Agency feature: Lowfundwala Communications

Who are we? 

Lowfundwala was an accident, the good kind. In 2013, Kashyap Swaroop made what became the very first Lowfundwala video for a small up-start by a college senior of his while pursuing a degree in Engineering at NMIMS University.

The video, and in turn, the startup, got noticed and soon-after, got acquired by another sizeable startup.

A few months down the line, Playwright and Advocate Harsh Desai joined the partnership. A year and a steady flow of videos later, Lowfundwala got incorporated as Tilt Shift Media LLP. Other fire-starters from various fields like engineering, journalism, and management areas too joined the team with the common passion for making branded films.

What's in the name?

The idea of the name took shape in August 2013 when Gaurav Munjal, Kashyap’s senior at college, asked him if he would be interested in making an “explainer video” about his startup, Flat.to. Kashyap agreed to write, direct, and produce the video, and got his first remuneration - a few slices of pizza. This led him to sit back and think. He says his first thought was, “I hope we don't end up broke like the antagonists in the movie Lokhandwala; I hope I don't end up Lowfundwala.”

Lowfundwala - the name was finalized, and a new company was born as an ode to startups and even bigger brands who are wanting to create storified branded content which is value for Money.

What we do?

We’re a full-service video agency, which means we have all the elements in-house and all the right people on the team to handle your project from start to finish.

1. The Creative: We figure out exactly how to convey the value of your product so your audience can understand it—how it works, what it feels like, and why they’ll want it in their lives. Usually, we’ll craft a treatment that explains the thinking behind our idea, a script that lays it out in detail, and a plan for what resources we’ll need to achieve it.

2. Production: We crew up with talented and amazing people in our vast network of filmmakers, scout the best places to set your story, cast the people that will represent your brand and reflect the world at large, and then we shoot, using the same gear they use in the best motion pictures.

3. Post-production: We meticulously shape the work into its final form using every tool at our disposal, from high-end visual effects to original music composition or licensing, to color grading, to clever file naming (You won't have to worry about "Final", "FinalFinal" or "FinalFinalFinal" files, trust us.

Email us. We love email.

Why we do it?

Tilt Shift Media LLP, our mother concern, was started with the aim of bringing a shift in the way media organisations get things done. We were tired of the wastefullness and luxurious approach to making simple films, and we wanted to show that there’s a more reasonable way of doing things. Lowfundwala is a challenge to the status quo. We focus on stories, not just the brand. Watching an ad should never be a boring or coercive experience. This is our driving value.

How we evolve?

Our camera gears, software, equipment, technologies, processes, go through a project by project audit. So, if you make a branded film with us in May 2019 and again in September 2019, you will be surprised to a completely new camera, gears, and, equipment. We have already started exploring VR to be able to make truly immersive films for brands.

Our people form our DNA. To scale and continuously innovate simultaneously, we’ve put greater emphasis on a lean, functional setup. We have a minimal in-house crew of 8 creative and production experts, and a 100+ man verified, crowd-sourced crew of technical leads such as directors, sound designers, editors, cinematographers, and art directors. As things stand, our crowd-sourced resource pool of talent, coupled with our internal team of versatile project leads, allows us to execute up to 50 films a year.

Social responsibility in social media

TSM LLP umbrella, the registered entity of our company, includes Lowfundwala, a boutique film ideas, and execution studio for SMEs, startups and legacy enterprises; Shortfilmwala, an advertising platform that integrates native ads, Public Service Advertisements (PSAs), and short films; and Tilt Shift Labs (TSL), a space to experiment with ideas and technology (still in the idea phase).

We use Shortfilmwala as our mouthpiece to speak about socially relevant issues and use our filmmaking craft to make an impact, we have already voiced our concern regarding autism, education-for-all, and legalization of marijuana.

Also Read: Agency Feature – EvolutionCo

We learned the hard way

‘A mediocre plan, violently executed today, is much better than a perfect plan for tomorrow.’

Hiring and firing have been a difficult lesson for us. With among the highest attrition rates in any field, media needs a different approach to retention. With time, an added focus on workplace culture, technical and soft skills training, team building, and employee enrichment has allowed us to retain and grow some of our key talents and keep company growth steady, unperturbed by attrition. Not just our internal crew, but our external crew as well will testify to the stickiness of a Lowfundwala experience.

Did we just share that?

Our brand identity revolves around the concept of matchbox art, considered as universal, aesthetically pleasing, yet kitsch. Hence, our visiting card is a matchbox, which we enthusiastically offer to all our prospective clients and talent, often when we meet big prospective clients, who get envious or afraid (Read: pyrophobia).

Industry as we foresee

Videos. Videos. Videos.

According to us, the digital content market is projected to grow exponentially by crores by 2022, with brands expected to allocate at least 25 percent of their net budget towards creating and pushing digital ads. And, for brands to remain relevant, they need to have content bank big enough and diverse enough to cater to the rapidly changing insights and patterns.

A day without Internet

At our office, most of us are cinema enthusiasts, a day without the internet is usually spent on our terrace with a projector and bean bags.

Lastly, are you hiring?

Yes