We recently connected with Kareem Abulaban and have shared our conversation below.
Kareem, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry?
Corporate America does a lot of things right, though there is room for improvement. Don’t get me wrong, I owe a lot of what Kiaro has now to corporate America. I cut my teeth in that paradigm. However, as creatives, I think we are at very interesting crossroads within that world. With one foot on the corporate ladder and one foot in our studios we have the unique disposition of viewing our mediums through multiples lenses. The area of opportunity I see most often is typically structured around the video team itself; or lack thereof.
Typically the “video team” consists of a one man band or maybe a dynamic duo at best. Sadly, these teams are horrifically understaffed and under resourced. Companies’ expectations have quickly outgrown what most people are capable of completing alone. Their expectations have ballooned into being a pre-production pro, a master director, director of photography, and not to mention being an editing and After Effects wizard. I know way too many creatives that have experienced these larger-than-life expectations and as such experience creative burnout that can last for months or years. For a creative department to truly flourish, companies need to invest in their personnel. They need competent leadership that hears and listens to the needs of the team. They need project deadlines that are attainable and feedback that is targeted and specific, not ambiguous and out of scope. Lastly, starting a film team is not cheap. Though the barriers to entry have become significantly reduced in recent years, film gear is still extremely expensive. Companies should be prepared to spend 10s of thousands of dollars at the minimum to outfit basic teams with the camera, lens, lighting, lighting modifiers, and sound gear they need to create even basic videos with reputable quality.
I think there’s a big disconnect between what leadership sees on Youtube or Instagram and what it actually takes to create these videos. Often for content that is consumed so quickly and so frequently, we take for granted the mountains that have to be moved to make that outcome a reality. I challenge leaders and creatives alike to not only find inspiration in those video, but to look for the behind-scenes-videos that help people understand what it takes to make these published videos come to fruition. Good creative people are hard to come by, and when you find them it’s important to invest in and take care of them. The skills they’ve learned can take decades to master, and should be treated with the same level of technicality that other departments receive. They are not easily replaced. After all, film is equal parts creativity and technical prowess.
I truly understand that not every company has all the fiscal and human resources to be able to fulfill these requirements. For those companies that still need to produce content, I recommend starting a relationship with your local production companies. It will go a long way to help a company grow and when the time is right, you can start building your own in-house video team.
Kareem, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Hello Rebel Canvas! My name is Kareem Abulaban. I own and run Kiaro, a video production company and small creative agency here in San Diego. We create all sorts of content! From TV and OTT commercials to custom motion graphics. We also handle most of the pre-production work including ideation, script writing, and even talent casting! I first got involved in professional creative fields when I was about 17 years old. I lucked into a role as a contract graphic designer for Oakley, and since then I’ve been hooked on bringing visions to life! I really started to explore film and video during college at San Diego State University (Go Aztecs!), where I was able to create content for greek life and personal work. Once graduated, I took a stab at B2B sales with Apple and knew instantly that it wasn’t for me, but I still needed to find a way to create (and pay my bills). It was a tough market for creators during that time, but somehow I got connected with Housecall Pro, a growing SAS startup in San Diego that made software for blue-collar companies all over the country. I confess, initially I wasn’t so excited to be telling the stories of plumbers, electricians, and carpet cleaners, but I was so excited to start creating again. However, I quickly changed my mind. The blue-collar stories were incredible and so often told of perseverance and ingenuity through sheer will power. These were some of the most simultaneously caring and tough-as-nails men and woman I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.
While working at Housecall Pro I learned how to be a producer, taking raw ideas and helping them spring to life while navigating the budgets, and nuance that plague corporate work. It was a foundational time for me that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I met a lot of great people who helped me hone in new and existing skills through their feedback and companionship. I toured the United States and met so many amazing blue-collar folk, but after almost three years there, I felt as though it was time to leave.
I took a leap of faith and started Kiaro in November 2019. Hindsight is 20/20 of course and at the moment no one knew a world-wide pandemic was on the horizon. But Kiaro pressed on and is still creating today! I know the pandemic was tough on everyone and to still have my business after all the hardship is all one can ask for.
Whether I am being sub-contracted by another production company or leading the charge at Kiaro, creativity and purpose is at the forefront of every conversation. I think that’s something that sets me apart from a lot of creatives out there. In my opinion, it’s so crucial to not only think about how to create something, but to also consider why we are creating it. Are we creating something just because it looks cool? Or does it truly help advance the plot or tell the story? To me the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ go hand-in-hand in creating exceptional content that helps further the objective of our clients.
Another way my team and I stay competitive is by really challenging our clients idea of being “creative.” We have big ambitions at Kiaro and we put that same level of ambitiousness into all of our projects. We are always looking for the best way to tell stories and pushing the envelope on whats possible for our clients. While it is important to have a “style,” I think it’s more important to push your abilities and put yourself in uncomfortable scenarios. For example, one of our favorite clients (Mauzy Heating & Air) approached us to help create a launch video for their own brand of air conditioner equipment. Instead of doing the tired same the thing the HVAC industry normally produces, we approached it from a different mindset. They wanted to make the air conditioner sexy and appealing, which isn’t the easiest thing. Instead of fighting it, we decided to lean into it! We came up with a slightly satirical take on car ads; rolling lights, lots of black negative space and the quintessential wind tunnel shot. We literally built a mini wind tunnel set and then VFX some colored air streams in addition to the rest of the spot. In fact, for our entire client relationship with Mauzy (over 2 years) we’ve brought different narrative takes into almost all of our work with them. We continuously try to come up with engaging and entertaining stories that help grab the viewer’s attention. Kiaro could’ve easily done what the industry has always done, cheaply produced used car style ads. Instead, we took a step back and felt that with our unique set of talents we could do better, and the results tell the story. With every commercial that goes live for Mauzy customers are always calling in to compliment the commercial. Not to mention the ROI Mauzy gets on every ad that we produce keeps them coming back for more.
If you’d like to see with your own eyes what sets us apart from other creatives or are a budding creative with questions of your own, please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly at [email protected] or visit the Kiaro team at www.kiaro.tv
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
This is great a question! I think for me it’s not just one thing. It’s a combination of things. First, I love being able to create. Even when I was a child, I loved to build and create things. During those formative youth years I always made crazy extravagant lego creations. My parents always wanted me to be an engineer; sorry mom and dad. Then I got hooked on drawing, and please don’t ask to see my storyboards now haha. I’d read a ton of books and always tried to bring to life some of the characters that I’d read about. Honestly, I’d draw every chance I got. When I got into my teens I started writing music and poetry. But things change when we grow up. When I worked at Apple in B2B sales, that was one of the first times in my life that I wasn’t making something, anything. It was a very frustrating time without some sort of creative outlet. Any creative knows that feeling of having so many ideas just bottled up inside where they don’t have anywhere to materialize. It can, and did, cause an existential crisis. When I was able to start creating again I realized what I had lost and what I had regained. It’s something I never want to lose again.
The second thing is the ever changing landscape of what we create. Yes, I mostly focus on video and film, but really there is no limit on what we can create. I am not locked into the same mundane 9-6 office job. For some people, that’s exactly what they want. To them it’s a just job; they clock-in and clock-out. For me it has to be more than that, I need a purpose. Scratch that, I have a purpose; to create. The fact that there are countless ways to get to the end result when telling a story is so exciting.
To be able to just think of something and somehow make it materialize into reality is one of the greatest gifts that I can receive and I am eternally grateful for.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
I think I’d like to answer this question as a question of creative process rather than a creative journey. Creativity is not a faucet that we turn on and off at will. It’s not something that we pull out of our hats when are put on the spot in meeting. Creativity is a living fleeting thing that strikes at any place during any moment. That being said, I’d like to stress the importance of pre-production to anyone in a non-creative facility. This pre-production period is the most important part of any creative process. It takes place long before we pick up any camera. During this time we brain storm ideas and we mold them by adding details, taking away details, and creating plot points. Most importantly, and equally most often overlooked, is during this time we let ideas simmer and percolate. Those ideas that sound amazing one day, can sound down right disastrous the next. Alternatively, there may be one small detail that isn’t sitting quite right, and that eureka moment of how to adjust it can take an ad from a ‘good ad’ to an ‘amazing ad.’ After the great simmering is complete, we’re left with the good stuff: a concentrated idea. The fluff is gone and all that remains is the gooey refined idea that thrills our clients and keeps the passion alive in our hearts. Dramatics aside, non-creative supervisors and project managers need to give creatives space and time to be able to produce content effectively.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kiaro.tv
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiaro_tv/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kareemabulaban/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrCqIbjLw4pj1SiNRI5xdtg
Image Credits
SARAH DEANE PHOTOGRAPHY