| Skilled both in front of and behind the camera, Jim Tilmon’s interest in media production began in the mid-1960s. It started with his answering a request from his neighbors on the north shore of Chicago, Illinois. His family was one of the very few African-American families living in Highland Park, Illinois. His friends and neighbors felt that their children were growing up with almost no exposure or true understanding of other ethnic groups. Jim's answer was a computer driven multimedia production of stills and motion pictures accompanied with high quality audio entitled, Black Man in Urban America. What started out as a favor for his friends turned out to be a widely sought out production which toured many Chicago suburban cities and towns. It was the success of this venture that inspired him to create Tilmon Productions, a multimedia production company that went on to win numerous awards producing sophisticated slide shows, motion picture films and audio productions serving both the government and private needs of a wide variety of clients in commerce and industry.
Tilmon went on to host and produce the first of, by and for Black television program in the nation. It was called, “Our People”. This highly acclaimed weekly program was broadcast live and in color for four years on the PBS network station in Chicago, WTTW-Channel 11. Until that time, there were very few broadcast television programs that showcased the interests, concerns and achievements of Black Americans from a Black perspective. This program started an interest in Black productions and many other similar programs began across the nation.
He then moved on to host and produce an Emmy award winning weekly magazine format program on the network owned NBC television station, WMAQ-Channel 5, in Chicago. The program’s material included the richly diverse cultures of all Chicago. Its name was Tilmon Tempo and aired from 1972 through 1975.
Years later he and his wife started another production company in Chicago named Carpe Diem Productions. Among its first productions was a promotional video, The Lives We Touch, for the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago, complete with an original song of the same title. Carpe Diem produced a made for TV movie addressing the issue of domestic abuse for the Chicago based organization Mujeres Latinas en Acción. It was called, Never Again (Nunca Mas) with versions in English and Spanish. The company also created a mini-documentary news program called Another View which aired on the Fox owned Chicago station, WFLD-Channel 32.
Carpe Diem Productions relocated to Arizona in 1994 and also produced numerous television and radio commercials, PSAs, industrial training videos and DVDs. Perhaps most notable was a contract fulfilled for the Voter Outreach Program for the State of Arizona. Don’t Be Silent was a voter registration campaign that resulted in the registration of over 100,000 new voters and record voter turnout in the following general election. The outreach materials were also used the following year, by permission, for a similar campaign in California.
In addition, Tilmon brought his music talents into his business and produced, directed, recorded and mastered numerous music CDs and DVDs. The most noteworthy may be his own album of music for meditation, Angel Whispers which is available for download and now marketed as Soft Songs. |
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