Director Keith Rivers has joined the roster at Quriosity Productions.
A native of Washington State and now based in L.A., River has turned out a body of work which spans such clients as Amazon (for which he just shot a series of shorts highlighting their adoption of all-electric delivery vehicles made by Rivian), Delta Airlines, McDonald’s, Porsche, Soundcloud, and Xbox. He joins Quriosity from Vandal Films.
Rivers kicks off his association with Quriosity with a new project for Carrier air conditioners, via Doe-Anderson, an independent creative ad agency based in Louisville, KY. A two-spot campaign, cut by Quriosity Productions in-house editor Matt Tarr, features light and breezy scenes of daily life, all made more comfortable thanks to the technology and energy efficiency of Carrier products. In “Total Comfort, Totally Happy,” a family is seen around the house in relatable scenes of domestic activity, while in “Total Comfort Ductless,” a busy mom escapes to her attic home gym for a comfortable, Carrier-cooled workout. The project came to Quriosity via its Southeast US rep, Ann Asprodites.
A prolific filmmaker whose tight-knit family exerts a strong influence on both his work and his values, Rivers is deeply involved with the non-profit organization World Vision, to whom he has devoted time to area development projects out of Zambia, Bangladesh, The Amazon in Brazil, and Senegal. There, he has documented humanitarian missions around growing education, children, health, and culture.
“Keith is an amazing director,” said Quriosity founder and executive producer Qadree Holmes, “and he’s also an amazing human being. I really love that he has a strong spirituality that helps guide him, and he’s a family guy. His work ethic is as strong as any director I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. He is the consummate creator–at any given time, he’s always working on a creative project.”
Mark Conley, Quriosity’s West Coast executive producer, said signing Rivers came about from a deliberate plan to expand the company’s directorial range. “Qadree and I sat down with our reps to talk about who we wanted to come into the company, and the unanimous answer was that we should reach out to Keith. And when we did, we hit it off immediately.”
The culture of Quriosity was a dynamic that appealed to Rivers immensely, he said–from its emphasis on supporting diverse talents to its hybrid, production-through-post structure. “And we both have this symbiotic way of figuring out how to put a production together, subtracting the ego,” he added. “I think that’s why we both enjoy working with each other. We want to figure out how to make stuff the right way. And that gives us more opportunities to best serve the creative.
Holmes said of Rivers, “His work encompasses everything from lifestyle to automotive, visual effects and dialogue, and throughout all of this, his film looks absolutely gorgeous.”
Conley noted, “And he’s constantly shooting these passion projects, so he’s always working, always thinking about stories and putting together these films that are portraits of humanity. He finds Easter Eggs in everyday life that most of us can’t see. He surprises me all the time.”
Rivers joins the company as he’s emerged from a challenging time in his life. His father, a legendary radio personality whose exploits in Baltimore are the stuff of broadcast legend, dealt with a life-threatening illness which coincided with Rivers’ moving his young family into a new home that was undergoing a complete renovation. The move has proven to be the perfect way to reset himself.
“Signing with Quriosity has given me a tremendous amount of energy and liberated my creative spirit,” he said. “This isn’t just a job for me, this is a blessing. Each call time is an opportunity to prove myself as a director, to outdo my last. I want to win, travel, meet incredible new creatives, and make beautiful, inspiring work. I want to well up at interviews, feel mesmerized by emerging technology, and chase down new vehicles.”
Rivers continued, “Whatever I achieve from giving it my all is the result of directing great work. I hope to share those wins with the support system around me at Quriosity. I;m less interested in a Lion, a Gold Pencil, or a Super Bowl spot; for me, it’s more important to leave a solid impression with the brands and agencies I get to work with.”
