Quick comparison
JV Studios and Simplistic Views are both Chicago production companies, and on paper their service lists overlap: corporate video, events, animation, product content. The difference is the shape of the business behind the list. JV Studios presents itself as a broad creative and marketing studio: commercials, branded content, photography, live streaming, virtual production, and a full digital marketing arm, serving major consumer and B2B brands. Simplistic Views is a specialized corporate production partner: B2B and enterprise communications, industrial and manufacturing filming, event content programs, technical product animation, and multi-location production.
Neither shape is better. They answer different briefs, and this article tries to make clear which brief is yours.
| Dimension | JV Studios (per own site) | Simplistic Views |
|---|---|---|
| Base | Chicago, IL, plus Saint Joseph and Grand Rapids, MI | Chicago, IL |
| Founded | 2012 | 2018 |
| Core offering | Video, photography, and digital marketing services | B2B corporate video production and animation |
| Commercials and branded content | Core emphasis | Project dependent; our work centers on corporate communications |
| Corporate video | Available | Core emphasis |
| Event video and live streaming | Core emphasis, including streaming | Core emphasis for content programs; live streaming is project dependent |
| Photography | Core emphasis | Not a primary service |
| Marketing services (ads, SEO, email, web) | Core emphasis | Not offered; we focus on production |
| Industrial and manufacturing filming | Not clearly promoted publicly; verify during consultation | Core emphasis |
| Multi-location production | Promotes work across many cities | Core emphasis, single point of accountability |
Rows summarize public positioning as of the review date. Either company may do more than its site emphasizes; verify specifics during consultation.
JV Studios overview
Based on its website, JV Studios is a full-service creative studio founded in 2012 by two brothers and headquartered in Chicago, with offices in Saint Joseph and Grand Rapids, Michigan, and production experience it describes as spanning more than fifty cities. Its video work covers commercials, brand narratives, social content, corporate video, event coverage and recaps, live streaming, animation and motion graphics, product videos, and virtual production. Alongside video, it offers a photography practice (commercial, corporate headshots, events, and product) and a marketing services arm covering web design, YouTube and social media advertising, email and SMS campaigns, SEO, streaming platform advertising, and media buying. Its site cites recognizable national clients and multiple appearances on Clutch’s top creative agency lists; those are the company’s own claims and were not independently verified for this article.
The picture is a versatile creative partner that can produce content and market it, for brands of many kinds.
Simplistic Views overview
Simplistic Views is a Chicago-based corporate video production company serving B2B and enterprise organizations. The work includes corporate communications, brand films, executive interviews, industrial and manufacturing video, event content, product videos, 2D and 3D animation, and multi-location production. Industry emphasis includes manufacturing, automation and intralogistics, public safety, healthcare, logistics, and finance. There is no photography division and no marketing arm; the company is deliberately narrow.
Broad creative and marketing provider versus specialized corporate production partner
This is the structural choice underneath this comparison, and it is worth making explicitly.
When the broad model is the right tool. If your organization needs many kinds of creative output (a commercial this quarter, headshots next month, a social campaign after that, ads running behind all of it), a broad provider like JV Studios consolidates vendors, keeps brand consistency across formats, and gives you one relationship to manage. Smaller marketing teams often get real leverage from that consolidation, and campaign-led consumer brands are natural fits.
When the specialized model is the right tool. If your video needs are concentrated in one demanding domain (enterprise B2B communications, filming in operating facilities, technical products that need engineering-accurate animation, a recurring cadence of executive and customer content), a specialist sees your kind of project constantly. The vocabulary, crew instincts, safety awareness, and stakeholder management for a plant-floor shoot or a C-suite interview are learned by repetition. That repetition is the product you are buying from a specialist.
A fair rule of thumb: count the distinct creative disciplines you need this year. If the answer is four or five, a broad studio earns its breadth. If the answer is video, over and over, for serious B2B stakeholders, a specialist earns its depth.
Commercial and brand storytelling
JV Studios’ portfolio leans toward commercials, brand narratives, and campaign content for large consumer-facing brands, which suits marketing-led briefs. Our brand films sit inside corporate communications: films that explain a company to enterprise buyers, employees, and partners, and that share footage with the rest of a content program. If your brief says campaign, look hard at JV Studios. If it says explain who we are to people who will scrutinize us, that is our daily work.
Corporate video and executive communications
Both companies list corporate video. Ours is the center of the practice: executive messaging, internal announcements such as the CEO-led employee welcome video for Wheels, customer stories for B2B buying committees, and internal communications video. Ask JV Studios for comparable executive and internal work; its public portfolio emphasizes brand and commercial content more heavily.
Event production and live streaming
JV Studios promotes event coverage, recaps, and live streaming, and streaming capability is a genuine differentiator if your event needs a broadcast. Our event work is built around content leverage rather than live transmission: turning a trade show presence into a durable library, as with the ESPEC North America library of more than 50 videos from The Battery Show and EFJohnson’s ATLAS content from IACP 2025. Decide which of those two jobs your event actually needs; they are staffed and planned differently.
Photography
JV Studios offers commercial, corporate, event, and product photography alongside video, which is efficient if you need both from one vendor. Photography is not a primary Simplistic Views service. If stills are a hard requirement of your engagement, that is a real point in JV Studios’ favor.
Social media and marketing services
JV Studios’ marketing arm (YouTube and social advertising, email and SMS, SEO, streaming platform ads, web design) means it can carry content from production through distribution. We do not offer marketing services. We plan shoots so they yield social-ready cutdowns and multi-channel assets, an approach described in our guide to turning one shoot into multiple video assets, but running the channels stays with your team or agency. Organizations with in-house marketing usually prefer that boundary; organizations without it may want JV Studios’ bundle.
Manufacturing and industrial work
Industrial filming is a stated Simplistic Views specialty, with published work in live operating environments such as the Swisslog and HelloFresh warehouse automation story and a stated focus on manufacturing clients. JV Studios’ public portfolio emphasizes consumer and brand work; industrial production is not a visible theme, which is not proof of absence. If your shoot involves an active production line, ask both companies for directly comparable projects and crew experience.
Multi-city and nationwide production
Both companies work beyond Chicago. JV Studios cites production experience across more than fifty cities and maintains Michigan offices. Simplistic Views coordinates multi-location and nationwide programs as a core service: one production plan, one accountable partner, consistent creative across sites. The practical question for a distributed organization is less can you film in city X and more how do you keep twelve facility videos consistent, so ask both companies to walk through exactly how they run a multi-site program.
Team and production model
JV Studios describes itself as a full-service creative studio spanning video, photography, and marketing disciplines, with offices in three cities; its site does not publicly detail how projects are staffed. We run a lean core team and scale specialized crews per project, which is how we staff industrial and multi-city work. Both models function; ask who specifically will be on your set, in either case.
Which company fits each use case?
| Use case | Likely stronger fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer-facing commercial or campaign | JV Studios | Commercials and branded campaigns are its visible core |
| Video plus photography from one vendor | JV Studios | Photography is a primary service line |
| Content plus paid media, SEO, and email | JV Studios | Marketing services are part of its stated offering |
| Live streaming an event | JV Studios | Streaming is promoted as a service; ours is project dependent |
| Executive and internal communications | Simplistic Views | Leadership-on-camera corporate work is core |
| Manufacturing or warehouse filming | Simplistic Views | Industrial environments are a stated specialty with published work |
| Trade show turned into a content library | Simplistic Views | Published event-to-library programs for B2B brands |
| Technical 3D product animation | Simplistic Views | Animation from engineering data is a specialty |
| Recurring B2B video program | Simplistic Views | The engagement model is built for cadence |
Reviews and client experience
JV Studios’ website cites national brand clients and repeated recognition on Clutch’s creative agency lists. Simplistic Views maintains its own Clutch profile with client reviews, linked in our site footer. Both companies’ review profiles change over time; check them directly rather than trusting any article’s snapshot, including this one.
Pricing and scope considerations
Neither company publishes a rate card. At review time, JV Studios’ inquiry form asked prospects to choose budget bands from around $10,000 to over $100,000, which indicates the range of work it engages but is not pricing. For calibration on corporate video specifically, our Chicago corporate video cost guide publishes typical ranges by project type. As with every comparison in this series: send both companies the same written brief and compare scoped quotes.
Questions to ask both companies
- Show me three recent projects with our audience and setting. What did your team do versus subcontract?
- Who is on set, and who runs the project day to day?
- For events: is your strength coverage and streaming, or content programs built from the event?
- How would you run this if it repeated quarterly, or expanded to five facilities?
- What does the quote include: revisions, licensing, raw footage, cutdowns?
- Where does your role end: delivery, or channels and reporting too?
Final recommendation
Choose JV Studios if you want one versatile partner across video, photography, and marketing, especially for campaign-led and consumer-facing content, or if live streaming and stills are part of the requirement. Choose Simplistic Views if you need a corporate production specialist for B2B communications, industrial filming, event content programs, technical product animation, or multi-location production with a single accountable partner. If you are weighing the two models, send us your brief; if it calls for breadth we do not have, we will say so.
Frequently asked questions
What does JV Studios do?
Based on its website, JV Studios is a full-service creative studio founded in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, with additional offices in Saint Joseph and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Its services span video production (commercials, brand content, corporate video, events, live streaming, animation, and virtual production), photography, and marketing services including web design, YouTube and social advertising, email and SMS campaigns, SEO, and streaming platform advertising.
How are JV Studios and Simplistic Views different?
JV Studios positions itself as a broad creative and marketing provider covering video, photography, and digital marketing for brands across many sectors. Simplistic Views is a specialized corporate production partner focused on B2B and enterprise video: executive communications, industrial filming, event content programs, technical product animation, and multi-location production. Broad creative needs favor the first model; specialized corporate programs favor the second.
How much do JV Studios and Simplistic Views cost?
Neither company publishes a rate card. At the time of review, JV Studios' project inquiry form asked prospects to select budget ranges starting around $10,000 and running past $100,000, which suggests the scale of work it takes on but is not a price list. Simplistic Views publishes typical corporate video budget ranges in its cost guide. Request scoped quotes from both against the same brief.
Which company is better for corporate event video in Chicago?
Both companies produce event video. JV Studios promotes event coverage, recaps, and live streaming among broad creative services. Simplistic Views approaches events as content programs, with published projects turning trade show appearances into large libraries of thought leadership and product content for B2B companies. If you need live streaming and broad event coverage, evaluate JV Studios closely; if you need a trade show presence converted into months of B2B content, that is Simplistic Views' specialty.