The phrase "made in the shade" now has a whole new meaning for Frank Budgen, thanks to Nike’s weather-dependent "Shade Running." Part of the three-spot "Summer Play Initiative" campaign directed by Budgen, out of bicoastal Anonymous Content via Wieden+ Kennedy (W+K), Portland, Ore., "Shade Running" almost didn’t get made—in the shade or otherwise.
"Logistically, it was one of the toughest shoots I’ve ever done," says Budgen, who is represented in the U.S. by Anonymous and in the U.K. by Gorgeous Enterprises, London. "Shade Running" depicts a woman running through downtown Toronto, playing a game—she is navigating her route without ever setting foot in sunlight; she runs through the shadows cast by bridges, buildings and moving vehicles.
Budgen and his crew couldn’t shoot without sunshine. Unfortunately, he recalls, "We were really unlucky with the weather. Each morning we’d set out to shoot ‘Shade Running,’ and give up by lunchtime because it was just complete clouds or rain. We were going behind schedule by days."
Pre-production had also proven impossible. "I needed to do photographic light studies of exactly where the shadows were at different times of the day throughout the city, so we’d know where to be at 3:35, 4:15, whenever," he explains. "But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t even do the preparation for ‘Shade Running,’ let alone the shoot, because there was no sun for days on end."
Eventually the skies cleared, and drastic measures were averted. "We wound up pushing the shoot back a week and carrying on," Budgen relates. "But in Toronto, there are so many rules about where you can shoot at what time of day. We shot at some locations during the weekends, others on different days. With both the weather and all the rules to work around, it was frustrating."
The results are impressive, nevertheless. "Shade Running" and the other two "Play Initiative" spots—"Tag" and "Racing"—debuted this summer and have already garnered much praise. "Tag" features urbanites playing a massive version of the children’s game, while "Racing" shows a man on a bike trying to literally race a movement of Tchaikovsky.
Gorgeous Shots
The Nike campaign was the British director’s first stateside job in two years. (His last was another Nike ad, "Beautiful," out of W+K and produced by Gorgeous. That spot garnered a Gold Lion at the Cannes International Advertising Festival in 1999.) Budgen’s latest Nike work is his first project born of out his agreement with Anonymous. Per that arrangement, Anonymous represents Gorgeous directors in the U.S., out of Anonymous Content. "I’d known [Anonymous Content co-founder] Steve Golin for quite a few years," says Budgen, who still helms European spots out of Gorgeous, which he started, along with managing director Paul Rothwell and fellow helmer Chris Palmer, in ’95. "Back in Steve’s Propaganda [Films] days, he’d look me up whenever he was in London, and we stayed in touch. Then, one time when Steve was over, he said he was looking to do something in London, and I said we were maybe looking to do something in America. So, we talked about representing each other in our own countries."
The reciprocal arrangement did not work out. "We’re quite a small outfit, and we don’t really want to be that big," Budgen explains. "To be honest, we didn’t want to take on a lot more directors. But he was obviously keen to represent us in America. So we did that. We have a small film division side of our company, and Steve has produced a lot of good films. So, it seemed like a good thing to do."
Budgen, who has several feature film projects in development, says that, outside of his friendship with Golin, the main reason he signed with Anonymous Content was "Steve’s connections in the film industry. I don’t really do that many commercials."
Indeed, Budgen is a spot director who prefers quality to quantity. Although the former agency creative has been helming ads for nine years, he’s extremely selective about his work. "I’m averaging about four [commercials] a year," he says. "This year, I’ve actually done four already—it’s more than usual for me."
When it comes to choosing jobs, Budgen looks for "the best scripts, the best clients, the best agencies"—and creative teams that are truly creative. "There are very few scripts that are great. But there are some that are good, and those scripts either get better or worse," Budgen relates. "It’s those other elements that play a role. Apart from what’s on the page, it’s the people you’re working with."
Before signing with his first production house, Paul Weiland Film Company, London, in ’91, Budgen served as a copywriter at London agencies—first at BBDO, then at Saatchi & Saatchi and later at BMP, DDB, where he became a creative director. He says his early agency experience helps him relate to the creative teams he works with today. "I understand them too much sometimes," he states. "I sympathize with them."
Because Budgen has worked with most of the British teams, he knows what to expect when he accepts a project there. "It’s easier in London because you really know the people," he explains. "It’s more of a village. In America, you know the agencies and the clients, but things are more spread out; you don’t know really who you’re going to get to work with."
Another difference between the states and the U.K., Budgen says, is the role the director plays in postproduction. "When I go into a job, I think of the prep, the shoot and the post. It’s all part of what you do as a director," he explains. "I find it bizarre just to turn up and shoot, and then shake hands and say, ‘Good luck with it,’ but that is what tends to happen in the States."
The Nike campaign was an exception. "I was given a lot more freedom in post," he says. "It’s something the agency knew I wanted up front, but they didn’t have to oblige. On this particular job, I stayed in L.A. for the duration of postproduction, which was several weeks, and I had as much say as I would on any English job."
Budgen recently completed work on a British Reebok ad called "Sofa," out of Lowe Howard-Spink, London. Since he’s attempting to focus on feature film development, he hopes it’ll be his last spot for a while. "When I get a crap [commercial] script, I say, ‘Oh, great,’ and throw it in the bin," he laughs. "When I get a good one, I go, ‘Oh, no.’ At the moment, I’m hoping I don’t get any good ones."
