THE WORK
Real Human
Original AI Narrative | 40 seconds
Concept, Writing & Direction by Tia Castle
An AI performer auditions before a skeptical panel to prove she can pass as human.
Four distinct characters, layered performances, dialogue, sound and lighting build toward a subtle reveal: the innocent young woman the panel believes they're evaluating may have been evaluating them all along.
My Role: Concept · Screenwriting · Character Development · AI Performance Direction · Visual Direction · Generative Production · Sound Design
Kahlúa & Coffee
Spec Commercial
Concept, Writing & Direction by Tia Castle
A weary nine-to-five commuter steps into an ordinary elevator with a cup of coffee and discovers that each floor opens onto another chapter of Kahlúa's story.
A cold steel elevator opens onto 1930s cobblestone streets, then misty coffee fields in Veracruz, then a vibrant 1936 street fair. There's no dialogue. A tired, disengaged commuter turns confused, curious, amused, and finally willing to follow the experience, carried entirely by performance. Lighting, sound, and music shift with each set of doors until a young woman welcomes him in and adds Kahlúa to his coffee. The product isn't inserted into the story. It resolves it.
My Role: Concept · Creative Direction · Writing · Character Development · AI Performance Direction · Visual Direction · Generative Production · Sound & Music Direction · Editing
SOCIAL-FIRST AI CHARACTERS
Human performance.
Built for social.
A compilation of short-form work focused on what I specialize in: making AI characters feel convincingly human.
These pieces combine performance direction, fast editorial pacing, graphics, sound, visual transitions and story structure designed for social-first viewing.
Performance Direction · Character Consistency · Fast-Paced Editing · Motion Graphics · Sound Design · Story Arc
Explore Case Studies
Meet Tia Castle
I'm a commercial director and creative producer working at the intersection of storytelling, performance and generative film.
I take projects from initial idea through final film — concept, script, character development, performance direction, visual direction, generative production, sound and edit. My background began in broadcast television, where I learned to tell a story in seconds, work under pressure and understand exactly what makes an audience keep watching.
I earned my degree in Broadcast Journalism from American University and went on to produce and write news for an ABC affiliate, then perform live as a national host on ShopNBC, where selling a product meant connecting with an audience in real time. I later worked in marketing across pharmaceutical, skincare and beauty brands before moving to Hollywood to study filmmaking, directing, cinematography and acting and to work on set.
My Edge
Most AI characters can move and speak.
Mine perform.
Years spent studying acting, being directed and working with performers taught me that believable emotion lives beneath the obvious expression. My specialty is AI Performance Direction — translating a character's inner state into the specific physical behavior a generative model can actually perform: gaze, breath, restraint, hesitation, tension, timing, reaction and emotional change from one beat to the next.
That combination of storytelling, marketing, filmmaking and performance allows me to approach AI not as a tool operator, but as a director.
I direct commercials and narrative work from brief to final film.
Contact me
My fees depend on the project: length, number of shots, characters, and turnaround. Tell me what you have in mind and I'll send a quote.
tia@engageai360.com