About Thrill Wave · Est. 2018
Made of people, for people.
Thrill Wave is a video production company in Phoenix, Arizona. We make films about hard subjects and hard places for organizations that can't afford to get it wrong.
Origin
Founded in 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona.
We started Thrill Wave because we love making things with people, and we kept watching the people get lost. Dated processes, smoke-and-mirrors pricing and endless bidding took the heart out of something that should be simple: good people, a true story and the care to tell it well. So we built the company we would want to hire, and we've tried to do right by everyone who walks through the door ever since. Here's where that has taken us so far:
- 2018Founded in Phoenix
- 10+Years behind the camera
- 80+Organizations we've worked with
- 11Fields and counting
Along the way, our films have won ADDY Awards, and we're proud members of the Arizona Production Association and AAF Phoenix.
Our founders came to film from very different places, and each path taught us something we still bring to set, from the rhythm of a good edit to the habit of asking why a story matters. Thrill Wave is where it all comes together. Even the name is the point: a thrill wave is what goes through you when something true hits, and “thrill” comes from an old word meaning to pierce.
Who we are
Artists, operators and problem solvers.
We work as one team on every film, and each of us pitches in wherever the work needs us. The artist in us chases what moves people, the operator keeps every shoot running smoothly, and the problem solver finds the clear story inside a complicated subject. When a film calls for more hands, we bring in trusted crew, and we care about the people on screen as much as the people who hired us. Here are the founders behind the work:
-
Chris Kuzman
Founder + Strategy
Chris leads our strategy and our SITREP research, digging into each client's craft, peers and industry before we shoot. He spends his days with communications leaders working through hard problems, and he writes about the craft, the people and the industry. He asks the questions that get to the heart of things, checks the answers against the facts and turns what he finds into the story worth telling.
-
Tony Swann
Founder + Director
Tony is our director and director of photography, and he carries every film from the first frame to the final cut. He leads with a quiet humility: out front with his boots on the ground when it counts, and a step back when it's someone else's turn to shine. Crews respect him for it, and he always finds the shot. Add a sense of style that's all his own, and you have a director worth watching.
-
Ari Everett
Founder + Producer
Ari spent 12+ years running finance and operations at the biggest companies in the world, including Coca-Cola and Amazon. He runs Thrill Wave the way the best of them run theirs, leading the people, processes and systems behind every film so what ends up on screen is incredible. A lifelong love of tech, art and building great companies is why he helped create Thrill Wave, where all three meet.
Our manifesto
What we believe.
Here's what we believe about making films, and why it shapes every one we make:
A lazy video is worse than none. The safe idea costs the same to make, and nobody remembers it.
Trying to offend no one is how you convince no one. Conflict makes it a story. Vulnerability gets you trust.
The crew is careful so the film can be bold. Small enough to get in, quiet enough that people forget the camera, prepared enough that the only risk left is on screen.
Brand risk is something we manage, not something we avoid. If the easy version won't work, we say so, even when it's your plan.
Some stories are hard to reach. Some are hard to tell. We're built for both, together or apart.
When anything can be generated, the real thing is worth more. We film real people in real places.
Homework is most of the job. We know the subject, the people, and the place before the camera comes out, and we plan for the plan to fail. Then we finish: on time, on budget, no surprises.
Under all of it sits one promise: we protect the people we film. We ask for consent first and treat everyone with dignity, especially when the story is personal.
Our values
What we care about.
Those beliefs show up as a few habits, from what we shoot to what we cut and when we speak up. They're what you can count on from us on every project:
- 01
We keep it true
We do the research, check our facts and let people speak for themselves. Whether it's a documentary or a scripted piece, everything on screen should mean something, and we never promise what we can't deliver.
- 02
We keep it simple
Untangling a complicated subject is our job, not the viewer's, so the message reaches people clearly.
- 03
We care about the craft
We love the problem-solving on set, the light and the edit that makes it all click. If a cut doesn't move us, we don't expect it to move anyone else, so we keep working until it does.
- 04
We stay accountable
You'll know who's on your project before the first shoot day, and we answer for how it turns out.
- 05
We talk straight
We're honest about scope, cost and timeline from the start, so there are no surprises, upsells or overpromises later.
- 06
We care what happens next
The final cut isn't the finish line. We pay attention to where the film lands and what it does for the people who watch it.
Start a project
We'd love to hear your story.
Tell us what you're trying to do and where it has to happen. A rough idea is fine. The easiest way to start is to write to us here:
Write to us