Sprint NFL Mobile

The new spots features an NFL player furiously sprinting across a CG field as it “Powers Up” under him. They also feature the new Sprint Motorola RAZR V3m Flip phone.

According to Director, Noah Todd, “The goal was to produce a series of  spots that show the NFL fan that their world now exists within the palm of their hand”. We combined live action green screen, 3D modeling and animation into a dynamic package. The runner was shot live action, the phone modeled in 3D…we had to do a whole lot in no time at all. We shot on Monday and had to deliver in time for a Redskins game on Sunday!”

Motion Designer Curt Neumann worked closely with Todd to design the spot’s stylized treatment of the football field. Incorporating After Effects and Cinema 4D, Neumann masterfully manipulated the elements to rocket the runner off the screen.

In addition to the regular :30s, Marble and Clay also had to deliver a version for the LED Ribbon at the Miami Dolphins stadium…the biggest LED ribbon in the world. “That was a tough one”, Neumann states. “Even with the biggest Cinema displays, there was no way we could really approximate a screen that circles around the stadium for 2,150 feet! It was just a matter of pre-visualizing the spot to fit the space. I just put myself in the stadium on gameday.”

Marble and Clay filmed at CityStage studios in New York, with Gil Seltzer serving as Director of Photography. “We took the standard greenscreen model and flipped it on it’s side. Normally you would light your green cyc, set up your runner on a treadmill and go. We wanted the realistic motion of the human body in full sprint. To get that we had to paint a long stretch of the studio floor green and shoot entirely overhead with a jib arm off the dolly. And we had to match the speed of a lightning-quick running back. Needless to say, our dolly grips had a tough task…they pulled it off with flying colors.”

Credits:
For TBWA/Chiat Day, project credits include Art Directors Jin Park and Jeff Feng and producer Jason Souter. Marble and Clay’s team included director Noah Todd, DP Gil Seltzer, producer Matt Labate. Ben Danik provided 3D modeling, and Curt Neumann provided animation design and effects.

ROLE: Producer, Director

Learn about behind the scenes on this project by clicking here.