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Hi, welcome to Thrill Wave. We make films you feel.

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Who we are

For people, by people.

We're a video production company based in Phoenix, AZ, that makes films for people, not audiences. We listen closely, learn what matters and find what's real in a story, the part that moves people one at a time, never as a crowd. Then we make it simple, beautiful and worth feeling, because we believe the stories we tell today shape the world we leave tomorrow. Here's some of what we've made:

More about us

What we do

We make complicated stories simple.

The stories worth telling are rarely simple. Our job is to find the one thing that matters and say it clearly, beautifully and in a way people remember. We do the research, the shoot and the final cut, and the same crew stays with you the whole way. You can bring us in for one part or all of it. Here's how we can help:

Core capabilities

01

Story

We research your world, find the idea, write it and plan where the film will live.

  • SITREP research
  • Concepts
  • Treatments
  • Scripts
  • Storyboards
  • Distribution plans
02

Production

We plan the shoot and run it: casting, locations, directing, camera, light and sound, plus stills on location or in the studio.

  • Producing
  • Casting
  • Locations
  • Permits
  • Schedules
  • Directing
  • Cinematography
  • Lighting
  • Sound
  • Drone
  • Stills and portraits
03

Editing

We cut, color, mix and finish the film in post, with graphics, VFX and animation where they earn their place, then make a version for every screen.

  • Editing
  • Color grading
  • Sound mix
  • Motion graphics
  • VFX
  • Animation
  • Subtitles
  • Social cuts
See our services

Our work

Films that stay with you.

These are a few of the stories we're proudest to have told. Each one started with a question worth answering and ended with people who felt something. Here's what that looks like:

See all our work

Local names to household names.

Everyone has a story worth telling, and finding it is our favorite part of the job. Some of these names are from down the street and some are known everywhere, and every one of them got the same care:

  • Relentless Beats
  • NFL
  • State Farm
  • NBC
  • UFC
  • Thermo Fisher Scientific
  • Golf Digest
  • Boston Scientific
  • Uber
  • UBS
  • 1st Bank
  • Aura

Our clients

Built for people with something to say.

Blood, sweat and tears built this world. Every organization assumes its story is dull, from the payments company to the construction crew to the law firm down the hall. Nobody's is. They just haven't let anyone look, and looking is our job. Here's who we work with most:

  • Film

    We make documentaries, docuseries and shorts with filmmakers and studios, from the first treatment to the festival cut.

  • Media & publishing

    We do field production, segments, promos and series for networks, public media, news outlets and publishers, delivered to broadcast spec.

  • Nonprofits & public service

    We make films for nonprofits, NGOs, tribal councils and public agencies that move people to give, join and act.

  • Schools & institutions

    We make films for universities, schools, museums, art spaces and research centers that help people learn, visit and believe in the work.

  • Businesses

    We find the story inside every business, from the bakery down the street to a national company.

  • Agencies & PR firms

    We pitch ideas or produce to your brief, and we collaborate closely with your team to get the best possible outcome for you.

See our clients

Fields

Every field has its own story.

Art, science, health, commerce and governance: each field has its own language and its own stakes, so we learn them before we film. The setting changes, but the human story underneath doesn't. These are the fields we work in most:

See all fields

Case studies

Every film has a job to do.

A good-looking film is only half the job. Each project we take on is made to do something specific, like reach new people, teach something or move people to act, and the case studies show how it went. Here are a few to dig into:

  1. Still from ITCA Native Vote: Your Voice, Your Power, a Thrill Wave film

    Education

    A 10-part docuseries that shows Native voters how every level of government reaches their lives, in time for the 2026 midterms.

    A 10-part docuseries for Native voters.

    See the work
  2. Still from ITCA WIC: Welcome to WIC, a Thrill Wave film

    Education

    A welcome film, a series of short guides and Dear Mom, so tribal families trust WIC enough to enroll and know what to do once they have.

    Short films that welcome families to WIC.

    See the work
  3. Still from Relentless Beats: Decadence Arizona, a Thrill Wave film

    Exposure

    Our aftermovie lets fans relive the night and puts next year's festival in front of everyone who missed it.

    Two nights of Decadence in one aftermovie.

    See the work
  4. Still from UBS & Finnerty Partners: Service Without Compromise, a Thrill Wave film

    Trust

    We made a team film that lets prospective clients feel the service before the first meeting.

    A team film clients feel before they meet.

    See the work
  5. Still from ITCA TEC: Vaccine education, a Thrill Wave film

    Awareness

    Tribal health leaders explain vaccines to their own communities, in their own words.

    Plain answers about vaccines, from trusted voices.

    See the work
  6. Still from Opendoor: No Trick, All Treat, a Thrill Wave film

    Exposure

    We filmed a family pop-up event so the fun reached far beyond the families who came.

    A Halloween film that made house hunting fun.

    See the work
See case studies

Our process

From first idea to final cut.

Whether it's your first production or your fiftieth, it helps to know how things will go. Our process has five steps, and the same crew carries your project through all of them, from the first conversation to the final frame. Here's how it works:

  1. 01Idea

    Bring us a brief, a hunch or a blank page, and we'll read it for what it's really asking.

  2. 02Discovery

    We find the heart of the story, the people who carry it and the best way to express it.

  3. 03SITREP

    We research your world, then bring you a point of view: a pitch, a treatment or a script.

    Zoom in

  4. 04Production

    The camera comes last. By the time we roll, we know every scene and who is in it.

  5. 05Completion

    We protect what's real in the edit, then make cuts for every place the film will play.

How we work

We call it the Thrill Wave treatment, and three things stay the same on every project, from an aftermovie to a docuseries:

  1. 01

    Go and get the true thing

    Before a camera turns on, we research your world and bring our whole range to it, from the filmmaker's eye to the engineer's precision to the curator's taste.

  2. 02

    Argue for the good version

    Every project has a safe version and a good version, and we'll push for the good one and tell you why.

  3. 03

    Put our name on it

    We take every film as seriously as the person it's for does, and we don't put our name on anything we don't mean.

See our process

What sets us apart

SITREP: we do our homework.

SITREP is our research. Before we film, we dig into your craft, your peers and your industry, like an outside R&D department that cares about your story as much as you do. Here's how it works, with a quick look at the tool we built for it:

  1. Dig in

    We study your craft, your peers, your industry and the sector around it.

  2. Find the story

    We bring you a point of view on what's worth saying and why people will care.

  3. Make it

    We film that story with real people and plan where it will be seen.

See how it works

Intel

Notes from the field.

Intel is our blog. We write about what we learn on set, what turns up in our research and the gear and craft behind our films. Here are the latest posts:

Read all intel

The team

Storytellers first.

We picked up cameras for the love of it and built a company around the stories that matter. We're filmmakers with an engineer's precision, a designer's eye and an artist's heart. We stay close to every frame because we care how it turns out. Here are some of the people you'll be working with:

  • Chris Kuzman of Thrill Wave

    Chris Kuzman

    Co-Founder, Strategy

  • Tony Swann of Thrill Wave

    Tony Swann

    Co-Founder, Director/DP

  • Ari Everett of Thrill Wave

    Ari Everett

    Co-Founder, Producer/Manager

Meet the team What we believe

Start a project

We'd love to hear your story.

Tell us what you're working on, even if it's only a hunch so far. We'll find out whose story it really is, and then we'll help you tell it. The easiest way to start is to write to us here:

Write to us