Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordan Gibson.
Hi Jordan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve been doing some sort of video work for nearly 8 years now. I started off working in the communications department at the college I went to in PA where I really developed a passion for the field.
After graduation, I started my first video production company, Mosaic East Studios. I wanted to do as much work in as many styles as I could, so I would do free videos for musicians & standup comedians and charge a hundred bucks a pop for small business videos as an opportunity to get my hands on different equipment and experiment with various styles. Turns out, that business model isn’t the most feasible so I ended up accepting a full-time videographer position with a real estate firm that relocated me and my wife to the Delaware beaches.
There was a lot I was still figuring out about my industry and I was fortunate to meet an incredible mentor and friend in Delaware who helped me focus on what was important in growing and sustaining a business. I eventually evolved into the Director of Creative Content at the real estate company and after a few years, I started getting an itch to get back into other forms of production; this led me to start freelancing again on the side. I would work a full day with the real estate company and then at nights I would work on music videos, branding videos for local businesses, and I had a consistent job with the local NBC affiliate creating content for their weekly entertainment segments. As this progressed, I saw myself working 70+ hours per week and it seemed obvious that I was in a good position to split off and start my own thing again. This became my current company, Odyssey Narratives.
Odyssey started off as purely a video production company but quickly developed as I noticed that a great way to make myself stand out was to elevate the services I was providing. I noticed that most other video companies around would provide the video packages requested and then just walk away. In reality, I’ve found that a decent number of small businesses don’t really know how video can help elevate their business and they don’t know how to properly utilize those assets.
I began coaching businesses on their brand identity and showing them how to lock in a clearer message. Only after establishing those things would I introduce a video production element. I saw this model work exceptionally well and decided to add a branding component to the company. Business continued to grow and we were lucky enough to be able to have my wife join our team full-time and add an additional 3 freelance employees. Once we had settled into our new roles, we were ready for a change (I guess I can’t sit still for too long). We explored moving to a larger market and Raleigh had been in the back of our minds from a recent shoot we did here, so we decided to pick up and move down here and we are so glad we did.
I am currently in the process of working with several small businesses in the Raleigh/Durham area to elevate their brand identity. Additionally, I am collaborating with larger production companies working on some really exciting projects. Our current focus for productions is music videos, commercials, documentaries, branding videos, and short films. My wife, dog, and new baby girl are frequently roaming around Raleigh, Cary, and Durham, so if you see me around feel free to stop me to talk video or just say ‘hi’!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t think any road that’s easy to travel is ever as rewarding as forging a path yourself—especially in a creative field. Most goals that I set out to achieve for my business have been accompanied by challenges. From the initial start-up and realizing the sheer level of logistics needing to be addressed to form a business, to having to be available all day every day when your clients need you, running a company yourself becomes your entire life whether you like it or not. Luckily, I love what I do and I embrace the hustle.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am CEO & Creative Director for my video production company, Odyssey Narratives. We specialize in music video, commercial, documentary, branding, and short film video production. As an individual creative, my passion is with directing and cinematography; I’m the most happy when I can get my hands on a camera and form a story that’s been percolating inside my brain bits.
How do you define success?
In relation to a creative field, I think success can only be defined as a short short-term aspiration. It can apply to situations where you hope to get this shot right or have audiences engage with something positively, or land a big client, but long-term success is something that you should always strive for. I think creatives need to have a part of themselves inside everything thing they do, and so there should be an unattainable quality to the satisfaction of their work that they need to keep chasing. That’s how I continue to push myself to get better and create work that I can be proud of so when I hang up my camera at the end of my career, I can finally feel the full weight of my success.
Contact Info:
- Email: jordan@odysseynarratives.com
- Website: www.odysseynarratives.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/odysseynarratives
