We recently connected with Kevin Rios and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Kevin with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I get most of my work ethic from seeing how hard my mom worked. Growing up with a single mom who took care of my brother, grandma. My family comes from Mexico City and my mom worked hard to put us in a better situation. After all those years of seeing my mom work hard, now that I am pursuing my dream, I think about my mom’s journey and it motivates me to keep going and grind. So I can get to that next level
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I mostly work as a music video Director. I have worked with various artists like Rican Da Menace, Siya, Brando, and many more. When I first got into the industry, Music videos were all I knew. I came into the industry with not a lot of money to fund my projects. So I relied on artist to allow me to bring their visions to life in their music videos. To this day directing and shooting music videos is one of my favorite job I’ve had. Besides music videos, I also have done commercials and promos for different businesses.
After a couple of years of focusing solely on music videos. I moved back in to do what my passion is and that’s making movies. I recently got into directing films. A couple of years ago I directed a web series “My Roommate is a Shinigami”. A couple of months after that I made my first short film called “Last Night”. This year I recently made my latest short film called “Back For Blood”. As things move forward, I keep looking to what’s next. I am currently in the early stages of developing my first feature film.
Along with all of this, I run an Acting Reel company called “ReelDream” We focus on providing the best possible performance and quality for any level actor. Besides video reels, we do headshots and self-tapes. I started this company with my business partner Sofia Kochanova. She is an Actress/Influencer. Together we formed Reeldream to help upcoming and established actors feel ready and confident to submit their reel for their next role.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
When I first got started What I think helped me navigate was the people I have met over my journey. So I do believe that networking and my attitude allowed me to surround myself with like-minded individuals. One of the biggest pieces of advice of received was to take everything one step at a time, When I am dealing with production, so many things are going on, and having a mindset to break things down and calmly tackle them one by one is necessary. Also, I just love what I do and I always keep learning. So many talented people do what I do and I have been lucky to have worked with them. A great thing I learned is to apply what I learn from other people and whatever works for me. And I have been doing that until I’ve begun to develop a style of my own.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
I am a believer that one must know a bit of everything to master it. And I have that mentality when it comes to production. before I became a cinematographer, I worked in all the positions under it so that I could understand all of it. After a couple of years of working as a gaffer, key grip, and AC, I finally got the confidence to shoot a film. and when I did I realized I was right. learning a little bit of everything helped. And when I decided to direct my films, I decided to learn more about production design and props. I dove into that world and worked as an Art Pa, Scenic painter, and carpenter. I learned a lot so when I was ready to make my low-budget films, I was able to apply all that I knew.
In a way, I feel like this was a longer process to learn to direct and shoot. But I didn’t have the money to only direct and shoot. So I took the route that best fit me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kriosfilms.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tinykev_?igsh=YzVkODRmOTdmMw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-rios-b48b52226?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
