<a href="www.producers.tv.>Producers, the Maryland-based film, video, audio and 3D graphics production company recently teamed with the leader in technically advanced sports apparel, Under Armour, for a national TV campaign pushing the company’s line of cold sports gear.
The new spot features high school football, lacrosse and soccer teams in their pre-game preparations during adverse weather conditions. Under Armour‘s cold gear, Storm, is constructed from special cotton that repels water, keeping the young athletes warm and dry so they can stay focused on getting ready for their opponent. The ad harkens back to previous collaborations between UA and <a href="www.producers.tv.>Producers in capturing the raw emotion of competition. The powerful visuals and super intense soundtrack deliver another powerful commercial for the UA brand.
The commercial reunites Under Armour and <a href="www.producers.tv.>Producers‘ director, Rip Lambert, who directed such Under Armour classics as “Click-Clack” and “Protect This House”. The spot also brings together two of <a href="www.producers.tv.>Producers‘ longstanding national clients in Under Armour and Dick’s Sporting Goods, who is promoted in the spot as UA’s cold gear headquarters.
Lambert, who developed the concept and storyboarding with UA creative director, Brian Boring, relished the opportunity. “For Under Armour, it is a trip back to their roots – the authentic athlete in intense situations of raw emotion. I think that’s why they called on us – to help find that place where we had so much success on spots like ‘Protect This House’ and ‘Breakdown’, ” said Lambert.
<a href="www.producers.tv.>Producers‘ senior editor, David Hudson, was responsible for the offline and online edit. “The pace of the spot really echoes Under Armour‘s past. We knew we wanted to capture the emotion of the moment and thought longer shots would be the way to go, but as I went into the rough cut, I found that a mix of long and quick shots still allowed us to capture the intensity and made for a better overall finish.”
The shoot, however, was not without its challenges, according to Executive Producer, Ross Jones. “We filmed in Denver using the RED ONE. We picked Denver because we were hoping to get a little help with the weather. I knew we were going to have to create some snow and rain effects, but I was hoping the Denver weather that can start to get colder than the rest of the country in October might be closer to winter temperatures. I was hoping we’d get a little overcast, some cold breath, and the overall authentic feel. Unfortunately, Denver was having unseasonably warm weather, some of the warmest on record for that time of year, so we had to create everything from scratch.”
The authenticity that Lambert and UA were looking for came from rain towers, snow machines, and some creative compositing courtesy of <a href="www.producers.tv.>Producers‘ graphics designer, Chris Abolt, and Nice Shoes out of New York, who created 3D water drops, cold breath and snow on the mountains.
Lambert explained, “Once the rough cut was done, we sent it to our designer, Chris Abolt, who worked on the lacrosse and soccer scenes, adding more rain and cold breath. Nice Shoes added snow to the lacrosse scene and football scene. There are a lot of details we had to consider like which kids would have cold breath added. When it came to the water drop, even at 120fps, I wasn’t getting the effect I wanted on the water drops we shot, so it was decided to go to Nice Shoes to add the 3D drop. That animation itself took awhile just to tweak the shading, reflection, refraction, etc. David Hudson and our Sound Design team of Bob Bragg and Tim St. Clair did a really nice job with the pacing that added to the visual and emotional impact and I think Under Armour brand enthusiasts will be happy to see the company focusing on what has brought them to this point in their already storied history.”
Credits
Title:
Client: Under Armour
Steve Battista Senior VP-Creative
Brian Boring Creative Director
Production: <a href="www.producers.tv.>Producers
Rip Lambert Director
Ross Jones Executive Producer
D.P. Emmanuel Vouniozos
Post: <a href="www.producers.tv.>Producers
Karen Phillips Executive Producer
David Hudson Editor
Chris Abolt Graphic Design/Compositing
Tim St. Clair Sound Design
Mike Brilhart Audio Mix
Visual Effects & Color Correction: Nice Shoes|NY
Aron Baxter Creative Director
Jen Cadic Producer
Lenny Mastrandrea Colorist
About <a href="www.producers.tv.>Producers
<a href="www.producers.tv.>Producers is the Maryland area’s premiere film, video, and audio production and post-production house. In business for over 30 years, <a href="www.producers.tv.>Producers features a talented team of artists with the latest technology creating compelling content for advertising agencies, corporations, and independent producers and directors. For more information visit www.producers.tv.
