Meet Mason Ellison: Aspiring Filmmaker and Gorilla Creative Film Scholarship Recipient

Growing up in Salem, Oregon, Mason was surrounded by cameras. His grandfather and his mother both love photography, drawn to the peak of the moment. Mason appreciated it, but it wasn’t enough for him. “There’s a lot more story behind video,” he says. “When you actually get to see what happened in the moment, that tells a much bigger story than a picture.” He didn’t just want to freeze time. He wanted to show why the moment mattered.

Like a lot of kids his age, Mason’s early creative instincts were shaped by YouTube: CoryXKenshin (his personal favorite), Daequan, MrFourToEight, Gyasi Immanuel, Vuhlandes, and Berleezy. “They are a very mixed group of individuals but all with their own unique style of video. What I like about all of them in common is that their videos aren’t super over-produced… They are raw with not a lot more than music and simple cuts,” he says. He also went through a Fortnite streaming phase, which, it turns out, is where he first learned to edit. Then high school, sports, and life pulled him away from it for a while. It wasn’t until his sophomore year that he picked it back up. “I used to do this all the time,” he remembers thinking. “Now, I do it in a different way.”

Basketball was Mason’s first love. He played his whole life until a broken collarbone his sophomore year healed in a way that permanently altered his shot. He gravitated toward football after that. But basketball never left him; he still plays, still watches, still goes to high school games. And now he films them. “It’s still that same thing,” he says. “It’s just a different perspective.” That perspective shows in his work: sharp, intimate player profiles and documentary-style coverage that puts the viewer inside the game, not just watching from the stands.

Mason’s visual style is unmistakable. Heavily influenced by the look of older film: grain, halation, warm color shifts, soft glows. His aesthetic is rooted in a love of the original Star Wars trilogy and the imperfect beauty of cameras from the ‘70s and ‘80s. He’s even bought a vintage lens for his mirrorless camera, small and unassuming, with a rendering that feels pulled from another era. “Those little elements set the tone before anyone even realizes what the story is about,” he says. “They give my projects that vintage, memory-like texture, almost like you’re watching something pulled from an old family tape.”

He’s currently working on a graduation series for his senior class, which will include the last week of school, the elementary walk, and graduation day, documenting the kinds of quiet milestones that tend to pass too quickly. “Life is more than sports,” he says. “I think that piece will diversify my portfolio.” He’s also eyeing gym and weightlifting culture as an unexplored avenue. Wherever there is a story to be told around him, he wants to find it.

This fall, Mason will head to Arizona State University to pursue film. It’s a program that’s grown significantly in recent years and came with meaningful academic scholarship support. He’ll be the first in his family to explore filmmaking at this level, and he’s ready for it. He’s especially eager to collaborate. “I’ve been kind of solo this whole time,” he admits. “I think it’d be really cool to be on some kind of content creation team.” Building that network and finding the cinematographers, sound designers, and editors he wants to tell stories with is already his biggest goal heading into college.

But Mason’s vision goes beyond his own career. Back in Salem, he works with a nonprofit called the PAC Community Center — an organization focused on keeping kids off the street through basketball and community programming. Filming player profiles there, he encountered kids who had never seen a professional camera before. That stayed with him. “It’s bigger than just Salem,” he says. “I understand that where they come from, the opportunities they have growing up might be limited.” After graduating, he wants to build something similar but video-focused: a space where young people, especially those who’ve never been handed a camera, can learn to tell their own stories.

For Mason, the camera has always been about more than footage. “It’s in that space, between what’s seen and what’s felt, that I discovered my own voice. Each project is a way to turn my experiences into something others can feel,” he says.

The team at Gorilla Creative is proud to support him on his journey. You can see more of his work on his Instagram. In addition to the scholarship funds he has received, Mason will have the opportunity to connect directly with the Gorilla Creative team for a personal AMA, spending time with working professionals who share his passion for authentic, story-driven video. Congratulations, Mason!