There was never a huge spotlight on it until after we cut it and we started to see it was special," says editor Adam Pertofsky of Rock Paper Scissors, Los Angeles. Pertofsky is talking about Nike’s "Freestyle," directed by Paul Hunter of bicoastal HSI Productions via Wieden+Kennedy (W+K), Portland, Ore. Clearly the ad is special: It’s one of those rare spots that are huge hits both inside and outside of the industry. Ever since the :60 started airing during this year’s NBA playoffs, "Freestyle" has generated tremendous buzz. And now the visually spare, but stylish, spot has been nominated for the Emmy Award for best primetime commercial. (The other noms include two ads for Mercedes-Benz USA, out of Merkley Newman Harty & Partners, New York: "Modern Ark," directed by Gerard de Thame of HSI Productions and London-based Gerard de Thame Films; and "Aaooga," helmed by Victor Garcia of bicoastal Morton Jankel Zander. A pair of PBS spots—"Light" and "Photo Booth"—out of Fallon Minneapolis, directed by Errol Morris of bicoastal/international @radical.media, were also nominated.)
Pertofsky points out that at the time he was working on "Freestyle," the ad was just another one of the five Nike spots directed by Hunter that he was cutting feverishly. "Everybody had to do so much in so little time," he explains, noting that in addition to "Freestyle," he was also editing "Streetball," "NBA," "Tricks" and "Louis."
"Freestyle" features five NBA pros—Lamar Odom and Darius Miles of the Los Angeles Clippers; Jason Williams of the Sacramento Kings; Vince Carter from the Toronto Raptors; and Rasheed Wallace, who plays for the Portland Trailblazers—and two talented street ball players, Speedy Williams and Booger Smith, displaying their virtuoso dribbling and passing talents. A break dancer also appears in the spot. The athletes mesmerize viewers with their graceful style and deadpan stares, but what really grabs attention is the ad’s soundtrack. The score is made up of the sounds of a basketball game—bouncing balls, squeaking sneakers—layered to create funky, polyrhythmic patterns. Pertofsky’s editing adds yet another rhythmic dimension.
The editor says that Hunter provided him with an abundance of excellent material to work with. "Paul did a great job; he was shooting with two cameras and getting tons of coverage," recalls Pertofsky. He points out that some of the footage was shot on the fly, adding, "They wanted to see what the best bits were and really build it in the edit."
During shooting, award-winning dancer and choreographer Savion Glover (of Broadway’s Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk fame) coached the players. On set, the athletes timed their flashy moves to Afrika Bambaataa’s 1982 hip-hop classic "Planet Rock," as well as to a couple of other tracks.
In the cutting room, Pertofsky took his rhythmic cues from "Planet Rock." Additional tracks by co-writer Bambaataa and Jeff Elmassian of Digihearit? (now Endless Noise), Los Angeles—who was co-writer/ producer/sound designer on the spot—served as sonic guideposts during the sessions, too. Also credited with composing elements of the track is composer/producer Steven Brown of Breakthru Productions, New York.
The Beat Goes On
Pertofsky and Elmassian worked together closely during the edit of the spot, and Pertofsky says it was a very back-and-forth collaboration. "I cut image to beat the whole time," relates Pertofsky. "We built the music little by little. I put shots in that didn’t have any beats and then we’d build to that. Then [Elmassian] would create a music track to go with the picture. It was back and forth. Sometimes we were cutting to the beats; sometimes we were making it up as we went along. Jeff then went on and produced the track and replaced all the sounds with basketball sounds."
Pertofsky says that there was a good sense of creative balance on the project. "[Hunter] was the driving creative force behind the spot, [but] it was equal all around," says Pertofsky. "Paul would give some great suggestions, and it was the same with the other guys. They would also let me go and do my thing, which was great fun. It never got down to ‘messing with frames,’ as they say. It was down to a general feeling. Everyone was looking at the broad strokes, which is what I think makes the spot work so well."
"Freestyle" is the first spot that Pertofsky and Hunter have collaborated on, but the two worked together on several music videos a few years ago. How did the experiences differ? "Paul hasn’t changed," replies the editor. "He’s the same person he was when we were doing twenty-thousand dollar videos. He’s a super-nice guy who’s really into what he’s doing. He lets you do your own thing, but at the same time he wants to guide the process so it’s within his vision."
Pertofsky, who started editing commercials in ’95, has frequently worked with W+K. He previously collaborated with "Freestyle" creative director Hal Curtis on several spots in the "What Are You Getting Ready for?" campaign. During that process, Pertofsky also worked with the late Jhoan Camitz of bicoastal/ international Satellite. Other W+K credits for the editor include Diet Coke’s "Rest Stop," directed by Dom&Nic of Oil Factory Films, Hollywood; Miller Genuine Draft’s "Tiny," directed by Joe Pytka of Venice, Calif.-based PYTKA; and "Bowling," helmed by Tony Kaye of Tony K, Santa Monica and London.
Pertofsky attended the University of Michigan, where he majored in communications. A study-abroad program took him to London, where he interned at John Gau Productions, a television production company. He spent a large amount of his time with the editorial staff during the six months he was with the outfit. After graduation he headed back to London, where he broke into editing.
Three years later, Pertofsky moved to Los Angeles. He landed a day job as a production assistant on the feature film Bad Company, directed by Damian Harris; at night Pertofsky stayed busy editing another feature, Just Desserts, helmed by Don LaFrance. A little later, Pertofsky cut his first clip for Paul Hunter, and wound up editing the director’s music videos for another year. Pertofsky continued to cut various projects as a freelancer until he joined Rock Paper Scissors in ’96.
Pertofsky’s recent jobs include editing Nike campaigns that are modeled on "Freestyle." The ads, "Football" and "Skateboard," feature soccer players and skateboarders, and were directed by first-time helmer Charles Randolph Wright of bicoastal/international @radical. media. They were created for the European markets by W+K Amsterdam. Pertofsky also cut "Whoosh" and "Pow," client-direct spots for Gap Kids, directed by Mark Kohr of bicoastal Bob Industries.
How does the editor feel about the Emmy nomination for "Freestyle?" "Just being nominated is a nice thing," he states. "It’s one of the best spots I ever worked on.
"Every now and then a commercial breaks into pop culture," he continues. "To me, more than any award you can win, that’s the biggest reward—when kids on the street or someone you talk to gets excited that you worked on a commercial that they love. It’s such a rarity that a commercial transcends advertising and actually almost becomes art."
