W H O W E A R E
Working from our belief in animated film as an art form of rich and endless storytelling possibility, GHOST VIEW is a fledgling animation studio based in Lawrence, Kansas. We strive to tell mesmerizing stories about imaginative worlds that are nevertheless rooted in real human experiences.​
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As a partnership between three artists from three different creative disciplines, we believe there are three foundational elements of animated film that bring a good story—a good script—to life: Image. Motion. Sound. Each of us represents one of these areas of expertise and vision:​
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Matthew Cook, co-founder / art direction
David Mai, co-founder / animation
Joshua Miner, co-founder / sound design & music​
Planning to rotate writing and direction duties, the three of us began with a greenpunk noir tale, Philodendron, our first feature, and an eco-horror romance short based on Swedish folklore, Önetta—written and directed by Joshua Miner—and are in development on other projects, including two historical fantasy films: one about Chinese laborers on the transcontinental railroad in the nineteenth century titled Iron Soul, and another about the birth of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art during the wild world of international art dealing in 1930s Kansas City.​​
O U R S T O R Y
GHOST VIEW was founded in 2023 by three friends with a passion for animation, each coming to the table with distinct technical and creative expertise. Taking our name from an afterimage or the "ghost mode" of contemporary animation tools—which reveal the hidden world of screen images—we understood that good cinematic storytelling is a trick of the mind as well as the eye. A captivating film emerges alchemically from an array of artistry that integrates seamlessly (and invisibly) in the watching, as if they are part of a natural flow of motion. Valuing each other's contributions to this alchemy—and the contributions of those who work with us—was a founding principle that will run through every one of our productions.
We started our studio in Lawrence, Kansas—just a hop and a skip away from that early cradle of American animation, Kansas City. A town born from "free state" dreams of an ideal world, Lawrence felt like the perfect place to develop captivating animated stories that imagine new and better futures while recognizing the importance of a historical perspective in our pursuit of them.