Guerilla FX Shoots, Posts and Creates Effects for Nike Zoom’s For the Nike ZOOM campaign, ‘Quick is Deadly,’ developed by Wieden & Kennedy (Portland, OR), Guerilla FX (GFX), and Director/Creative Director Thor Raxlen filmed 10 of the world fastest athletes and completed the editing and effects for an unfathomable 400 to 500, :24 to :60 webisodes, scheduled to begin airing on Nike.com, August 5th.

Guerilla FX, an independent design, effects and post finishing company, directed ten of the worlds most remarkable athletes for this extensive web campaign. The GFX production team hop-scotched the world, traveling to Waco, TX; Madrid and Barcelona Spain; San Diego, CA; Portland, OR; Vancouver, BC; and Chicago, IL to shoot: Olympic Gold Medallist Sanya Richards; British sprinter Jason Gardner; the world fastest man, Jamaican sprinter, Asafa Powell; Brazilian footballer Robinho (Robson de Souza), who plays for Real Madrid and The Brazilian National Team; San Diego Chargers All-Pro running back Ladainian Tomlinson; Phoenix Suns NBA point guard Steve Nash; Majorcan tennis sensation Raphael Nadal; Chicago Bulls NBA small forward Luol Deng; Middle distance runner Lauren Fleshman; and Middle distance runner, Adam Goucher.

To capture the remarkable form of these outstanding athletes and to be able to really deconstruct each move, GFX shot with multiple cameras including in super slow motion with a Phantom high-speed digital camera that shoots in high definition at 1000 frames per second. Three additional cameras with different frame rates were utilized and GFX shot from different angles to capture the form that makes these athletes so fast – an Arias R3 super 16 mm camera that shoots film at about 150 frames per second, or 35mm film; HD cameras at 60 frames; regular standard HD; and some images at 30 frames per second. Time re-mapping was executed in After Effects and the webisodes were finished on Final Cut Pro with a Kona HD card.

‘For each athlete, we hot and then break down their signature move, capture a series of interview questions, and also film the drills and the drill training that help them attain their astounding quickness. Multiple cameras allowed us to shoot at different frame rates so that we could see a move in super slow motion from one angle, medium slow motion from another, and real time from a third. It allowed us to deconstruct, to analyze and study each action,’ explained Guerilla FX Director/Creative Director Thor Raxlen. ‘It was a challenging project. We worked alongside the photo shoots on an integrated set, so time was at a premium. We used stand-ins and doubles for rehearsals and once everything was perfect the athletes came in and did their piece.’

Wieden & Kennedy (Portland, OR) Sr. Producer Marcelino J. Alvarez said of his collaboration with GFX, ‘Thor and his team brought so much to this campaign. His ability to connect with the athletes and capture the beauty and grace of their signature moves enhanced our vision for this campaign.’

‘There is a moment in sport, for an athlete when good transitions to great. We had the opportunity to capture a piece of what makes these athletes great. This was a wonderful example of massive collaboration that yielded amazing content. Needless to say, we are very proud of this work,’ added Darren Himebrook, Sr. Producer Wieden & Kennedy.

The Guerilla FX (New York, NY) team headed by Creative Director/Director Thor Raxlen, included Director Mark Claywell (who filmed Lauren Fleshman, Adam Goucher, and co-directed, with Raxlen, Luol Deng); Executive Producer Doug Robbins; Directors of Photography Joplin Wu (Waco, Madrid Barcelona), Larry Fong (San Diego), Will Rexer (Vancouver, BC) and Tyson Wisbrock (Chicago, IL/Portland, OR); Senior Producers Nicole Rodan and Laurie Bernal (Chicago); and Associate Producer Theresa Loguercio. Guerilla FX Offline and Online Editors Linda Peters and Jason Yantz; Assistant Editor Joanna Bovay; Compositors Jason Yantz, Sam Stevens and Will Decker handled the editorial assignment and graphics and Postproduction Supervisor Jody Peters.

Representing Wieden & Kennedy (Portland, OR) were Creative Directors Steve Luker and Jelly Helm; Associate Creative Director Shannon McGlothin; Copywriter Valdean Klump; and Senior Producers Marcelino J. Alvarez and Darren Himebrook. Representing R/GA (New York, NY) were Associate Creative Directors Gui Borchert and Joseph Cartman; Copywriter Jim Therkalsen; and Senior Producer Reshma Taufiq.

About Guerilla FX:
Guerilla FX, an independent design, effects and post finishing company, is the natural out growth of the relationship created when 0:2:60 Executive Producer Doug Robbins first signed Visual Effects Designer/Editor/Director Thor Raxlen for commercial direction. Together they launched Guerilla FX in January 2006 and this uniquely creative, vertically integrated company now takes projects from preliminary discussions through the shoot, editing and effects. They have recently completed high profile projects for clients including Citibank, FedEx, Foot Locker, General Mills, Kyocera, Montefiore Hospital, MTV, Nexxus, Nike, Subway, TRESemm?©, and Verizon, among many others.

National web campaign:
Client: Nike
Agency: Wieden & Kennedy
Title of Campaign: ‘Quick is Deadly’
Airdate: Begin on Nike.com August 5
Length and # of webisodes: 400-500 webisodes; :24 to :60 each

Description:
Guerilla FX and Director/Creative Director Thor Raxlen filmed 10 of the world fastest athletes and completed the editing and effects for an unfathomable 400 to 500, :24 to :60 webisodes. To capture the remarkable form of these outstanding athletes and to be able to really deconstruct each move, GFX shot with multiple cameras including in super slow motion with a Phantom high-speed digital camera that shoots in high definition at 1000 frames per second. Three additional cameras with different frame rates were utilized and GFX shot from different angles to capture the form that makes these athletes so fast – an Arias R3 super 16 mm camera that shoots film at about 150 frames per second, or 35mm film; HD cameras at 60 frames; regular standard HD; and some images at 30 frames per second. Time re-mapping was executed in After Effects and the webisodes were finished on Final Cut Pro with a Kona HD card.

Production/Postproduction/Graphics: Guerilla FX
City/State: New York, NY

Creative Director: Thor Raxlen
Directors: Thor Raxlen and Mark Claywell

Executive Producer: Doug Robbins
Director of Photography: Joplin Wu (Waco,TX; Madrid and Barcelona,Spain); Larry Fong (San Diego, CA), Will Rexer (Vancouver, BC ); Tyson Wisbrock (Chicago, IL/Portland, OR)
Senior Producer: Nicole Rodan and Laurie Bernal (Chicago, IL)
Associate Producer: Theresa Loguercio
Offline and Online Editors: Linda Peters and Jason Yantz
Assistant Editor: Joanna Bovay
Compositors: Jason Yantz, Sam Stevens and Will Decker
Post Supervisor: Jody Peters

Location of Shoot: Waco, TX; Madrid and Barcelona Spain; San Diego, CA; Portland, OR: Vancouver, BC; and Chicago, IL.

Equipment: Shot with a Phantom high-speed digital camera that shoots in high definition at 1000 frames per second, an Arias R3 super 16 mm camera that shoots film at about 150 frames per second, or 35mm film; HD cameras at 60 frames; regular standard HD; and some images at 30 frames per second. Time re-mapping was executed in After Affects. Finished on Final Cut Pro with a Kona HD card.

Agency: Wieden & Kennedy
City/State: Portland, OR
Creative Directors: Steve Luker and Jelly Helm
Associate Creative Director Shannon McGlothin
Copywriter Valdean Klump
Senior Producers Marcelino J. Alvarez and Darren Himebrook

Representing R/GA
City/State: New York, NY
Associate Creative Directors Gui Borchert and Joseph Cartman
Copywriter Jim Therkalsen
Senior Producer Reshma Taufiq

Film-to-Tape Color Correction: Company 3
City/State: New York, NY
Colorist: Victor Mulholland