Quick comparison
Richter Studios and Simplistic Views both produce corporate video in the Chicago market, and either could plausibly deliver a strong project. The real distinction is the production model each company is built around. Richter Studios presents itself as a cinematic production house: studio capabilities, a heritage dating to 1997, photography and animation under one roof, and a formal process aimed at polished, film-like results. Simplistic Views is built for scalable on-location corporate production: filming inside client facilities and events, coordinating crews across multiple cities, and supporting recurring B2B communication programs.
This is not a cinematic-quality-versus-affordability comparison, and we deliberately avoid framing it that way. It is studio-led cinematic production versus scalable on-location corporate production. Both models are legitimate. They fit different projects.
| Dimension | Richter Studios (per own site) | Simplistic Views |
|---|---|---|
| Base | Highland Park, IL (North Shore) | Chicago, IL (River North) |
| Founded | 1997 | 2018 |
| Core emphasis | Cinematic brand films, commercials, documentaries | B2B corporate communications and industrial video |
| Studio production | Core emphasis, in-house studio | Project dependent; we rent studios when a project calls for one |
| On-location production | Available | Core emphasis, including live industrial environments |
| Photography | Core emphasis, broad photography services | Not a primary service |
| Animation | Available, including explainers | Available, focused on technical 3D product animation |
| Multi-location and nationwide filming | Aerial and location work promoted; multi-site programs not clearly promoted publicly | Core emphasis |
| Published starting price | Promoted cinematic videos from around $10K at review time | No flat rate; typical ranges published in our cost guide |
Positioning summaries reflect each company’s public materials as of the review date. Verify specifics during consultation.
Richter Studios overview
Based on its website, Richter Studios has operated since 1997 from Highland Park on Chicago’s North Shore, describing itself in terms of cinematic craft and a large production heritage, including a claim of roughly 14,000 completed productions. Its listed video services are broad: brand films, commercials, corporate videos, documentaries, explainer and product videos, aerial cinematography, trade show and training content, live streaming, and testimonials. It also maintains a substantial photography practice across corporate, industrial, product, and event photography, and promotes in-house studio capabilities. At the time of review, its site promoted cinematic videos starting around $10,000 with turnaround as fast as three weeks; treat both figures as the company’s own marketing claims.
Taken together, the public positioning is clear and consistent: a long-established, studio-supported production house that leads with cinematic quality.
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. The company was founded in 2018, so the differentiation is not heritage; it is a production model built for where corporate video actually gets filmed today: client facilities, trade show floors, and distributed sites.
Studio-led production versus distributed on-location production
This is the section that matters most in this comparison, because it is the real decision most buyers are making.
What a studio-led model does well. A dedicated studio gives a production complete control: lighting, sound, art direction, teleprompter setups, and repeatable conditions. That control produces the polished, cinematic consistency that studio-led companies are known for, and it is genuinely hard to replicate in a borrowed conference room. Studio-led production also concentrates equipment and specialized staff in one place, which can make complex single-location shoots very efficient. If your project is a flagship brand film, a commercial, or an interview series where every frame needs to be controlled, a studio-led model earns its keep.
What a studio-led model costs you. The studio is where the studio is. Content that depends on real environments (a fulfillment center in motion, a plant floor, a trade show booth, five offices in five states) has to come to terms with travel, and the model’s core advantage, controlled conditions, does not travel with it. Studio-first companies certainly film on location, but location logistics are an accommodation rather than the organizing principle.
What a distributed on-location model does well. Our model starts from the assumption that the story is wherever the organization operates. That means crews and workflows designed for filming in live environments, such as the Swisslog and HelloFresh warehouse automation story filmed around operating robotics, and event workflows that turn a few hours on a show floor into a durable library, as with ESPEC North America at The Battery Show. It also means multi-location programs are planned as one production with consistent creative direction, rather than a sequence of separate shoots.
What a distributed model costs you. Real environments are less controllable. Good on-location crews mitigate that with planning, lighting packages, and experience reading a space quickly, but a working warehouse will never be as controllable as a soundstage. Projects that need perfect visual control belong in a studio, and when ours do, we rent one.
If you remember one thing from this article: match the model to where your story physically lives.
Cinematic brand films
Richter Studios makes cinematic storytelling its central identity, and its long portfolio reflects that. If your project is a flagship film where cinematic treatment is the point, it is a serious contender and should be evaluated on its recent work. We produce brand films as well, typically for B2B organizations that want the film to sit inside a broader communications program, share footage with recruiting and sales content, and hold up in front of enterprise stakeholders. Watch recent films from both companies side by side; tone differences will be obvious faster than any article can describe them.
Corporate communications
Our practice centers on corporate communications as an ongoing discipline: executive messaging, internal announcements such as the Wheels CEO employee welcome video, customer stories, and internal communications video. Richter Studios lists corporate video and training content among its services within its cinematic positioning. The practical question for buyers: do you need one exceptional film, or a communications cadence? The first favors a cinematic house; the second favors a partner structured for recurring production.
Industrial and manufacturing production
Both companies touch industrial subject matter: Richter Studios lists corporate and industrial photography and has decades of Midwest client history, while manufacturing and automation are stated industry focuses for us on the video side, with published projects filmed in operating facilities. If your production involves active production lines, safety protocols, and coordination with plant management, ask both companies specifically about recent comparable shoots and who on the crew has done them.
Photography and animation
Photography is a genuine Richter Studios differentiator: it promotes a full photography practice alongside video, which is efficient if you need stills and video from one vendor. Photography is not a primary Simplistic Views service.
On animation, Richter Studios lists explainer and animation services; our animation work is narrower and more technical, centered on 3D product animation built from engineering CAD data, such as the LEESON SyMAX-PRO motor animation. For stylized animated brand content, evaluate both portfolios; for engineering-accurate product animation, that is our specialty.
Multi-location and national production
Multi-location coordination is an explicit part of the Simplistic Views model: one production plan, consistent creative direction, and crews coordinated across cities, so distributed organizations do not have to buy and manage separate productions per site. Richter Studios promotes location capabilities including aerial cinematography, but multi-site program logistics are not a prominent theme in its public materials; verify during consultation if that is central to your project.
Production scale and crew model
Richter Studios describes itself as a full-service production studio with its own production stage and a process refined over decades; its site does not publicly detail team structure, so ask directly who staffs a typical project. We run a leaner core team and scale crews per project, which is common among modern corporate production companies and is how we staff multi-city work. Neither model is inherently better: dedicated studio depth favors consistency and institutional craft; a scalable crew model favors flexibility and location reach. Ask any company you evaluate who, specifically, will be on your shoot.
Process and timelines
Richter Studios promotes a formal production process and, at review time, advertised turnarounds as fast as three weeks for some cinematic work. Our process runs from message strategy through pre-production, filming, and editorial, with timelines set by scope; interview-driven corporate pieces typically move faster than multi-location programs. For either company, ask what a realistic schedule looks like for your specific deliverables and review cycles rather than relying on advertised turnaround.
Pricing and budget considerations
At the time of review, Richter Studios’ website promoted cinematic videos starting at around $10,000. That is the company’s own published starting point, not a quote, and inclusions matter enormously at any starting price. We do not publish a flat rate; our guide to corporate video production costs in Chicago publishes typical budget ranges by project type so buyers can calibrate before talking to anyone, including us. The honest guidance for both companies is identical: send the same written brief to each and compare scoped quotes, not starting prices.
Who should choose Richter Studios
Richter Studios looks like the stronger fit when:
- The project is a flagship cinematic brand film or commercial where film craft is the central requirement.
- You value a long production heritage and want a studio-supported environment for controlled shoots.
- You need photography and video from the same vendor.
- Your production is single-location or studio-based rather than spread across facilities.
- You are on the North Shore and want a nearby partner with deep local history.
Who should consider Simplistic Views
We are likely the stronger fit when:
- The work is B2B corporate communications with a recurring cadence, not a single film.
- Filming happens in live industrial, manufacturing, or logistics environments.
- The program spans multiple offices, facilities, or cities, including nationwide coordination.
- Trade shows and corporate events are part of the content strategy.
- You need engineering-accurate 3D product animation.
- Executive messaging and enterprise stakeholders are the audience.
Questions to ask both companies
- Show me the three most recent projects that look like mine: same setting, same audience, same format.
- Who will direct and shoot my project, and how much of the work is done by your core team?
- For location work: how do you plan around an operating facility, and what do you need from us?
- For studio work: what does your studio include, and what does it add to the budget?
- What exactly does the quoted price include: shoot days, revisions, licensing, deliverable formats?
- How would you handle this same project if it grew to three locations?
Final recommendation
Both companies are credible; the deciding factor is model fit. Choose Richter Studios when the brief calls for studio-supported cinematic production, photography plus video, or a flagship film backed by decades of craft heritage. Choose Simplistic Views when the brief calls for on-location B2B production: industrial environments, events, executive communications, multi-city programs, and technical product animation. If you can articulate where your story physically lives and how often you will need new content, the right model usually picks itself. If it does not, describe the project to us and we will give you a straight answer about fit, either way.
Frequently asked questions
What is Richter Studios known for?
Based on its website, Richter Studios is a video production company founded in 1997 and based in Highland Park, Illinois, on Chicago's North Shore. It emphasizes cinematic storytelling, brand films, commercials, documentaries, animation, and photography, supported by in-house studio capabilities and a production heritage it describes as spanning thousands of completed projects.
How much does Richter Studios cost?
Richter Studios does not publish a full rate card, but at the time this article was reviewed its website promoted cinematic videos starting at around $10,000 with turnaround as fast as three weeks. Treat that as the company's own marketing claim and confirm current pricing and inclusions directly with them.
What is the main difference between Richter Studios and Simplistic Views?
The clearest public difference is the production model. Richter Studios emphasizes cinematic, studio-supported production with a long heritage, while Simplistic Views is built around distributed on-location corporate production: filming at client facilities, events, and multiple sites, with technical animation for industrial products. Both produce corporate video; they start from different strengths.
Which company is better for a cinematic brand film?
Both companies produce brand films, so compare portfolios directly. Richter Studios makes cinematic craft its central public positioning and has decades of heritage behind it. Simplistic Views produces brand films within a broader B2B corporate communications practice, which suits films that need to work alongside recurring corporate content. Watch each company's recent films for tone, and ask who exactly would crew your production.