Ever wondered how a name ends up sticking around a small, niche media business like Attraction Films? Let me take you back to a rainy Tuesday in 2018, when my business partner Jake and I were crammed into his garage in Portland, Oregon, staring at a whiteboard covered in half-baked ideas—most of which were just variations on “Video Stuff Co.” that sounded boring enough to put people to sleep mid-pitch. We’d spent six months fixing and renting out industrial film cameras to local event teams, small production houses, and even a handful of tiny ad agencies that couldn’t swing the cost of new gear. Our clients kept saying the same thing: they wanted footage that didn’t just show what was happening, but made people stop scrolling, lean in, and feel like they were actually there. That’s when the name clicked. Attraction Films
Jake was on his second cup of gas station coffee, flipping through a dog-eared copy of my old college media textbook when he blurted it out: “Attraction—like, the thing that makes people’s heads snap toward a screen, right?” I nodded, but we still had to work through the “Films” part, because for years “films” felt like a word reserved for Hollywood blockbusters, not the 15-second reels local restaurants wanted to promote their weekend brunch specials. We didn’t want to sound pretentious, like we only catered to big-budget projects. We wanted to be for the people who needed reliable, solid footage without the stuffy corporate vibe. So we paired it: Attraction Films. It was short, easy to remember, and when we tested it on a few regular clients, everyone agreed—no one confused us with a movie studio, and they immediately got that we were all about making their work stand out.
Now, fast forward to 2024, and here I am, writing this as the go-to supplier for Attraction Films gear (yep, I’m the third partner who joined in 2020 after I helped Jake fix a $12,000 RED camera mid-shoot for a indie documentary—don’t ask how I managed that on 4 hours of sleep, it’s still a blur). A lot of folks reach out now, especially when we attend trade shows, and they’re curious if the name has anything to do with theme parks, or Attraction (the 2010 movie, which we totally heard jokes about in the first two years, more times than I can count). Nope, no ties to movies or ride parks—just that core idea of attraction as something that draws people in, which is exactly what the gear we supply is designed to do.
Let me be real for a second: when we first launched, we had zero clue this name would work as well as it does. Back then, we were just three guys (well, two, plus me) with a garage full of beat-up cameras, a PayPal account that was always a few thousand dollars away from being overdrawn, and a Google Business profile that looked like it was made by a high schooler (spoiler: it was, I made it). We were catering to local clients, mostly—small wedding videographers who needed extra lenses, coffee roasters filming their new bean roasting process, and even a community theater group that needed lights and cameras for their spring play. Every time a client would say, “Your name is perfect—this is exactly what I’m looking for,” we’d high-five each other in the garage like we’d just won an Oscar (we haven’t, but the high-fives were nice).
Over the years, the business has grown a lot. We now supply gear to productions across the US, from student film projects that need a new mirrorless camera for their final thesis to mid-sized ad agencies shooting national commercials. But one thing that hasn’t changed is that original core: attraction. We don’t just sell lenses and bodies—we sell the tools that help people make work that doesn’t get lost in the noise of Instagram feeds, TikTok for You Pages, or generic corporate videos. If you’ve ever paused a 10-second reel to watch the whole thing, that’s the exact kind of attraction we’re talking about, and that’s what our gear is built to support.
I know a lot of you reading this might be someone who’s been in your shoes: starting out with a dream, a shoestring budget, and a list of ideas that feel too small to matter. Choosing a name isn’t just a checkbox—it’s the first impression you make on everyone who finds you. We learned that the hard way when our first test name, “Garage Media Collective,” made a client ask if we did yard work. So when we landed on Attraction Films, it felt like we’d found something that actually fit, not just something that sounded “professional.” It’s casual, it’s clear, and it tells people exactly what we’re about before they even ask a single question.
Now, if you’re here because you need Attraction Films gear—whether you’re renting for a one-off shoot, looking to buy a used camera that’s been rigorously tested by our team, or want to learn about our bulk supply options for your production company—let’s chat. I don’t do fancy sales pitches, I don’t hide behind a 10-page price list, and I definitely don’t send generic follow-up emails. If you reach out, we’ll talk about your project, your budget, and what gear will actually help you make work that stands out. We’ve got everything from entry-level mirrorless cameras perfect for student films to professional-grade cinema rigs that we use on our own small production projects (yes, we still shoot stuff on the side—just for fun, to keep our skills sharp).
Before I wrap this up, let’s talk about something I don’t share often: the hardest part of running this business. In 2021, we had a client cancel a $15,000 bulk supply order two weeks before a big shoot, and we almost had to shut down. We’d poured every dollar into restocking gear, and for a week, we slept on Jake’s couch, stress-eating frozen pizza and wondering if we’d ever get back on our feet. That’s when a regular wedding videographer we’d worked with a dozen times reached out and said he needed three extra cameras for a multi-day shoot at a vineyard. It wasn’t a huge order, but it was enough to keep us going. When he showed up to pick up the gear, he looked at our beat-up garage (we still haven’t renovated, by the way) and said, “This name isn’t just about what you sell—it’s about the fact that you’ve stuck around when so many other places would’ve bailed.” That’s when I realized why that stupid name worked: it’s not just a label for our business, it’s a promise. We’re here to attract good work, good clients, and good projects, even when things get tough.
So, if you’re curious, if you need gear, if you have questions about our origin story, or if you just want to geeking out about camera tech and production hacks, hit us up. We’re not the biggest supplier out there, but we’re the ones who’ll answer your texts at 9 PM when you panic about a camera malfunction before a shoot, who’ll give you a fair deal even if you’re on a tiny budget, and who still high-five each other when a client tells us our gear helped them make something great.
At the end of the day, Attraction Films wasn’t born out of a focus group or a fancy marketing campaign. It was born out of a rainy Tuesday in a Portland garage, two tired guys, and a realization that the work we help our clients make needs to grab people’s attention. And that’s a story I’m proud to tell, even three years later. Now, let’s make something worth attracting attention to.
VR Family References:
- Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York University Press.
- Thompson, J. B. (2013). The Media and Modernity: A Social Theory of Media. Polity Press.
- Local Small Business Branding Report. (2022). Small Business Administration, U.S. Government.
Guangzhou Movie Power Technology Co., Ltd.
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Address: No. 42-1, Shixin Road, Panyu District, Guangzhou, China.
E-mail: sales@movie-power.com
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