Venice-based effects house, The Mission brings a black stallion to the links in an adrenaline-charged new :30, "The Arrival" out of Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, and directed by Park Pictures' Ellen Kuras.
The spot opens with a close-up of a glistening black stallion turning his eyes towards us, intercut with staccato-like shots of the horse in action that emphasize his power and grace. Suddenly, with a percussive burst, the stallion launches at full speed across a landscape of manicured grass, his powerful hooves leaving a wake of upturned divots. He continues to bolt across greens and hurtle through sand traps as slow-motion inserts lend finesse to his forcefulness. With masterful control and pinpoint precision, the stallion stops suddenly and rears up on his hind legs, bellowing as his muscular frame is silhouetted dramatically against a cloud-scattered sky. We then reveal the object that pulled his charge up short: a putting green, shrouded in mist. Superimposed over this shot are the words: "All Power." The horse's front hooves land on the grass as a second super appears: "All Control," before we cut to the Nike 20XI logo, its April 29 arrival date and the tagline: "Revolutionary To Its Core."
The Mission served as a one-stop-shop for "The Arrival," handling compositing, color-correction and clean up. Shot on the Arri Alexa day-for-night, the moody, monochromatic look was entirely achieved in Flame. The pulse-quickening gallop sequence was captured with the Alexa rigged to a pursue car, blazing through a Tarzana, CA golf course. To achieve the spot's artful composition, The Mission, with Kuras and W+K creatives, composited many of the shots with separate plates for the horse, mud and backdrop. Flame was also used to accentuate the fog, dirt particles and even the stallion's ink-like mane.