Ari Kuschnir is the CEO and Executive Producer of m ss ng p eces. He has been designing, advising and completing creative projects that matter to him and his community since 2005. His tireless passion for blazing trails has lead to collaborations with TED, GE, Common, Vimeo, Intel, Amex, The Climate Reality Project, and some of the world’s leading artists, thinkers and companies.
He has been featured in Creativity Magazine’s “New Talent,” Sundance Channel’s “New Revolutionaries,” Adweek’s “Portraits,” and TED’s Ads Worth Spreading.
Ari consistently strives to push himself and his team to create conversation-shifting pieces that impact the world.
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Scott Thrift is an artist, award winning filmmaker and founding partner of the creative company m ss ng p eces. He has made hundreds of pieces that explore themes of individuality, technological potential, the human condition and the natural world. His work has been a journey that has taken him across the planet, exposing fascinating cultures and revealing new perspectives on what it is to be human. He is mystified by the power of the moving image and committed to exploring how it can expand consciousness.
Thrift listens to the abstract desires of global culture and produces digital and analog objects that reflect & enrich the human experience. After spending over 10,000 hours capturing and manipulating the light and sound of raw footage, he has formed a unique relationship with the value of time.
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Josh Nussbaum is a visual storyteller and a creative chameleon with an overwhelming enthusiasm for the sights, sounds, and tastes of the world. Since graduating from NYU Film School (2000) as the youngest ever graduate, Josh has devoted his life and career to a winding path aimed at defining his personal and creative potential; Testing the elasticity of his skills and finding his voice in media.
Ten years later, Josh is a more complete and accomplished creative force across a variety of disciplines. He has traversed the globe as an independent Creative Director & Commercial Director (GE, Levis), won an Emmy for his TV directing (MTV), and been Cinematographer for Barry Levinson (The Bay,2012).
In his travels Josh has filled 2 filled passports, worked with top brands and agencies (US and Europe), lived in a tent with orphans, exposed international war conspiracies, filmed Hip Hop videos in Japan and Perfume commercials in Madagascar, and stood over dozens of dead bodies (A&E First 48). Accreditations aside Josh has acquired a wealth of knowledge through the lens and is a valued collaborator to his clients and peers.
In 2011, Josh joined forces with his long-time friends at m ss ng p eces. Today Josh is a partner and director, and spends his time blending art and commerce into unforgettable experiences.
Kate Oppenheim has led award-winning integrated marketing programs for brands including Cisco, Unilever, Time Warner Cable, and Kraft. Her experience spans production and strategy, which helps form a critical link between the Idea and Craft in every project.
Kate joined m ss ng p eces in late 2010 as a partner and Executive Producer. After over four years at Ogilvy, first in its prestigious Associate rotational program, then in the newly formed branded entertainment practice, she realized her real passion was for telling clients’ stories in engaging, innovative ways.
She earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Chicago, where she wrote her thesis on European Union citizenship and refugee and asylum policy. She’s an avid traveler, Francophile, and design-oholic. She’s lived in Chicago, Paris and Washington, DC, and now lives in Brooklyn with her husband.
Say hi on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Dave Saltzman is a producer who thrives on creative solutions to production challenges. Navigating the demands of budgets, schedules and stakeholders he enables artists and storytellers to realize their vision as Head of Production at m ss ng p eces.
Working with some of the brightest young filmmakers he has found the ways and the means to successfully execute the most unexpected shoots, whether two miles below the earth’s surface in an Australian goldmine, backstage and in the rafters at a sold-out Madison Square Garden concert or in a Haitian village completely off the power grid.
A veteran of the NYC independent film world, Dave has produced, line produced, or production managed six feature films that have premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. His most recent project, NANCY, PLEASE premiered at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival. As a commercial producer Dave has worked on campaigns for companies including MAC Cosmetics, Subaru, Zara and LG. He joined m ss ng p eces in 2011 where he continues to lead innovative and exciting new work.
Founded the same year as the first video iPod and YouTube, m ss ng p eces’ founders Ari Kuschnir and Scott Thrift saw the digital video revolution as an opportunity to seek new forms of visual storytelling.
Early on in their development as a company, m ss ng p eces partnered with Cool Hunting to create Cool Hunting Video, a weekly online series that explores the intersection of design, technology, art and music. The show was an instant success won the first-ever Film and Video Webby and was honored by TIME and Q Magazine as one of the top 5 video podcasts in the world.
Beginning in 2007, TED entrusted m ss ng p eces to tell the story beyond the TED Talks. After being granted unprecedented access to the organization and its members, they have created intimate profiles and friendships with some of the world’s most fascinating global leaders, thinkers, doers and artists. Today, Ari Kuschnir (CEO/Executive Producer), sits on the curatorial board for TED’s ‘Ads Worth Spreading.’
Since then they’ve made intimate, award-winning commercials and videos for some of the world’s leading agencies (Ogilvy, Mother, BBDO, Saatchi & Saatchi, among others) and brands (GE, Levi’s, American Express, Vimeo and more) working alongside visionary thinkers including Alex Bogusky, Al Gore, Sir Ken Robinson, Jonathan Harris, Chris Blackwell, Michael Wolff, Chris Anderson, William Kamkwamba, and Vitto Aconchi.
In late 2010 two new partners joined the company – Kate Oppenheim came from OgilvyEntertainment to become an Executive Producer, and longtime collaborator Josh Nussbaum joined as a Director.
In 2011 m ss ng p eces also expanded to music videos, partnering up with some of the most exciting indie artists around: Panda Bear, Memory Tapes, Chairlift, Matthew Dear and more. Eric Epstein’s visionary video for Memory Tapes was nominated for a Grammy and won best indie video at this years UK Music Video Awards. Jordan Fish’s choose-your-own-adventure interactive music video for Chairlift was released in March 2012 to critical and popular acclaim, and was nominated for an O Music Award (MTV).
Recently, the team won a Silver Lion (Branded Entertainment Integrated Campaign) for its collaboration with Climate Reality Project CMO Alex Bogusky and Al Gore. Together, they created and produced two spots that promoted the global 24 Hours of Reality live-stream event on September 14-15th – 8.6 million people tuned in. They also created three films for the event that address the obstacles to facing the reality of climate change and point towards first-step solutions.
In 2012, m ss ng p eces founder Scott Thrift created The Present, an annual clock that tells time in seasons. ThePresent, itself a meditation on time that has been featured in Fast Company, Details, This is Colossal, AdWeek, PSFK and Creativity, is designed to inspire creatives across the world to develop their greatest work.
