PROJECT BREAKDOWN: La Sportiva Prodigio Max
Last spring, La Sportiva reached out to us about working together to produce a video and photo campaign for the upcoming launch of their new trail shoe, the Prodigio Max. They were looking for a new perspective on their content production, and wanted to see what Terraform could do.
CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW:
PRODUCT: Prodigio Max
DELIVERABLES: Complete video/photo package
1-minute launch spot (1), with cutdowns for ad campaigns and web placement
2-minute mini-doc, following one of their athletes as she trains, preps, and competes in a race using the shoe (coming soon)
Still photos (80-100)
THEME: Flow For The Distance
ATHLETES: Deja Jakopič and Luka Virag
LOCATION: Slovenia
We shot the prep and some training sequences in Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital. We wanted shots of Deja in her familiar, everyday environment to convey accessibility and diversity for the shoe. Most of the other training and race footage was shot in Kranjska Gora National Park, and the surrounding area. Permits were granted through cooperation with the national park, and all filming (including drone) was done legally.
GEAR CHOICE: Canon R5’s // Mavic 3
The video and stills were shot on R5’s, using a lens quiver of a fisheye, 17-35, 24-70, and 70-200. We opted for more handheld footage than usual, as we wanted to lean into the raw, gritty nature of ultra-running. For the stills, our photographer Johny leaned into this theme using similar techniques, while adding a flash for a lot of the interior and night shots. We did, however, drop in some gimbal shots for contrast, and to work with the theme of finding flow through inconsistent terrain and conditions. The tripod only came out once, with the 70-200, when we were shooting with the herd of cows. All drone shots were shot on the Mavic 3.
CHALLENGES: Weather and Client Relations
The biggest challenge of the shoot was the ever changing weather. We were on the verge of postponing, but decided to go through with it, and work with what we had. To maximize our short weather windows, we had already agreed upon each shot, camera setup, and location, so we could shoot as soon as we caught a break in the rain and clouds. Since we weren’t able to catch clear views of the mountains and scenery in lots of the locations, we flew the drone in several clearer spots, and paired the footage in post.
The second challenge was that this was the first time Terraform had worked with La Sportiva. While we knew that they wanted something different from their traditional media, we also needed to prove that we could produce consistent, high quality results, that they could use. To manage this, we overshot pretty much every setup, doing one take traditionally, and another take with a bit more edge. They then chose their favorites to use in the final deliverables, which gave us valuable insight into their preferences, and gave them an accurate idea of the diverse types of content and styles we could offer. We’re stoked to report that they were quite happy with the final results, and have already brought us back for another upcoming campaign.
Hiring a human PA? In this economy??