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Reviews

Ilja walked me through the steps, helped me develop the story for a crowdfunding video and did an amazing job. Everyone that contributed to the video enjoyed working with him, as did I!

Nancy C.

Entrepreneur

I am so happy I decided to have a videographer to film my special day but even happier it was ISDesigns Studio. Ilja did SUCH an amazing job with my 60th birthday video. I’ve watched it over and over and over again! The day of the party was so hectic, and I knew there was a bunch of traffic getting to our venue (downtown Berkeley UC Campus), but Ilja was there RIGHT on time, and ready to go! He was on top of everything, and filmed all the key parts, and even more creative shots that I would never have even thought of. He was very professional and so nice, and everyone in my birthday party had nothing but good things to say about him. I would DEFINITELY recommend Ilja for any event. AWESOME! Thank you so much Ilja for making my special day a memory to last forever. It was a pleasure doing business with you. Gwendolyn B.

Gwendolyn B.

Amazing Person

Working with Ilja was easy and he gave suggestions throughout the process to improve the project. It wouldn't have turned out as well without his expertise and professionalism.

Veronica A.

Head of Communication

This was the first time I've ever used a videographer for business, and Ilja exceeded my expectations by far. From the initial communication process where he told me what to expect, how to prepare, etc. through the day of the shoot, to post production - Ilja guided me along and I ended up with a very professional product. I would definitely use him again and enthusiastically recommend him. He was VERY patient with me, as there were a few months between when he did the video and when I provided him with the other ancillary information necessary for him to finish the video. All of my requests were fulfilled - from cropping\zooming, editing and splicing different takes because I screwed up (!). I also felt like it was an excellent value - I have a very small business, and was concerned that I wouldn't be able to afford something like this. There were a number of times that Ilja made suggestions based on his experience, and these were very welcome. Thank you Ilja!

Larry B.

Small Bunsiess Owner

Ilja was great to work with...he went beyond what we expected and delivered what we needed on time and on budget.

Darrel V.

Ilja is great to work with. During his video making process, he totally embraces quality, a need for perfection and is so open to ideas. His enthusiasm in creating great videos is admirable.

Ramya S.

Musician/Artist

ISDesigns captured our moments wonderfully. He made sure to discuss with me how the event will be so he could plan his set up accordingly and the quality of the video is really good. Awesome work! Great guy!

Anjeeta M.

Event Planner

IIja is the best, the quality and patience is above and beyond. I highly recommend him!

Lucas P.

Startup/Entrepreneur

It was a pleasure to work with ISDesigns Studio. Ilja and his team were very professional, and took pride in their work.

Jessica D.

Business Owner/Yoga Trainer

Ilja did a fantastic job with a rather complex set up for a professional 70th birthday party. He made the sound work on a site he'd never been at before, and managed to capture everything during a very busy event. Afterwards he put in the extra work to synchronous audio, video, and slides, plus footage from two cameras. He aims to please and I could not recommend him more highly. It was great to work with a local Berkeley vendor too.

Marti H.

UC Berkeley/Google

I had to do a short congratulatory video for a friend who is collecting a major award at the Cannes Festival. I come from the ad industry so I'm used to working with filmmakers, photographers etc; I found Ilja to be totally professional, easy to work with (even when I switched the brief) and affordable. He also has a good eye for lighting and performance. Would I use him again? Absolutely.

Bob I.

Award Winning Advertising Guru

I can't remember the last time I had such a seamless experience with a vendor I have never worked with before. I can't recommend Ilja enough and I would definitely hire him in a heartbeat for any future videographer needs.

Monica C.

Project Manager, GGLS

It was excellent to work with Ilja. He was prompt to reply, quick to grasp our project, super pleasant to work with and extremely fast in his turnaround. Highly recommend him!

Mariana A.

App Developing Technician

Did a great photo/videography job for a largish birthday party. Very professional and reliable

Michael D.

Sexagenarian

Ilja was kind, enthusiastic, timely, and the headshots turned out great!

Daniel C.

Thumbtack

We had Ilja for a group photo and couple of headshots. He was very easy to work with, super professional, and mostly importantly the photos turned out really good!

Kimi C.

Thumbtack

Ilja from ISDesigns was a pleasure to work with! Our company CEO was presenting with one of our main clients at a conference in SF Union Square (Sept. 2016) and we needed to turn the presentation into a video, and we needed it to show the presentation as well as a screen with a high-resolution version of the slides.

From the start, Ilja was friendly, a good listener to our needs, and communicative about his process. He planned to set up ahead of time, and was good at improvising when something minor came up at the presentation that was out of his control. Ilja's post-production work was excellent! He really listened to my vision, kept our branding consistent and also made suggestions when he saw fit. I would not hesitate to hire him again next time we need his services in SF area. Thank you Ilja!

Crystal Martin

Communicus

Ilja was amazing! He handled a very important and personal 80th birthday video with patience, creativity, and great skill. All while handling input/content from 3-4 people. Super impressive. Can't wait to hire him again. Thank you, Ilja!

Peggy Hummel

News Anchor

Extremely professional and thorough. He continued getting shots and video even after the event was done. Showed up early prepared and ready to go! Would highly recommend.

Al Sillah

Video Producer

Ilja joined me in Santa Clara to film me making a speech. He not only videoed me, he shot the entire event! He was a dream to work with -- punctual, responsive, and the end result is perfect!

Deborah Dutcher

Public Speaker

"Ilja was great with me, he didn't do just his job, he helped me to improve my idea and to make it become real working together day by day!"

Matteo Ercolano

App Designer

"Ilja made our day in the studio. He was extremely responsive, carefully accommodated all our requirements, was extremely fast preparing for the shots. And most importantly, Ilja produced great footage for our contemporary music video! Thank you so much for the wonderful job!"

Max Glass

Producer/Vocalist

"Ilja was tasked with producing an introduction video for my startup. He broke down the steps involved in producing a video for me. Once I gave him a preliminary script, he structured it in the proper production format, and patiently revised it with me, till we got it to an acceptable length, without losing any important details. He found the most suitable voice-over artist to record the script. The video was put together very professionally after that — he was accommodative in receiving feedback, several times, and diligently worked on incorporating it each time, till an excellent video was produced — I am very happy with the final result!"

Raj R.

Entrepreneur

"Beyond prepared, Ilja was flexible, efficient, working with a variety of location choices to come up with the best look. Patient with inexperienced unprofessional talent, Ilja’s demeanor and approach put us at ease and permitted the best possible media outcome. Professional, calm with a great sense of humor and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend or use Ilja again."

Steffan Martell

Founder, Erosscia

"IIja created a 5 minute music video with multiple locations and scenes. He edited it multiple times to achieve the look we wanted. To say he did an amazing job is an understatement. He was flexible, patient, reliable and most of all really talented at making the video!! Plus he was extremely reasonable with the price. I can't say enough good things about working with Ilja. He will work with whatever vision you have."

David Parker

Entrepreneur

"We had the pleasure of working with Ilja Sarro for a BBVA corporate event we organised in San Francisco in March 2015. If I were to describe Ilja with three qualities I would say that he is: reliable, meticulous and extremely customer-oriented. When organising a high level project there is always an element of insecurity, especially when sourcing a new business partner. Thanks to his precision and thoroughness, Ilja was able to make us feel safe and comfortable from the initial stage of the project. He managed to simplify every aspect which could have potentially become an issue. His friendly and professional manners blew our client away and were a key element of our success. Working with Ilja was a pleasure and we will certainly be requesting his services again."

Giorgio Ghezzi

Groups Inbound GM - North and Latin America at Kuoni Group Travel Experts

"ISDesigns (Ilja) created a Kickstarter video for The Egg (www.eggcyte.com). Prior to starting the project, Ilja worked with us on aligning expectations and generating a script. During the day of the shoot, Ilja was extremely patient with us and worked with us to capture the best possible material that he could then use to create the video. He then iterated through the video multiple times and also scheduled an additional video shoot because the video needed some additional footage to make it flow smoothly. Throughout the entire project, Ilja was nothing but professional. We wouldn't hesitate to use him again."

Thomas Martis

Founder, The Egg

"I hired IIja to film a series of exercise videos of me for my personal training business and he exceeded my expectations! This was my first time behind a camera and his professionalism and calm demeanor really put me at ease. He worked within my budget and the videos are exactly what I wanted. I am really looking forward to working with IIja for many more projects in the future!"

Michelle Canning

Personal Fitness Trainer

"ISDesigns or Ilja Sarro has an aptitude for aesthetics and understanding clients that makes him stand out from the thousands of video and multimedia production services. He pays close attention to details and to what you say. He tries to capture the essence of your requests in his designs. In other words, he doesn’t just create something that looks visually pleasing, but he also makes sure that it reflects the values of your need. Ilja walked me through a journey and delivered a masterpiece as I envisioned it. He routinely provided me with updates and samples, which made me aware of the project progress step by step. Even after the project was completed, Ilja kept adding final touch ups to the project, which tells me that he is an artist and not just a service provider. With full confidence, Ilja would be a great hire for any project. Thank you Ilja, and I’m pretty sure this won’t be the last time we work together."

Omar A Omar

Consultant Engineer at StrataGen Engineering

"We just used Ilja's company to do our first infomercial on ADActivewear. The results were fabulous! Ilja was very detailed oriented, organized and had great ideas to offer. The team was relaxed and thrilled to work with him. 
Way to go Ilja.
I highly recommend him for efficient, creative and great results."

Tess Rogers

President at Tess Rogers & Associates

"I have the pleasure working with Ilja on a promotion video for our start-ups. Ilja is easy to work with, always prompt to respond to any requests and professional with the whole process from beginning to the end. He held my hands on the entire process and making sure the end result is satisfactory to me. He takes extra time to follow up with me along the way and keep me inform with time frame. I would highly recommend Ilja and will definitely work with him again."

Wendy Chang

Social Entrepreneur

"Ilja and I have planned several projects together. Video and film production has become a very technical field, yet Ilja brings a lot of heart and feeling to the demanding work of professional media production. In my experience, Ilja rates top marks both at the drawing board and behind the camera.."

Scott Campbell

Owner, SC Productions

"Ilja and I have worked on a few projects together. He has mainly been an invaluable camera man, but I am also familiar with his work in video production and editing for business promotion. He is very, very talented and I'd highly recommend him."

Cary Virtue, MPH

Healthcare Project Manager and Consultant

"During my years as an stage actor, I have received a number of videos of my various shows, The best one I ever got was the one [Ilja] shot and edited for The Masquers' Enchanted April. The visual and sound are crystal clear... And the editing - a seamless collage of many nights shooting at different angles and zooms - is breathtaking for its artistry and professionalism.
Watching [Ilja's] work, I feel more like I'm in a studio film rather than the typical blurry and muffled "set-up-the-camera-and-let-it-run" show recording.
This video was made several years ago - and I'm still happy to have this DVD on my shelf!"

Keith Jefferds

Owner at Unparalleled Lines

"Ilja is great to work with on crew! He is precise, reliable, and skilled. I look to Ilja when needing fine camera work!."

Michelanthony Dunston

Director of Photography / Director / Producer / Editor

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