Shutterstock Studios executive producer Jennifer Kachler gives us a glimpse into how the team worked with AWS to create red-hot animations.
For the past three years, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has entrusted Shutterstock Studios to create snackable content that tells the dynamic stories of its partner ecosystem. From fighting wildfires to creating new solutions for emergency first responders, the videos are meant to inspire, educate, and enlighten their wide ranging customer ecosystem. Debuted at AWS’s flagship conference re:Invent, the videos then rack up millions of views online.
Jennifer Kachler, the Executive Producer on the commercial series, was excited when Amazon’s team came to Shutterstock Studios with the idea to make animated content that could tell the stories of its partner ecosystem. She had been at big-name agencies, worked on large documentaries, and even handled a couple of celebrity projects before landing at Shutterstock three years ago. Regardless, this project really excited her because it “gave us a chance to show off how we could do more than just film and photography, but we could expand to animation and other mediums too.”
An Ever-Evolving Animation Partnership
The Shutterstock Studios team first produced three videos for AWS in 2021. Now in 2023, they find themselves on video number eight. Each successive year is a chance to refine and further cultivate the AWS aesthetic and storytelling. As the brand has changed, so too has the company’s expectations of what the videos need to convey. Luckily, the team has responded enthusiastically to the challenges.
“It’s a lot of work,” shares Kachler. “But, I have a simple goal. I want to make sure they want to keep working with us as we move forward. That means I’m constantly working to set expectations, deliver on timelines, and get all the parties involved and moving forward.”
In this instance, Kachler isn’t just managing a complex production schedule. She’s also managing a multi-stakeholder environment. The last AWS video she produced also represented Intel and Ronin. The video showed how the three companies work together to help fight forest fires in Australia.
Other videos in the series have shown how Accenture and AWS work together to make big ideas happen, from changing how first responders respond to emergencies to protecting coral reefs. And, explaining the multifaceted world of AWS to interested customers.
But this is what the Shutterstock Studios team was built for. “We are a global team and we have the best people from agencies, documentary, filmmaking, and animation,” shared Kachler. She should know. She’s been here since the beginning. “I was here at the inception of Studios and it’s been a really exciting opportunity to have a startup culture within a corporate structure that is technology and media focused, which allows us to do what we do best.”
Your Go-To Content Creation Solution
The startup culture allows them to be scrappy and nimble, but this sort of animation takes time. Every video takes between three and four months to go live, from creative consultation to publishing a finished product. This is largely due to the complex nature of animation. But, in the end, Kachler shares that it is all worth it.
“You want them to be so happy that they want to work with you again. And I think that has happened time after time. And that’s what’s so exciting about this particular project.”
