Our Story

Port Side was born on a mountain bike trail with a 480p camera and a couple of friends riding hardtails in Bellingham, Washington. Editing away on a 2009 MacBook Pro with iMovie, I realized that filmmaking provided an outlet to craft feeling through the video medium. Inspired by our proximity to the ocean and fueled by this novel idea that filmmaking could induce feeling, Port Side was born.

We started as a video production company, but as the company evolved over the years, it became clear that the success of a video was only as good as the brief we were handed and the distribution of the content.

Knowing what we didn’t know, we started The Backcountry Marketing Podcast to interview industry leaders to better understand the landscape, upstream and downstream, of production. Our goal was to try and answer the question: "what makes video content work?"

Five years and 200+ episodes later, and plenty of learning on the job, we evolved into a creative production studio helping brands with strategy, creative and execution. We crafted a methodology shaped by the insights and strategies we’ve learned through the podcast, that now powers our approach to creating video campaigns that are rooted in emotion and backed by strategy.

- Cole Heilborn
Creative Director

Services
Deliverables

Our Services

Strategy. Creative. Execution

Get in Touch

Strategy

Audience & Market Research

Brand & Messaging Insights

Channel & Platform Opportunity Mapping

Content Strategy & Campaign Planning

Distribution Strategy

Creative Development

Creative Direction & Concepting

Branded Content Ideation

Story Discovery & Development

Screenwriting

Production

Pre-Production

Documentary + Commercial Production

Post-Production

Color Grading & Sound Design

Motion Graphics & VFX

Deliverables

What We Deliver

Get in Touch

Media Deliverables

Brand Films

Branded Serial Content

Campaign Videos

Social Content

Photography

Strategy Assets

Content Mapping

Audience Research Analysis

Content Research Analysis

Creative Development

Creative Briefs

Treatments

Scriptwriting

Our Vision

We envision a future where brands that move are creating emotionally resonant creative work that works. Their content is distinct, creative, creates fans, plays in culture, touches the depths of humanity, and builds an authentic connection between brand and audience that is unshakeable.

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Team

We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all production. Every project gets a handpicked crew of seasoned experts who know your world, many of whom have shared their insights on our podcast. You’ll get exactly what you need to bring your story to life. Nothing more. Nothing less. Already have internal video team? We can work with them too.

Cole Heilborn

Creative Director

Spencer Astra

Cinematographer

Liz Astra

Editor

Joseph Cunningham

Podcast Editor & Producer

Emily Holland

Producer

Riley Seebeck

Photographer

Be quick to listen, slow to speak

Give the audience a reason to care

Lead with empathy

Goal first, story second

Ask harder questions

Bellingham, WA
360.383.7721
cole@portsidepro.com
Proud member of The Conservation Alliance