We are Gorilla Creative
We help clients get from “we need a video” to “check out these results!”
Results? Absolutely. Creativity and snazzy videos are must-haves, but our focus is on creating videos that deliver measurable business results. The type of results that jump out in meetings and make your boss and your boss's boss smile.
We sweat the details (because details matter) and put an equal focus on your experience throughout the process as we do the work itself. We listen, ask questions, and offer ideas. Together, we create videos that explain the value of your brand, products, and technologies in a way that everyone can understand and be inspired by.
Gorilla Creative Staff
Our staff provides two critical elements to every project: a great client experience and consistent project management. Every project has a staff Executive Producer, Creative Director, Producer, and Post Production lead to shepherd your project from sales to final delivery – on time, in budget, and in scope.
Matt Townley
Co-Founder & Executive Producer
Having worked his way through a wide range of roles in media, Matt has a unique ability to connect the highly technical, creative, logistical, and business aspects of production. An entrepreneur at heart, Matt founded his first company before he could drive and has never looked back. Matt holds a B.S. in Information Technology and Visual Communication. He and his wife have two spirited sons and two scrambled egg loving standard poodles. He spends his free time BBQing for friends and family, skiing, and exploring new places in search of delicious food, locally made beer and wine, and exploring beaches (even in the winter).
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Eric Stracke
Co-Founder & Creative Director
Eric is a content creative by day and referees a wild pack of children by night. He earned a B.S. in Digital Film and Video Production from the Art Institute of California, San Francisco, and has continued to work in the video production industry ever since. He finds great satisfaction in the creative process of producing a video from concept to completion. His free time is filled with his two three four five children and trying to convince them not to hurt themselves or each other. He enjoys sharing his hobbies with his family, including playing the ukulele, skiing, wakeboarding, and camping.
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Nelson Nuñez
Producer
Nelson has been making videos since the days of VCRs and VHS tapes (go ahead kids, YouTube it!). He holds a B.S. in Television & Film from SDSU, is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP®), and a Certified Scrum Master (CSM®). Yeah, he’s pretty serious about making sure our projects and teams run smoothly. He loves bringing people together and continually fine-tuning our process to synergize our team like a Formula 1 pit stop crew. When he’s not managing comms in #Slack and juggling tasks in Asana, he enjoys practicing dance routines with his kids, gaming tournaments with friends (cardboard or digital), and taking his wife on delicious food adventures.
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Kyle Gustafson
Senior Motion Graphics Artist & Editor
Kyle Gustafson is an imaginative motion designer & video editing speedster dedicated to bringing creativity into every project. He earned his B.S. in Digital Film & Video Production from the Art Institute of California - San Francisco and has more than 8 years of post-production experience. He values actionable notes, getting keyframes juuuust right, and quality time with his wife, two children, and dogs.
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Josh Baize
Motion Graphics Artist & Editor
Josh is an editor and motion graphics designer with a love for creative collaboration and problem solving. Dedicated to making videos since he was a wee lad, Josh went on to receive a B.S. in Digital Film and Video Production from The Art Institute of California, San Francisco. Although he loves the outdoors, his free time is typically spent playing tons of video games, walking his cat as if it was a dog (and his actual dog), and rewatching the same three shows on Netflix.
Read BioArtists and Technicians
We work closely with a diverse (and award winning) team of freelance artists and technicians spanning the spectrum of creative, production and post production. By harnessing the collective strengths of a broad network, we staff your project with talent specifically tailored to your unique needs. Think of it this way – we pick the best tool for the job, not whatever tool we have left on hand.
Debra Schnaffner
Editor
Debra was raised by robots (and way too much television) in the suburbs of New Jersey. She eventually made her way west where she worked as a bike messenger and carpenter before taking the next logical step of becoming a video editor. She’s been happily weaving stories and dreaming in dual monitors ever since. Debra holds a B.F.A. in Studio Arts from Syracuse University but is self-taught in all her nerdy endeavors. She loves exploring faraway lands but is more often found on local trails with her wife and mini-stretch-pit doggy who is known to smile at nice people.
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Rob Maurin
Writer, Creative Strategist
Rob is a writer and branding/positioning leader, with specific expertise in tech and startups. Rob helped found Wave, and led marketing and growth for eight years, leading to nearly 4 million customers acquired and a $500+ million exit. Next, he worked with Coveo, developing the messaging and positioning for their successful IPO ($1.7B). Rob has worked on messaging and storytelling for all phases of a company’s growth, from raising financing and customer acquisition, to PR and acquisition/exit.
Rob is based in Toronto. If you can’t find him there, check his hideaway in the forest, or in the nearest kayak.
John Uribe
Director of Photography, Camera
John is a freelance director of photography and camera operator with over 10 years of experience creating and producing documentaries, music videos, narratives, and corporate commercials for a wide range of brands. He also teaches film, television and theatrical lighting at Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC).
Prior to going full time freelance, John was the Head of Video Production at a startup advertisement agency, where he wrote and developed content and directed all aspects of cinematography and production.
John earned his Bachelor’s degree in film studies and production from San Francisco State University where he shot multiple MFA shorts including his own thesis short that also made a festival circuit run.
Rob Astamendi
Motion Graphics Artist
Fueled by caffeine and tacos, Rob has over 15 years of motion graphics and editing experience spanning the who’s who of B2B, B2C, sports, and entertainment brands. His creativity is matched only by his speed at bringing artwork to life. When he isn’t making pixels move, he’s either eating tacos or playing baseball with his kids.
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Jason Gittens
Grip, Lighting, Camera, Utility
Jason Gittens has been a fixture in the Bay Area production scene since the early 2000’s. A wealth of experience in different areas allows Jason to transition comfortably between the lighting and camera departments. From operating cameras for concerts, to fine tuning the lighting for interviews with hall of fame bands, or operating cameras, managing signal flow and fiber paths for the Tour de France or the PGA Tour, Jason’s “can do” attitude makes him a coveted member of any crew.
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Maria O’Reily
Makeup and Hair Artist
As a graduate of make-up & special effects, Maria’s career has had her working on print, editorial, T.V. shows, commercials, movies and government campaigns over the past two decades. She has worked with clients on events such as Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the Vancouver winter Olympics, the New York Time 100 Gala event, opening bell ceremonies at the New York Stock Exchange and has worked two Super Bowl events, and Maria has served as head of the make-up department for the Golden State Warrior girls for two seasons. Not only is Maria enthusiastic, pragmatic and fun, she’s worked with the very best in the business from legendary Sophia Loren and Dame Helen Mirren to icon athletes Steph Curry and Lewis Hamilton – not to mention the founder of the world wide web Sir Tim Berners-Lee and influential model Christy Turlington. Having been associated with such an elite list of celebrities and high profile clients Maria is favored as a go to person within her business.
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Will Nail
Director of Photography, Camera
After being born and growing up in South Mississippi Will made his way west. His first stop was to study filmmaking at University of Colorado Denver. Then he made it to San Francisco where he worked his way up in the production world. He was part of Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters camera department for over 150 episodes. He filmed everything from Sharks, Car Chases, explosions, rockets and anything you can imagine. Since 2015 he’s been a freelance Director of Photography for Docs, commercials, TV and corporate clients filming all over the world.
When not filming he enjoys early morning fishing, afternoon skateboarding and always hanging with his wife and two kids.
Rebecca Devora
Editor & Motion Graphics Designer
Rebecca’s love story with design and content creation began at six years old, with the first computer her family owned, and the subsequent long years of evenings spent learning Paint Shop Pro in order to carefully craft images for her Xanga and Myspace pages. Her fascination with the creative process eventually led her to art school, and she graduated from the Art Institute of California, San Francisco with a BA in Media Arts and Animation. Nowadays, her skillset and passions include Motion Graphics, 2D Animation, and Illustration. When she’s not feverishly gobbling up anything and everything design, you can find her reading, doing yoga, playing video games, going to the movies, enjoying brunch with friends, or having overly analytical talks about pop culture and media.
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David Garza
Gaffer
David Garza is an industry professional that has specialized in motion picture lighting since 2010. Born and raised in San Jose, CA, he has had the opportunity to work on all aspects of film and video production for commercial, corporate, sports, and entertainments projects throughout the the Bay Area. Whether it be a crew of 15 or a single person lighting team, he has the skill and patience to deliver excellent lighting results to his clients.
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Jeremy Widen
Director of Photography, Camera
Jeremy is a cinematographer and gimbal operator with a head for tinkering. On set, he loves finding solutions to all of production’s little challenges. Need a tool while shooting? He probably has it. When he’s not on set, he’s in his shop working away on wood projects. He is an avid camper and hiker, and can be found traipsing around on mountains with his wife and corgis. Don’t forget to ask for a beer recommendation either! As a cicerone, he’ll definitely have a stellar option for you.
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Matt Breetzke
Production Assistant
Matt is pursuing his passion for video and storytelling as he studies Business Administration and Cinema at San Francisco State University. He splits his time between class and working on set jumping between the camera and grip departments, and mastering the art of directing, cinematography, and editing. In his spare time, Matt loves to whip out his sketchbook and he is always ready to throw down in a game of Magic.
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Jeff Dragomanovich
Production Sound Mixer
Jeff Dragomanovich is a Bay Area native and has been recording that sweet sound since 2009. He has worked on everything from narrative, corporate, commercial, and documentary films. He’s recorded sounds in locations ranging from motor raceways to on a boat under the Golden Gate Bridge.
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Aaron Kelly
Camera
Aaron began his film and television career in Australia where he worked in broadcast news. Since then, he has traveled the world filming major sports including the Olympics, MLB World Series and NBA Finals. You can catch him rink-side at most Sharks games rocking his camera skills and keen eye for detail for the NHL. When it comes to finding the story, making it look great on camera, and keeping it sharp, Aaron is the best in the business. Outside of work, Aaron spends his free time on the golf course and spending time with his wife and two daughters.
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Chris Camacho
Production Sound Mixer
Chris Camacho is a San Francisco based production location sound mixer and sound designer. After graduating from San Francisco State University with a BA in Cinema and a minor in Education, he worked in education for 4 years. After interning at SFFILM, the presenter of the San Francisco Film Festival, he quickly realized how exciting the film industry is and wanted to dive into it head first. Since then, he has worked with companies including Google, Salesforce, Facebook, Apple, ESPN, Levi’s, Vice, and more. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking with his dog Cocoa, finding fun bike routes with friends, and nerding out with other sound mixers about the newest piece of gear or testing equipment.
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Tyler Hafer
Sound Designer, Audio Post Production
Tyler Hafer is a sonic wizard whose expertise lies in sound design, music production, composition, and audio post-production. He elevates our visual experiences by getting the perfect sonic elements to support, accent, and breathe life into a story. Tyler is as west coast as it gets, finding himself between Los Angeles, San Francisco, and his hometown of Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawai’i. His undying passion for crafting bespoke sonic experiences shines through whatever he creates.
Read BioWhat's with the name?
Gorilla Creative was founded in 2017 by Eric Stracke and Matt Townley.
Prior to founding Gorilla Creative, Eric was running Stracke Visuals (est. 2009) where he helped tech companies leverage video for brand and product marketing. Meanwhile, Matt was running MST Productions (est. 2008), successfully transforming the company from CD and DVD manufacturing to a comprehensive video production and live streaming service provider.
After almost a year of brainstorming and trying to talk themselves out of it, they solidified their vision for a new company. They envisioned a company that attracted world class creatives who wanted to work with industry leading clients that recognized the extraordinary potential of video and weren't afraid to push the boundaries. Their aim was to foster an environment that embraced experimentation and continuous learning.
From the outset, Matt and Eric knew they wanted their company to represent and reflect more than themselves - and they wanted this reflected in the name itself. They sought a name that could become a brand that unified employees and clients with a shared passion and purpose.
They liked the idea of a mascot - an emblem that could exude personality before a single word was exchanged. An animal seemed like a natural choice. It even paved the way for fun side projects like developing Go Go Gorilla.
They also wanted a name that would embody their mission to provide strategic value to clients, going beyond the label of "just a production company." While considering various options, they realized that "Gorilla Studio" implied a specific location, "Gorilla Productions" narrowed the focus, and "Gorilla Video" felt somewhat limiting of future evolution. Finally, they struck the perfect balance with "Gorilla Creative."
Oh, and the domain name was available.
Gorilla Creative is a full service video production company based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
