{"690035":{"#nid":"690035","#data":{"type":"news","title":"LMC Students \u2018Dream Big\u2019 With Boys and Girls Clubs of America Commercial ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen Boys and Girls Club Digital Growth Director Tiffany Simmons met with Georgia Tech students at the organization\u2019s national headquarters in January, her directive was simple: \u0022dream big.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat challenge served as the catalyst for a collaboration between the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/lmc.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Literature, Media, and Communication\u003C\/a\u003E (LMC) and the Boys and Girls Clubs that has culminated in a commercial that\u2019s now slated for national distribution. The project will serve as a strong portfolio item for the students as they pursue future opportunities in film production while helping build awareness and donations for the Boys and Girls Clubs.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt was very exciting to get to work on something with such a big impact and real-life application,\u201d said Lila Parker, the project\u2019s student director. She will graduate this Spring with a degree in Literature, Media, and Communication.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EParker\u2019s vision was selected from a series of competitive pitches delivered by six students enrolled in a special topics cinematography course overseen by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/john-thornton\u0022\u003EJohn Thornton\u003C\/a\u003E, LMC\u0027s director of film and media. Students Charity Dawson, Jordan Green, Natalie Howlette, Taylor Lee, and Erica Yun comprised the crew and took on various roles to make the commercial a reality.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cDuring our first meeting, Tiffany told us to dream big. That stuck with me and evolved into the concept for the ad, which I titled, \u2018Not Just a Dream,\u2019 Parker said. \u201cThe ad starts with a kid sleeping and transitions into a whimsical, dreamy sequence showing pursuits like art and athletics. It then switches to show that this is actually reality for these kids at the Boys and Girls Clubs. The message is that the club provides the resources to make these big dreams come true.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe partnership originated when Simmons sought a fresh perspective from a younger demographic to modernize the organization\u2019s creative content.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe production involved a two-day shoot, including location filming at a Boys and Girls Club venue and studio work in the Skiles Building, where students designed and constructed their own sets.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeyond academic credit, participants gained hands-on experience in pre-production, script finalization, and equipment coordination.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp lang=\u0022EN-US\u0022\u003EThe resulting commercial will be integrated into the Boys and Girls Clubs\u2019 paid advertising on television and YouTube to drive awareness and donations. Simmons said she intends to share those metrics with the students to help bolster their resumes.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn my twelve years of marketing, these students are by far the most advanced I have ever worked with,\u201d Simmons said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe initiative, which Simmons said she expects will become an annual partnership, highlights LMC\u0027s commitment to providing students with industry-standard opportunities that bridge the gap between the classroom and the professional media landscape, according to Thornton.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s a tremendous advantage for college graduates who are interested in pursuing film as a career to leave school with meaningful real-world examples of the kind of work they\u2019re capable of doing,\u201d he said. \u201cThese are the kinds of opportunities we\u2019re excited to offer at LMC, and we\u2019re grateful to the Boys and Girls Club for the opportunity to partner on this great project.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe School of Literature, Media, and Communication offers a concentration in media, including film, as part of the Bachelor of Science in Literature, Media, and Communication, as well as a \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/lmc.gatech.edu\/programs\/minors\/film-media-studies\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003Eminor in film and media studies\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EStudents in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication developed and filmed a commercial for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Students in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication developed and filmed a commercial for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America."}],"uid":"34600","created_gmt":"2026-04-29 12:30:35","changed_gmt":"2026-04-29 12:48:12","author":"mpearson34","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-04-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-04-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680090":{"id":"680090","type":"image","title":"lmc bgca commercial shoot","body":"\u003Cp\u003EStudent Lila Parker, operating camera, directed \u0022Not Just a Dream,\u0022 a commercial for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1777466093","gmt_created":"2026-04-29 12:34:53","changed":"1777466093","gmt_changed":"2026-04-29 12:34:53","alt":"A student operates a camera while two other students confer in the foreground.","file":{"fid":"264329","name":"Image--3-.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/04\/29\/Image--3-.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/04\/29\/Image--3-.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":168676,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/04\/29\/Image--3-.jpg?itok=SIvJwDuK"}}},"media_ids":["680090"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"1283","name":"School of Literature, Media, and Communication"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:michael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMichael Pearson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIvan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["michael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}