Director, Producer

In 2006, Sly produced his first documentary called “Work Is...” while studying in Anchorage, Alaska. After interviewing more than 80 people about their experiences in their work environments, the film debuted in a library with 100 people in attendance. Sly sat in the back looking at everyone’s faces as they watched the film. From a production side, he thought it was a terrible documentary. But from a storytelling side, it was a direct reflection of his love for the process of filmmaking. Film has always been a part of Sly’s life, but becoming a director was a distant dream until he heard Spike Lee give a lecture at Virginia State University. Sly realized that at his heart, he is a social justice Afro-punk Black nerd. He believes filmmaking is a way for people to connect themselves to stories and to see their voices become visuals. It’s an ongoing process of powering through difficulties. And Sly has discovered that once you find your voice, you should never be afraid to use it.

Creator

When he was in high school, Scot didn’t excel in traditional subjects like math and science. Through a series of culminating events, he realized that his love for communicating stories stemmed from interests in art and history. When he began his college career as an art major and ended as a business major, he never set out to make a documentary. But he always knew he loved stories and visual communication. And so he found himself in advertising and has spent his career at large firms like The Martin Agency and BBDO as well as micro-boutiques and start-ups. From his beginnings as a studio designer and all the way to his Chief Content Officer role here at Tilt, Scot has told stories for a wide range of subjects and brands, including Buffalo Wild Wings, Geico, AT&T, Purina, Mizuno, REI, and Hilton. Now, he’s adding a documentary to that list. Having the business part of his experiences intersect with his artistic abilities helped him be a better artist and a more well-rounded communicator, even with languages that live outside of artistic culture. Visual storytelling unified the voices he wanted to share with the world so that everyone, even if for just a moment, could fully understand one another.

Producer

Growing up, Jack always had a passion and love for movies. In fact, he knew at a pretty young age that he wanted to work in the world of moving pictures and set out to study their mystic arts at Tulane University in New Orleans. What he didn’t realize at the time, however, is that he had no patience to be a director. What he did love was overseeing budgets, a passion he unlocked while serving as a production manager on music festivals. It was through this work, production managing and producing other students’ projects, that he came to this grand realization: the satisfaction of shepherding a project from start to finish and creating detailed schedules brought him a joy like no other. Since then, Jack has produced works for clients such as Audi, Capital One, and Walmart, and he considers it an unbelievable privilege that he was able to produce this documentary alongside his collaborators. Assisting others in bringing their visions to life is what Jack’s about as long as he gets to organize and corral along the way.

Post Producer

Growing up an Army brat, Libbie moved quite often and had to make new friends every time. This helped her develop a passion for understanding people and their stories. After graduating with a degree in communications and an emphasis in business management, she moved to Richmond, Va to pursue that in career form. Libbie has been in the production industry for 18 years and has always loved the behind the scenes work that goes into making a story come to life. She has worked with a wide array of clients from large international corporations to local businesses. Her specialties are finding and securing international contracts with vocal artists and music companies as well as coordinating with CGI teams, animators, and editors all over the world to assemble the right team for any project. No matter the project, Libbie enjoys being a Post Producer and the storytelling that goes with it. Whether it’s a 15-second commercial or a 30-minute documentary, her love and passion has enhanced every project she has worked on.

Composer

With over 20 years of experience as composer and sound designer, Eric has worked on hundreds of projects for clients, including Coca Cola, McDonald’s, and Mercedes-Benz. Whether scoring documentary television for the Discovery Channel or National Geographic or mixing sound for large-scale theaters such as the NCAA Hall of Champions or the Monitor-Merrimac Battle Theater, he continually surpasses his client’s expectations. He has posted more than a thousand broadcast commercials, including spots for Fortune 100 companies such as Walmart, Yuengling, Capital One, and AUDI. Eric has won numerous Addy and Telly awards as a composer. His musical abilities run the gamut from epic orchestral, to alternative rock, to an ethnic world beat, ensuring the creation of a unique sonic identity for any brand or project. With a gift for listening to clients and a determination to do whatever it takes, Eric has built a loyal following of customers who return year after year. If he’s not in the studio, he’s likely on stage playing music with local artists and bands.

Producer

Over the last 15 years, Nikita has managed logistics for creative teams across departments in multiple entertainment industries: social media and advertising, academia, film production, music and touring. Her work has been featured on MTV, included in the Edinburgh International Film Festival, the Virginia Film Festival, the French Film Festival, and now, the Richmond International Film Festival. She worked under producing legend, Kathleen Kennedy, on the set of critically acclaimed and award-winning, “Lincoln”. In 2020, she earned her master’s in Product Innovation, focusing on social impact, process design and subsequently founded multiple ventures that address accessibility and equity in the film industry. Throughout her varied experience, she is humbled by the kindness and talent of the teams she has been a part of, taking each project as a lesson in improving her practice. This is typified on ‘Birth of a Planet: Richmond on Paper’ – a hugely important story, told by an amazing group of people.

Writer

Sean comes to the documentary project with a newspaper background that began with reporting internships in Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Buenos Aires. His first full-time job was at a wire service covering Congress. But he longed to move beyond the Beltway to be closer to the stories he wrote about. After a reporting stint at The Journal News outside New York City, Sean came to the Richmond Times-Dispatch where he wrote about government, crime, and business. Currently, he’s a writer and proofreader who continues to love the art of crafting stories.

Director of Photography

Ian is an RVA native who enjoys mountain biking, hiking, bike-packing, skiing, sailing, camping, and world travel. He graduated the NYU Tisch School of the Arts after transferring from beautiful CU-Boulder. The NYU avant-garde film program, headed then by the inimitable Stan Brakhage, served as an inspiration for a career in film and a lifelong quest for adventure and deeper meaning.

Editor, Colorist

When Justin was in high school, he made a Blair Witch Project spoof starring the family dog. This excellent piece of art ignited a passion for film and color grading. Justin graduated from James Madison University’s School of Media Arts and Design and has been working in post-production ever since. He has color graded commercial projects for national brands like GEICO, Buffalo Wild Wings, DoorDash, RITZ Crackers, and UPS. His work has featured artists like J Balvin, Sofía Vergara, and the ‘90s hip hop group Tag Team. His color work can be seen in short films, music videos on BET, episodic work on streaming services, and an upcoming feature film. Unfortunately, that film does not include his family pet. Currently, Justin works at Tilt as a senior editor and colorist.

Editor

Rhythm and velocity. These two words have been the foundation in the editing style Nathan has crafted over the past 10+ years working as a video editor. As much as the visual components of shots affect the edit, so does the pace, the flow, and the tone. He spends much of his free time writing music, so his ability to recognize the right cadence and vibe is continually in action. Another invaluable tool he tries to utilize is perspective. It’s not the type that manipulates the angle of an image. It’s the type that seeks to understand and employ the motives and essence of other attitudes, contexts, and viewpoints. He traveled the world for the better part of two years in an effort to find and familiarize himself with new cultures and experiences. Hooray for unifying personal and professional growth. His goal is to apply this balance to the projects he’s involved in. Whether it’s early concepting, consulting or cutting during production, establishing the look and feel of a series or a more traditional, scripted edit, there’s some element of value he can add, if not only rhythm and velocity.

Post Producer

Angie Leaf maintains a predominately left-brained mindset in a right-brained industry. Bring her your vision, and she will figure out how to make it happen. She’s worked on Mercedes-Benz, VW, Ritz, Oreo, Corona, Stoli, Discover, and Morgan Stanley. If you can drive it, eat it, drink it, or spend it, she’s worked on it, making everything from letterpress concert posters to augmented reality pieces during her career. Working on a documentary, however, is a whole new and eye-opening experience. She is immensely grateful for the opportunity to help bring this important piece to life.

Associate Producer

Production guru and team player, Charlie does what it takes to bring a project to life while wearing multiple hats on set and being the liaison between production, creative, and post. After studying and working in Los Angeles for the past 10+ years, she gained experience in the entertainment and design industry that help her skills in prioritizing and troubleshooting events where problem-solving is her expertise. Having lived in LA for a decade, her experience consists of working with digital agencies and creating advertisements as well as working in post-production and music and sound design. Her passion is bringing professional creatives together and coordinating the parts of a puzzle that help materialize the visions of everyone involved. With a passion for collaboration, she strives for success by finding the beauty in visual storytelling and sharing perspectives with others because that’s what she believes life is all about.