Why It Just Works

Part 1. The Bright Idea

Following the release of our “It Just Works” video, we wanted to take the opportunity (and time) to delve a little deeper into why we made it and how it came to be. This past month has been an adventure at Gimmonix (just like every other month), our rapidly growing tech company.

In marketing, we felt we were ready to begin producing live action videos. We honestly had originally set out to make what was intended to be a funny and lighthearted video. However, early on a different idea arose. Rather than more of the same funny and bold, we saw the potential in creating something vastly different. A more personal, human-centered video that would push the boundaries of how we express ourselves.

The thought was that we weren’t showing the whole picture of who we are and what we do at Gimmonix. Our motivations or core philosophy that drives us each and every morning. Some of these key parts of our identity had been missing from our public image. The goal then became to create a video that would show this other side in a way that’s honest.

We understood the delicacy of this task as we weren’t looking to be self-promotional but rather show our partners and the industry who we really are. That was a challenge we hadn’t faced before. We wouldn’t be able to proceed with the idea without finding the right approach. Over the next few days, we spoke with colleagues, it ended up generating a lot of buzz around the office.

While speaking to them, we realized the best way to convey those things was to interview our colleagues and share what they had to say with the world. After all, they are Gimmonix. That was the approach we had been looking for, the anchor that we needed to proceed.

Fun Fact: In this candid shot, our chief educator was actually discussing the FIFA World Cup with his team.

Part 2. The Three Pillars

We then began by outlining the structure of the video based on that approach. We know that a video is more than just words, it’s also a visual experience. Additionally, a core part of who we are and how we do things is centered on our products — how they work for our customers, which directly relates to our .Works naming [explained below].

These three aspects would become the pillars on which the project would be built upon:

1. The interviews
2. Key visual experiences
3. The meaning behind the .Works name

For the interviews, we had four primary questions.

1. How do you feel about the work you do?
2. What does Gimmonix mean to you?
3. What challenges do you face?
4. What motivates you?

These questions would give us the best insight into what makes our colleagues tick and how they perceive Gimmonix.

The visuals

There were two key visuals at the core of this project:

1. Our workplace
2. The Gimmonix logo illustration

Our workplace is an important factor in what makes Gimmonix what it is. After all, it’s where we spend a large part of our lives and it reflects our philosophy towards work. One that breeds the type of dedication that has led to the innovation that we’ve created in the past eight years.

When we were working on that aspect of the plan, we had another idea inspired by how we work. Here at Gimmonix, we illustrate nearly everything we do when collaborating. We start putting all our ideas on a whiteboard and ensure everyone is on the same page.

The idea was to illustrate (literally) the Gimmonix logo as it is the center that all of our other solutions spawn from and return to. This would be a visual tie-in to the third aspect of the video as the logo is the visual representation of the company, and therefore the meaning behind the .Works name.

The result of which can be seen throughout the video to create the final shot.

The Meaning Behind .Works:

We couldn’t make a video about Gimmonix as a company without addressing what in the world .Works means. The name was born out of a desire to create products that simply work, solutions that get the job done without requiring much, if any attention at all.

It’s also part of our philosophy at Gimmonix, which put simply is: we’re proud of doing the dirty work. The solutions we provide aren’t in the spotlight. They exist to make things easier and it takes a certain type of person to connect to that.

In order to create this shot, we had to turn the lights on and off over 100 times. We discovered that we had quality light bulbs, not a single one burnt out.

Part 3. Bringing It All Together

We had our plan, and began shooting. It was a challenging experience as it was our first time attempting such a thing and there here were some logistical issues that we worked through.

Lighting as it turns out, is far more important than we had initially thought, and in a busy office, it can be quite difficult to get clean shots. But those were obstacles we discovered along the way. The day began with office shots and was followed by rapid-fire interviews. From those interviews, we gained a lot of insights that we couldn’t have hoped to write if we had scripted them ourselves. Shooting concluded near midnight with the illustration in the end shot.

By the end of filming we had plenty of footage and began the difficult step of choosing what makes it and what is left on the chopping block.

After endless revisions we had a version that hit the mark. Overall, it was one of the most ambitious projects we’ve undertaken. The result however, is both deeply personal and was made both for the industry, and just as much for our colleagues. It’s something we feel really reflects both the people who work here and what Gimmonix is about.