Nike Run Club spot

Working with director of photography Chris Saul, I b-camera operated and second unit DP'd this spot for Nike. It's the one that's playing in Nike stores and was shot in the "sideways" 9x16 aspect ratio for use on the store displays, which utilize screens with this same orientation. We had a lot of fun and I'm happy to be able to now share the finished video.


NIKE from Chris Saul on Vimeo.

Nike store - The Grove Mall, Los Angeles

Last August I posted about a Nike shoot I worked on. I had heard that it was playing in stores a couple months back and finally had some time to make it down to the local Nike store to check it out. Oddly enough, I couldn't find it playing on any of their tall aspect ratio store screens (which all seemed to be displaying shopping portals, not video), but a cropped version was playing on the giant wall of screens right behind the checkout.

It was pretty cool to see some of the stuff I shot on that big of a screen. I just wish I could have seen it the way it was originally intended to be displayed. I know it was shown in the full tall aspect ratio at another store, as the main unit DP showed me a picture, so perhaps I need to drop by a different location. Either way, it's still cool to see my work playing at Nike.

Nike Store at The Grove.

Sorry for the terrible color balance. I took this with my phone.

More Nike BTS

Our key grip Gino Nix sent me a few behind the scenes pictures he took of me at work on the Nike shoot, so I thought I'd share. A-Cam Op/DP was Chris Saul. B-Cam Op/2nd Unit DP was me.

Me (left) and Chris Saul (right) on the gator about to chase some the runners.

Me (left), director Martin Desmond Roe (center), and Chris Saul (right) talking through our next shot.

About to shoot off of the gator while standing.

Shooting with the Ronin in the rain, I decided to be my own umbrella operator.

About to pursue some runners through the street after a wetdown.

Nike shoot

This past week I operated the B-Cam/2nd unit DP'd a Nike spot produced by Dirty Robber. Since we were shooting for Nike's displays, which are widescreen televisions rotated 90°, we also turned our cameras on the side, resulting in a 9x16 aspect ratio. That was a fun aspect ratio to shoot in, as it's not something I normally get to do.

While the A-Cam was handheld and operated by Director of Photography Chris Saul, my B-Cam was mounted on a DJI Ronin the entire time. It was quite the workout with the additional weight of the gimbal and I did a lot of running (forwards and backwards) with the unit. At times I'd use an Easyrig, but since it can add a lot of bounce, I just used my arms when running.

The spot was shot on RED Dragons with Zeiss Super Speed lenses in 6K HD.

In the rain. Photo by @emmahollyjones

Director Nick Frew looks over my shoulder as I get a sweet sunset shot.

Director of Photography/A-Cam Operator Chris Saul gives me a break from operating the Ronin rig.