people to do what we want the best we can.
Fadi:
We did a project down in Fresno. It wasn’t in the best neighborhood. Property was in quite disarray. The main goal was to not just beautification, but to increase the infrastructure in regards to longevity and energy efficiency.
Thomas:
We act as a fiduciary for owners and we act as an information source. And so technology is very important to them and they don’t want to find out, hey, we could have used this technology to save them time and money and we didn’t.
Fadi:
We put in brand new windows, new roofing, new insulation, new appliances cabinets, solar.
Thomas:
You don’t want to be too far ahead of the curve to be taking too much risk with those products, but you don’t want to be too far behind the curve. So there’s a bit of a sweet spot there that we’re trying to find.
Fadi:
Basically by the end of the project, we had tenants come up and tell us, “Thank you so much. You’ve not only beautified the property, but also saved us money.”
Thomas:
One of the most heartwarming things that I as an owner of a business that was involved with was one of our employees, Skip Holmes, ran a project for us in the East Bay called Eden Lodge.
Skip:
It was a senior community and it’s difficult on seniors to deal with rehabs because they’re used to their system, the way they do things.
Thomas:
And the senior residents can be very difficult because they have all day to watch all your shortcomings.
Skip:
They go through a transition where they start getting very nervous. And then by the end they’re happy. And a lot of times on this Eden Lodge project, we had a party with all the residents and food and everything. It was a good time.
Thomas:
And I just remember the people getting up and giving them a huge round of applause and a little standing ovation for doing such a good job.
Skip:
Multiple ladies came up and they said it was nice the way we handled things. It was obvious that we cared. And more than one said I reminded them of their son.
Dale:
Team work is a big deal with me. I’ve been a wrestling coach. I’ve been in construction. I’ve been in ranching. I’ve been in all different aspects of life and you learn to solve problems.
Thomas:
We produce something and we produce something in some large scale that usually takes three to five years. So it’s a long period of time and it’s a large group of people. And there’s a lot of setbacks during these projects.
Dale:
And we had a project in Hayward. About six o’clock at night, we got a phone call that three of the units that we had just turned over are backing up with sewer.
Thomas:
There’s two things that we have to do– judgment is certainly important, but also problem solving. We have to go out and have a litany of problems solved every day. And we got to go get them done.
Dale:
We had to get the whole team involved and we all had to get together, scramble around, find somebody to dig us a five foot deep hole for 20 feet long so we could get to the sewer. The crisis averted, didn’t wreck the brand new units that we had turned that week, and nobody had to evacuate.
Thomas:
It’s incredibly rewarding for us at the end to see the project done. And often the owners are, and all the rest of the team players are pretty darn happy. For us, it’s a little bit of a deep breath and then onto the next thing, but it’s nice to have that. And it’s nice to know that we’re out there building things that are in the environment and that we’re making a difference out there.
Brand Video Produced for Precision by Video Production Company Patina Pictures