Girls Inc. is changing the national dialogue, one frame at a time

In a nondescript building on a nondescript corner of the Rosemary District, some rather creative minds were at play. An aluminum ladder was positioned in the middle of a wide-open space. A crew of about a dozen people were being orchestrated around a bright medley of blankets, fabric cut outs, and puffs of cotton.

The setting was Alex Stafford's photography studio where a passionate production crew and three young starlets were giving their time for Girls, Inc. of Sarasota County. Lindsey Nickel-De la O, creative director and partner of Nickel Communications, stood near the top step calling out directions.

'Now I need a big smile, and move your left leg forward just a bit more.'

8-year-old Marissa Smith was the center of all the creative energy. A vibrant outdoor scene, complete with rolling hills, sunbeams and blue skies filled the area around her. The only catch was that, like sidewalk art, the pastoral picture was on the ground, and Marissa was, in fact, lying on her side.

I Am More

The source for this horizontal collaboration is a 30-second commercial for Girls Inc. - filmed in stop motion photography.

Kay Mathers, Girls Inc. director of community relations, spoke to me as we watched the action unfold. 'We are launching the '˜I Am More' campaign that Nickel Communications created," said Mathers. "The idea is to bring awareness to our summer camp and after-school programs and to really highlight that '˜I Am More' means '˜I am more than what you see on the outside.''

The crew stopped for lunch, and Nickel-de la O described the concept to me further. 'It really started from the tagline '˜I am more than a number,'" she said. "Through all our research, we realized that the biggest thing that starts the vicious circle of self judgment in girls is this concept of number '” how much money your parents have, your test scores, the size of our jeans or how much you weigh. It becomes what defines us, and we wanted to make sure the girls didn't fixate on this number and know that they are more than that.'

'I want to blow some stuff up'

To help get the message across, Nickel-de la O wrote an original song, 'I Am More.' She sang and recorded it herself. The song will soon be available to download on iTunes, with all proceeds benefiting Girls Inc., but for now, you can hear it in full on SoundCloud.

Initially, she pictured an explosive girl-power commercial to accompany a high-energy song '” destroying scales and crushing diet pills. Mathers, however, thought the nature of the song Nickel-de la O eventually wrote lent itself to a more beautiful, imaginary and whimsical spirit, which drove the vision of the new PSA.

'At first I was like, no, I want to blow some stuff up!' Nickel-de la O said with puckish enthusiasm. But, she quickly realized Mathers was on to something.

Framing for Perfection

So, the creative team at Nickel Communications switched gears. They took their inspiration from the Kindle commercials released in 2010. The digital e-readers used stop-motion photography and a healthy imagination to explore the adventures within books.

They made a 30-second version of 'I am More' and wrote a story to accompany it in stop motion. The next step involved storyboarding every moment '” at 8 frames per second.

Brad Bryan, of BRAD!BRYAN Multimedia Inc., brought the expertise and technical direction to make Nickel Communications vision a reality. Using a grid, each movement could be broken down into a measurable quantity '“ from Marissa's daydream sequence to sunbeams rotating in the sky.

For such a detail-oriented endeavor, a number of individuals rounded out the crew, including Director of Photography, Alex Stafford; Assistant Directors Brad Bryan, Meghan Cole and Danielle Garone; Digital Post Production Editor Gabe Hernandez; Motion Graphic Designer and Animator Nathaniel Rothenberger; Production Designers Jessica Kuykendall and Deborah Carr; and Production A-Team Giselle Tirse, Michael Forbes and Kristine Nickel, managing director of Nickel Communications.

Smith, the commercial's young star, was chosen not only because she is a good representation the girls who attend the nonprofit organization, but also for her easy-to-work-with personality. Where she attends school, Smith has acted in a few plays. She found that expressing herself in this project had its own set of unique challenges. "I have to be like a mime and not say anything, but I am still acting like I would if I did have something to say."

Molly Sullivan and Michelle Hernandez, also young attendees of Girls Inc., joined Smith for the final sequence in the commercial.

The result is a playful, empowering commercial, which, thanks to a few grants, will be airing across the Sarasota market.

A National Need

Nickel-de la O hopes that other Girls Inc. chapters will take notice of their campaign. 'Although we are a relatively smaller market, our objective was to create a national-worthy campaign. Our hope is that if it's successful here, it will be picked up by Girls Inc. (chapters) across the country.'

With so many girls having to respond to similar pressures and insecurities, it would not be a stretch to find this confidence-boosting campaign applicable elsewhere. Nickel-de la O explained, ''We found startling research nationwide that girls as young as 8 were starting to diet. What's more, girls begin picking on each other as young as 5 or 6, just based on the way they look. This campaign is really about celebrating who you are.'

This girl certainly can't argue with that.

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