We make meaningful stories into beautiful films.

Who?

Ghost Village Films is a boutique video production agency based in McMinnville, Oregon.

Its Captain is Gabriel James, who set sail in 2015.

Our quest, and everything we do and make, is for love:

of people

stories

& art

the sea

the work

& cinematic gold

And yes...that includes our approach

to marketing films and branded content.

Perhaps especially so. Because

no one likes to be marketed to.

But everyone loves a good story.

If you love like we do, we’d like to meet!

Or even if you just like our style...

Play Video

Let's make your videos
as beautiful as you.

A Lighthouse in the Fog

Creating branded video content that stands out in a wildly over-saturated media landscape is a lofty challenge, even for professionals. But it can be especially difficult for small businesses, community organizations and independent artists working with limited resources.

We believe, however, that what sets great work apart from the common clutter of social media has little to with expensive gear or big agency budgets. What matters to us are matters of the heart — your story, your message — handcrafted with vision, inspiration and love.

The stormy seas of digital marketing, and video in particular, are always shifting...and in some ways they are evolving faster than any organic human is equipped to keep up with. But as the tools of our trade get ever-fancier and our methods more advanced, it's putting our clients' story at the center of every project, great or small, that will always be most important to us.

Here's how we do it:

We listen to hear and understand the meaning behind your product, service or art, and to identify the message which matters most.

We explore to discover and conceptualize the most visually impactful way to communicate this message to your audience.

We collaborate with you to make it real, transforming the concept into a thoughtfully produced and beautifully directed film or campaign.

Sound like a plan? If you'd like to know more about what all that might look like for your business or project, we'd love to chat.

A Long Time Ago...

Gabriel started making movies around age 5 when his dad brought home a yard sale 8mm film camera and enlisted his LEGO expertise to make a stop-motion pirate adventure.

When the idea to form a video business came a few years later, he was working part-time hand-bottling craft whiskey for a local family distillery. They became one of his first clients, and with $1,000 loan from his boss, he was able to buy a decent camera, a single vintage lens, and a microphone. A thrift store tripod, skateboard dolly, and Home Depot lights completed the arsenal, and he got to work.

Since those simpler times, it has indeed been an adventure. Over the years, Ghost Village Films has worked with a wide range of diverse clients throughout the Pacific Northwest, creating cinematic videos and branded content for internationally recognized artists, agencies, business and non-profit organizations, shows, festivals and creative conferences.

We’ve failed miserably, and triumphed heroically. Through it all, and most importantly: We’ve continued to learn, adapt and grow.

Now unto the fray, our Ghost ship sails on!

Today we make berth at a 100 year old haunted house in downtown McMinnville, about an hour south of Portland, Oregon. Gabriel's brother Ben joined the Skeleton Crew in summer of 2023 (along with our loyal doodle dog, Bumper). Our flagship is The Sea Turtle, a 1989 Class-C motorhome being remodeled into a transcontinental video production battle van. (And we still build LEGO and enjoy a fine whiskey from time to time.)

Like many in creative and marketing fields, we are nimbly yet at times precariously navigating the changing tides of culture and technology within our industry alongside those of our clients. But within this post-pandemic, fast-tech world still rife with deep uncertainty, we believe our most valuable skillset has never been of greater importance: Thoughtful and effective storycraft.

The Here & Now...

We expect the seas to always be uncertain — and so we build that truth into every project we embark on. World events and advancements in AI and other technologies will continue to disrupt in both helpful and disconcerting ways.

The virtue and process of crafting a great story, however, is not a new thing at all; it is rather very old.

It's also very human, and quite essential.

And we don't see that changing anytime soon.