THUNDER BAY -- When Jessica Graham went to Confederation College to learn film production, she thought she would have to move away from her hometown to find work as a film maker.
However, she was fortunate enough to become a part of the burgeoning creative industry right here in Thunder Bay, and has been working in the field for 10 years now.
She named her business Thingamajig Film Company in August 2017, and creates social media marketing content for local businesses, artists and organizations.
“Because social media nowadays is so heavily photo and video-based, even the smallest of artists or entrepreneur, they might just have a Facebook page, and they don’t have a budget for a full ad campaign. But they want to get who they are, out there. So that’s normally who I work with, is people who want to create a video, tell the world who they are, and just show off how they do what they do,” the filmmaker explains.
She focuses on the story of a person or business, employing a documentary-like approach.
Typically, these videos are between one and three minutes. People’s attention spans are short, and although people can be interested in watching a longer video, before they feel invested enough to do that, they need a short 45-second to one-minute “trailer” to know more about the subject.
“I try and focus on the personality of the business or the artist that I’m working with, to communicate their story, in a style that feels like them. Every time I make a video, you might be able to tell that it’s mine, but my goal, my intention is to actually, in that 45 seconds, make it feel like their brand, or their story,” says Graham.
She has worked with the Nest studio, Luc Despres Metal Artwork, Resolute Forest Products and many other local and regional artists and organizations. Currently she is working on a campaign for Hospice Northwest, doing a series of story-based videos to help them with fundraising.
Graham is glad she was able to stay in Thunder Bay to do the work she loves. “It’s great to be in Thunder Bay; the local community is so supportive and collaborative, and it’s great to stay local, and watch it all go and develop,” she says.
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