The Brief

Adidas is launching their new I-5923 / N-5923 (formerly INIKI) model as part of the Adidas Originals series. Think of a film considering the following:

Product Truth

I-5923 / N-5923 is a hybrid of the past and present.

Consumer Truth

Fashion identities form around new cultural movements.

Intermission

This is the type of project ambiguous enough to leave you clueless about the best way to approach it. You could think about pretty much everything. In the end the best way to proceed is by getting the client involved (and engaged) in the creative process of the film since day zero. You bombard them with questions, sketches, concept ideas, and see what’s their feedback, a process of figuring out on the fly.

Following this approach, for this film we presented the client with different visualisations of the idea of a clash between past and present, strong visual concepts based on walls, buildings, sledgehammers or mirrors. They choose mirrors.

A clash between modern and retro

With a dynamic game of mirrors, the film shows both the modern and retro sides of INIKI, a metaphorical yet also literal reflection of its 70’s vintage culture DNA.

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The Challenge(s)

The catch in this series of films, (there’s always a catch), was that we only had 15 minutes to shoot each one of them, since our cast were tier 1 celebs and you know what’s the deal with t1 celebs: you have rehearsed with your crew, a thousand times and you are ready to roll by the second the cast enters the set. This means, they literally get dressed and makeup, walk-in, do their catwalk and walk away.

This not only has a huge impact on how production is planned but also on the idea of the film itself. It must be something that first: is good; and second:  is extremely quick and easy to shoot. If you over complicate it, chances are you are going to make a lot of people unhappy.

This kind of project is really challenging, but also fun. Reminds me of my days at uni in the Fine Arts school when we had to produce 40 meaningful collages in one hour. You go to the essentials, the primal connections, the core concept, and try to find and synthesize a visualization of such a concept. No bullshit, no time for explanations, either you make the right connection or you don’t. And you have to produce 40 of those.

At the end is a conceptual work under pressure, which I enjoy, but instead of an Arts teacher, it is Adidas.

And that’s great because unlike my teacher, Adidas pays for it, and gives me slightly more time.