CLAi
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CLAi
We pride ourselves on partnering with our clients to create consistently outstanding film and video productions - together. Programs that motivate, entertain and drive viewers to action, whatever the project content, complexity or budget. Of course, everyone says this. Each claims to be the best production company around.

In reality we are far from being the same. Skill, experience, raw creative talent, the critical ability to listen and understand, equipment capabilities, and the quality of contract personnel varies as enormously as final budgets and client satisfaction. We view the business side of video production a little uniquely and we do things a little differently from the other guys - in a good way.
Services
Film and video production is complicated, with lots of moving parts that we simplify by breaking them into different services. Each is a balancing act between experience and understanding, technology and software, skill and inspiration.

JUST AHEAD OF THE CURVE, we are creatives who suffer from a touch of tech geekiness and a tendency to cross role boundaries, using the latest film and video production technologies well before they become mainstream.CLAi have always been early adopters of software and hardware - when it will boost quality, increase flexibility, open up new possibilities, lengthen a project's useful life or simply give clients a better deal.
Pre-Production is always the starting point on any project - whether we are handling every aspect of a large multi-camera shoot and edit or just providing a camera crew, some color grading or a few hours of editing.

Pre-production is where we take the brief on the project as a whole from the client team, discover the details on what has to be done and achieved, evolve an original solution that will work effectively and interestingly, and then translate this into technology and personnel hours, a budget and a schedule - while continually testing all of these concepts.
As CLAi's principal, I have been shooting 35mm film and the highest quality broadcast video for over 25 years. In an ever changing technical landscape it is this sort of expertise and experience that allow our clients to sleep soundly before a shoot day. Production is where we put together the raw ingredients that will create the final program.
Post-production, or just post, for film and video is everything that happens after the shoot and core components are completed. I love post-production - there, it just had to be said - because it's where the film or video project really happens, in one giant multimedia jigsaw! It's where you get to throw away all of the plans, storyboards and scripts and ask one simple question - what have we actually got in the digital can to work with?
And every client and potential client wants to achieve this, regardless of the type, size and complexity of the video production. However, as so many of our clients see it, the obstacle to doing this is always the same - the perceived cost of a high quality production. As one of our more forthright customers insists on saying at the start, middle and end of every call on a new project.
Reviews (6)
Cynthia M.
Cynthia M.
Jun 08, 2019
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Book Chris for your film production needs! I was looking for an editor for my documentary film and found in Chris Layhe more than I knew I needed, wanted and thought possible. He's is able to make old men look a bit younger and old faded film footage colorful again with his masterful color correcting skills. He was a calm in my storm of documentary filmmaking and made this dream project of my lifetime better than I could have imagined. I was blessed to have worked with him and you will be too. Book him and you will be pleased to have him working on your project!
Jesse A.
Jesse A.
Sep 10, 2017
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Chris at CLAi is awesome....knows his stuff like a truly experienced pro. We were in town shooting and couldn't have pulled off our project without his prompt and expert help. - Jesse Achtenberg, producer/camera at NOAA's Ocean Today
Kim G.
Kim G.
Jul 11, 2017
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"Chris was adaptive to our needs, incredibly easy to work with, professional, kind, and attentive. We had a large, outdoor, live-event we needed recorded. Chris recommended a four-camera shoot, proactively scheduled a site visit, asked good questions, and kept us in the loop. On the day of the event, weather forced us to make a last-minute switch indoors to a much smaller venue. Chris and his team were quick on their feet, adjusting their audio/video equipment on the spot in time to beautifully capture the event. Chris showed us the edit in person to get our feedback, and implemented it in
Cynthia L.
Cynthia L.
Dec 15, 2015
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Chris at CLAI took on finish-editing, color grading and sound re-mixing my feature-length indie documentary for a very reasonable indie price. He didn't do it because he was passionate about my topic, which is pretty off the beaten path; he did it because he's an amazing, generous, kind guy who likes to help indie filmmakers when he can, between jobs for people and companies who can actually pay him what he's worth. He is extremely knowledgeable, skilled, experienced and one of the most professional people I've worked with in the film industry (or any industry). He communicates
Eric S.
Eric S.
Jul 16, 2014
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Made some promotional videos for my company. I was very satisfied by the quality of their work.
Justin K.
Justin K.
Mar 13, 2014
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I work as the marketing director for a tech company in the heart of San Francisco. I first hired CLAi to do a brief video advertisement for a product that was, at the time, vaporware.

My criteria for a video team were:

High production value. Check
Reasonable rates. Check
Quck turnaround. Check
Professionalism. Check

What truly impressed me with CLAi, however, was the effort they put forth in truly understanding our business needs and the message we were trying to convey. There is a long road to travel between conceptualizing a project and receiving a finished product. I was amazed at how much