MAKE Welcomes Jordan Graff

Lisbet Byler

June 18, 2019

April was a momentous month for the MAKE team. Not only did we travel to Italy to capture the beauty of Villa Laura and kick off an exciting documentary project back in the states, but we added two (count ‘em) TWO new Makers to the team! Seth Bortner joined as Editor & Assistant Director, and Jordan Graff joined our crew as Editor.

I chatted with Jordan about his path leading up to MAKE and to find out a little more about what makes him tick. Learn more about Seth here.

Lisbet: “Tell me about your career path prior to landing at MAKE.”

Jordan: “In high school I had the fortunate opportunity to take a Comm-Tech class which really helped fuel my love of cameras, editing, and storytelling. It helped me realize you could do it for a living. So after high school I went to Millersville University to study Communication Broadcast. I realized I didn’t love the broadcast world as much as I thought, but I made connections that helped me launch into the corporate communication world. After college, I freelanced and worked at a few local production companies as a shooter, editor, and associate producer before landing at MAKE.”

Lisbet: “Who is ‘Jordan’?”

Jordan: “I was born and raised in Lancaster. I started dating my to-be wife when I was 17. We got married and had our first kid when I was 26, and then we had our twins when I was 28 (earlier this year!) I love my family. I love storytelling. Not just in film but packaged in many different ways. It’s incredible what you can do depending on the format and medium you’re working in. Photography is a passive pursuit of mine. I love watching movies (big surprise right?)”

Lisbet: “Why do you get up in the morning? What gives you energy?”

Jordan: “During the work week, it’s the ability to create content that connects with people on an emotional level. There’s something really special about creating content that people don’t have to watch, but want to watch. To have a creative pursuit that can also be a profession is pretty cool. On the weekend my toddler wakes me up. Which is a great way to wake up!”

Lisbet: “What excites you about the film industry?”

Jordan: “Its accessibility! It’s amazing that we have this technology in our pockets that is more powerful than Orson Welles or Spielberg or any of those guys had access to at our age. Now it’s about what we do with that power. Since so many people are able to create content at any point with this technology, you really have to create good content to stand out amongst the noise. So I can’t wait to see what we do with it over time.”

Lisbet: “What drew you to MAKE?”

Jordan: “I always thought of MAKE as producing really top caliber stuff in our area and in our local film community. On top of that, Derek has assembled a team of people who care not only about the craft but about each other. Being able to plug into a bigger team environment with people who are like minded and passionate about doing great work really appealed to me.”

Lisbet: “What do you hope to accomplish at MAKE?”

Jordan: “In the simplest terms I want to create good content that people want to watch and moves them in an interesting and positive way. MAKE has a lot of solid positioning in the area to elevate the local film industry and I want to be a part of that.”