In a world that’s hard to impress, Nebraska start-up, Lens Distortions provides serious creators with striking digital effects and soundtracks that help their customers stand above the competition. Their legendary digital effects have been featured on platforms like Netflix, HBO, Fox, and Disney, and their user-friendly digital app has millions of users (download at https://lensdistortions.com/mobile/)
An Overnight Success . . . 10 Years in the Making
Lens Distortions co-founders and Nebraska natives, Craig Nashleanas and Jonathan Kayser, say that their driving conviction is a shared pursuit of quality over quantity and a relentless commitment to provide their members with the best digital content available. The founders say that they intentionally built Lens Distortions to last. They didn’t start the company to scale the business as fast as possible and sell off. Rather, Craig and Jonathan are creating a company and products that they could see themselves working on for a lifetime.
Craig and Jonathan often say, “every overnight success is ten years in the making.” This motto reflects a sentiment that anything of great worth and value takes blood, sweat, and tears over the long haul. Craig said, “we are building a company and platform that we are proud of. I think that is one of the reasons that our customers tell us time after time that our products are simply the best.”
Lens Distortions started in 2013 as a creative solution to a digital effects problem. Jonathan had some professional videographer friends working on a project in Iceland, but they couldn’t find a post-production glass effects filter to complete the project. They reached out to Jonathan to help create a glass effect that would perfectly complement their video. In short, they were blown away by Jonathan’s post-production effect and Lens Distortions was born.
The response to Jonathan’s digital effect solution demonstrated the need for a company like Lens Distortions. “No one else was really doing this at the time,” the founders said while retelling the story. A lot of other digital effects platforms focus on quantity over quality, but the emphasis on quantity means that quality necessarily suffers. Users will only find quality, timeless content on the Lens Distortions platform.
New Products
Since its first product in 2013, Lens Distortions has added thousands of variants to its website and phone app. In 2018, they made the jump to a subscription service. The founders see the subscription as their promise to continue providing quality content to their subscribers. And their team is up for the task.
Starting at $29 a month, video professionals can access literally thousands of variations of cinematic music, SFX, colors, or VFX post-production effects. Or starting at $0 with no commitment, any content creator can have access to a set of free features in their mobile app, no questions asked.
Something for Everyone
Creators search the Lens Distortions platform to find the perfect effect for every project. Music ranges from aspirational and beautiful to reverent and dark. The video effects include post-production lens flares, fog, dust, and many more. Users can scroll through the website samples to get a taste of what the platform offers. This promotional video gives a good taste of what their content looks like:
The founders say they intentionally built the company to help their subscribers to stand out at every level in their creative journey. From the professional filmmaker in Hollywood to the kid who just got his first phone; Lens Distortions is committed to helping every user create valuable content. The website offers professionals with the ingredients they need to make top-level content, and the mobile app offers the ingredients and the toolset for enthusiasts of any skill level to create.
A Growing Market
The founders fully expect the market for digital effects to grow in the coming years. According to market research, the video effects market alone is a 7.5 billion dollar industry that is expected to grow to 11 billion by 2030. Further, Craig made the observation that when he was growing up, it was rare for kids to have cameras, but today almost everyone has a camera and wants to create something meaningful.
Be on the lookout for this Nebraska startup that has been profitable from day one. With 10 team members, Lens Distortions is set up for consistent growth and expansion. Their founders are committed to creating meaningful products that last a lifetime. If you want to build great things, check out their website https://lensdistortions.com/ .
