August, 2026.- The most significant production innovation at Tilt Creative has been bringing production and post into the creative process earlier. Stacy Murphy, Founder & Chief Production Officer, explains that by pressure-testing ideas, building the right team, and planning every stage from the start, they can protect the ambition of the creative while finding smarter, more efficient ways to execute it. That approach has become table stakes on Audi—as the productions have grown, their thinking has evolved with them, allowing them to deliver larger-scale, top-tier work without the massive budgets often associated with other agencies.
In this interview, Murphy and Kenny Close, Managing Director, discuss the evolution of Tilt as a fully integrated creative production studio. Murphy, who has worked across nearly every facet of the film industry since she was a teenager, learned to work smarter, not harder—and that there is always a solution if you do not panic. Staying calm, keeping things in perspective, and finding a way forward has become a bit of a superpower.
Close, who is expanding his leadership beyond account management to oversee the creative team and business operations, reflects on the biggest change in what clients expect: everyone expects everything faster—more content, across more platforms, with tighter timelines and budgets. Clients also expect a production partner to be a true strategic collaborator from the very beginning, not simply execute an idea.
This is a conversation about protecting culture, scaling without losing connection, and making the impossible look a little too easy.
For Stacy Murphy (Founder & Chief Production Officer):
1. The Chief Production Officer Title: You’ve been promoted to Founder & Chief Production Officer. How does this role differ from what you were doing before, and what does it signal about Tilt’s evolution as a studio?Â
While I’ve been leading production and post for some time, the Founder & Chief Production Officer title formally reflects the full scope of my role—overseeing our teams, supporting Tilt’s growth, and continuing to lead the Audi account. It also signals Tilt’s evolution as a fully integrated creative production studio, bringing creative, production, post, and client strategy together more closely as we look toward the future.
2. Smarter, More Efficient Production: You’re known for “finding smarter, more efficient ways to produce” ambitious creative. What’s the most significant production innovation you’ve introduced at Tilt that has become standard practice across the studio?
The most significant innovation has been bringing production and post into the creative process earlier. By pressure-testing ideas, building the right team, and planning every stage from the start, we can protect the ambition of the creative while finding smarter, more efficient ways to execute it. That approach has become table stakes on Audi—as the productions have grown, our thinking has evolved with them, allowing us to deliver larger-scale, top-tier work without the massive budgets often associated with other agencies.
3. Production Across Every Facet of Film: You’ve worked across nearly every facet of the film industry. What did you learn in independent filmmaking that most commercial producers never get exposed to?
My career in commercial and independent filmmaking has taught me to work smarter, not harder—and that there’s always a solution if you don’t panic. I’ve been working in and around the film industry since I was a teenager, so I’ve grown into this role honestly and learned to not sweat the small stuff. Staying calm, keeping things in perspective, and finding a way forward—no matter what production throws at us—has become a bit of a superpower.Â
4. Brands You’ve Produced For: You’ve led productions for Audi, Walmart, Capital One, Disney, Chevrolet, and Cars.com. How does your production approach differ when you’re working on a high-end automotive spot versus a mass-market retail campaign?
Automotive is my true love at the moment because it brings together nearly every facet of production—beautiful cinematography, complex logistics, performance, technology, locations, and incredible attention to detail. A high-end automotive spot is often about precision, craft, and making every frame feel elevated, while a mass-market retail campaign requires speed, flexibility, and the ability to create a high volume of work that connects with a broad audience. The approach may shift, but the goal is always the same: protect the creative, build the best team, and make every dollar show up on screen.Â
5. The Co-Founder’s Perspective: You co-founded Tilt in 2018. What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in what clients expect from a production partner compared to when you started?
The biggest change is that everyone expects everything faster—more content, across more platforms, with tighter timelines and budgets. Clients also expect a production partner to be a true strategic collaborator from the very beginning, not simply execute an idea. We’ve become so good at moving quickly and solving problems that we sometimes exceed expectations almost to a fault—we make the impossible look a little too easy. But that ability to stay nimble, anticipate needs, and consistently deliver is a big part of what sets Tilt apart.
6. Production Efficiency Without Sacrificing Quality: You’re known for finding efficient ways to produce without sacrificing quality. What’s the most common source of wasted budget you see in productions that you’ve learned to eliminate?
The biggest waste is often the money spent on things that never make it to the screen—the niceties that are nice to have but don’t actually make the work better. We’ve learned to trim that production fluff and put the budget where it counts. Our partners appreciate that we’re disciplined without ever cutting corners, and the result is award-winning work that keeps our clients coming back.
The work is never easy, but it’s some of the best work I do—and at the end of the day, we always walk away incredibly proud of what we’ve created.
For Kenny Close (Managing Director):
7. The Managing Director Role: You’re expanding your leadership beyond account management to oversee the creative team and business operations. What’s the biggest challenge in moving from leading client relationships to leading the entire business?
The biggest challenge is keeping the big picture in focus without becoming disconnected from the people doing the work. As the business grows, more decisions compete for your attention, but I never want clients or our teams to feel they can’t reach me. I’ve always enjoyed connecting people, ideas, and opportunities across the business. This role gives me the chance to do more of that—to help create the right environment for our teams to do great work and for our clients to continue seeing Tilt as a trusted partner.
8. Long-Term Client Partnerships: You’ve been instrumental in building long-term client partnerships at Tilt. What’s the single most important thing you do in the first 90 days of a new client relationship that sets the foundation for a multi-year partnership?
I try to listen more than I talk. Every client has a different way of working, different pressures, and different definitions of success. Before we can do our best work, we have to understand those things. Once clients know we’ve taken the time to learn their business and that we’ll be honest with them—even when the answer isn’t easy—trust starts to build. The work gets better from there.
9. From Experiential to Brand Strategy to Agency Leadership: Your background spans experiential marketing, agency leadership, and brand strategy. How does that breadth inform your approach to managing a creative studio?
I’ve been fortunate to work across a lot of different disciplines, and each one taught me something about the people doing the work. I grew up in a do-it-yourself music community, which taught me early on that if something didn’t exist, you built it yourself or found another way forward. Long before I stepped into an agency, my peers and I approached everything that way. When you see this work, and it works well, everything can suddenly feel possible. I still carry that with me today. My job is to create the space for great ideas to happen, keep our clients successful, and make sure the business stays healthy enough to keep doing that work.
10. Growing the Business Without Losing Culture: Ron Carey said you’ll help “continue scaling the business without ever losing the collaborative, high-touch culture.” What’s the first thing that typically breaks when an agency scales, and how do you protect it?
I think the first thing that breaks is connection. As agencies grow, it’s easy for people to become disconnected from one another, from leadership, or from why decisions are being made. We’ve been intentional about building a culture where people genuinely enjoy working together and respect one another. Growth should strengthen that, not replace it. I’d rather grow a little slower and protect our culture than grow quickly and lose what makes this place special.
11. Client Relationships in a Fragmented Market: You’ve worked with Walmart, Volvo, General Mills, Sony, and IKEA. In a market where clients are pulling work in-house and fragmenting agency relationships, how do you deepen partnerships rather than just maintain them?
We do our best to serve as an extension of our clients’ in-house teams. Capital One is a great example of this. Sometimes that means leading a campaign. Other times it means recording a voice-over or solving a small production challenge. By being available, easy to work with, and giving clients choices about how they engage us, those relationships naturally deepen over time.
12. Creative Oversight: You’re now overseeing the creative team alongside Chief Content Officer Scot Crooker. How do you balance the need to deliver commercially effective work with the creative ambition that defines Tilt? Where does your expertise complement Scot’s, and where do you see the world differently?
Scot’s job is to push creative thinking. My job is to help create the conditions where that thinking can thrive—with the right client relationships, the right expectations, and the right support around the team. When those pieces come together, creativity and business goals stop feeling like competing priorities. They become the same objective.
