In this installment, Tongal’s ownCaleb Light-Wills interviews three-time 1st place winning video creators and current #1 All-Time Leaderboard ranking, SnapBrothers Productions. Since joining Tongal just over a year ago, the SnapBrothers (formerly known as “Chris Bookman”) have participated in twenty-four unique projects, created eleven winning videos and become $12,000 richer – even more impressive when you consider that neither one of them is of legal drinking age.
During a recent trip to Austin, we had the unique opportunity of meeting the SnapBrothers, who confided that life currently consists of “going to work, going to school and competing on Tongal.” This level of unwavering dedication has led to a robust portfolio including a roster of clients such as Firefly®, Benjamin Moore® and Allstate®, which, in turn, has led to a consistent influx of paying gigs from other businesses.
The SnapBrothers are not alone. Over the past few months, Tongal has served as a creative springboard, launching the video production careers of several prominent members. Still, it’s not exactly magic: they work hard, learn from their mistakes and see every competition as a unique opportunity to create compelling content. It’s an approach that has gotten The SnapBrothers this far and will undoubtedly allow them to prosperity well into the foreseeable future.
Caleb Light-Wills – You guys have been on Tongal for a while now, but how and when did you first find out about the site?
SnapBrothers Productions – Well, we first found out about the site a little over a year ago when we were browsing a webpage that listed online video contests. One from Tongal caught our attention, and we haven’t left this awesome website since that day.
C.L.W. – Were you apprehensive about the Tongal process or was it something you understood almost immediately?
S.P. – We got the hang of the Tongal process right off the bat, though we had never seen anything like it before. It was amazing to find video contests where anyone could participate, regardless of their skill set or area of filmmaking expertise.
C.L.W. – So what is SnapBrothers Productions?
S.P. – SnapBrothers Productions is just a fancy name for two fancy dudes with some fancy equipment. Usually, Dylan Walker writes the script or jingle and acts in the videos, while Chris Bookman usually films and edits the videos. This, of course, is not set in stone. Chris also loves to act. Dylan also loves to film. In other words, we do whatever tickles our fancy.
C.L.W. – What is your production background like?
S.P. – We have been acting and making videos since 6th grade, when we used only a handy-cam for shooting and a VCR for editing. We haven’t had the chance to go to film school yet...It’s on the list.
C.L.W. – What was the first Tongal project you participated in and what was the result?
S.P. – The first Tongal project that we participated in was actually for one of the “This Week In Tongal” contests. We won 4th AND 5th place! ...Out of 5 submissions. But hey, we won almost 50 bucks right out of the gate, so we were like “Wait a second, this is incredible!”
C.L.W. – Your work has come a really long way since the days of T.W.I.T. What does it feel like to come out on top and walk away with your largest win ever for Why Dialogue Earth?
S.P. – Why thank you! It really feels awesome! It is just so unbelievable to get paid for doing something that we love to do. In fact, if we had not discovered Tongal, we would still be doing the same exact thing today, but for free.
C.L.W. – This marks your third 1st place win, making you one of three creators on the site to ever do so, and also places you squarely at the top of our All Time Leaderboard. That’s has to feel pretty good, right?
S.P. – Ever since Tongal introduced the Leaderboard, it was our goal to one day say that we were Number 1. Today is that day, and it feels amazing. But, we know it won’t last forever so we encourage everyone to take their screenshots of the Leaderboard while they still can.
C.L.W. – Has Tongal helped you professionally in terms of building a usable portfolio or landing gigs?
S.P. – It’s funny you ask. Just recently we were on location shooting for a Tongal contest. A man that owns a local business who had been looking for someone to create some videos for him, happened to notice us working and approached us. We exchanged business cards and we got a call that same night. The man told us that he checked out our Tongal portfolio, and oh, that we were hired : )
C.L.W. – How long does it take you to shoot a Tongal Video and what is your process like?
S.P. – It typically takes us 3 weeks to create a Tongal video from a concept to an edited piece. We use a Canon 7d for shooting and Final Cut Pro for editing. We usually try to use many different techniques in many different videos. Humor is one of our favorites.
C.L.W. – One of my favorite things about Tongal is being able to see how people grow creatively and develop their own style. You guys have a sort of quirky comedic take on most projects that sponsors seem to love. Is that something you consciously apply when producing a video?
S.P. – The quirky comedic take that you speak of is actually something that comes naturally to us. In fact, there have been many instances where we have consciously tried not to let our quirkiness sneak into our video. But, many a time, we fail.
C.L.W. – A lot of your videos also feature original music, proving that you’re not only talented videomakers, but composers, as well. Who writes the music/lyrics, and what inspires you to create original music for some projects?
S.P. – Since Dylan is usually the one to write the script, sometimes a song just hits him. And when it does, it hits him hard. This is when he knows that an original song is just what our video needs.
C.L.W. – You guys never seem to have a shortage of talent, I count twelve people in that Benjamin Moore commercial. Where do you find your actors?
S.P. – Actually finding actors is a relatively difficult task for us when making a video. Since we live in a small town, actors, or anyone willing to even give it a try, is very hard to come by, especially considering we can never guarantee that we will win anything for it. For our Corner Cutters Anonymous video, we wanted as many people as we could find, so we contacted everyone we knew with only the guaranteed compensation of some tasty refreshments and a fun day shooting! We were later very proud to win 3rd place with the video and even prouder to give everyone who helped out part of the prize!
C.L.W. – What has been your favorite Project on Tongal so far?
S.P. – This one’s easy, the Binaca “Make a Scene” Video Project! Props to Dr. Fresh on that one. It was such a blast (no pun intended) to try to make our video look as much like the movie, 300, as we could, while still having the challenge of not using any original footage or backgrounds from the actual film.
C.L.W. – What have you spent your earnings on?
S.P. – Chris loves to spend his on new equipment for future videos. Investing, you could say. And Dylan, well, he loves to let it stack up in his bank.
C.L.W. – What is your favorite thing about Tongal?
S.P. – Tongal is a place where we can not only meet people like us that love to create amazing content, but we can also collaborate with them to create amazing content TOGETHER.
C.L.W. – What’s next for you on Tongal or otherwise?
S.P. – As always, we plan on participating in as many Tongal projects as we can. The SnapBrothers are loyal to Tongal. Because Tongal has been loyal to the SnapBrothers!
C.L.W. – What would you say has been the single greatest improvement on Tongal since you started using it over a year ago?
S.P. – It’s really difficult to pinpoint our favorite improvement, as there are many, but we have noticed that Tongal is providing a bigger and bigger variety of contests every time we turn around. We see not only the standard video contests, but also new alternatives such as ones like tournament style and viral video. Tongal is keeping things fresh. This is good.
C.L.W. – If you could change one thing about Tongal what would it be?
S.P. – The only thing that comes to mind is something that we know you guys are totally aware of, and we certainly don’t want to feel like we are bashing our favorite website. But, it’s the Porties (Portfolios). It would be cool if the portfolios were a little bit more organized, for instance, having a special place for the removed user submissions, so that they don’t clutter the Porties. That would be excellent.
C.L.W. – How can everyone stay updated on the SnapBrothers?
S.P. – snapbrothersproductions.com Thanks guys!
