N I K E 2 0 1 5Thesis 1 Final Documentation

Magnus Atom . Thesis1 . Fall 2011 . Sassa

CONCEPT & IMPERATIVE

The goal of my thesis is to make a short motion graphics product spot for the fictitious Nike Air 2015 sneakers featured in the cult classic movie, “Back to the Future II.” The spot will focus on a singleprotagonist character and show the endless possibilities that these shoes will open up for the wearer. From winning the marathon, to defeating space age monsters and robots, anything is possible when you’re wearing a pair of Nike Air 2015’s.

The purpose of this piece is to push the boundaries of animation in the way different mediums are combined and implemented in motion graphics. As a motion graphics piece it will advertise a shoe that already has a major fan-base and potentially serve as the spokesperson for this shoe.

CONCEPT & IMPERATIVE

Format/Media:The format would be an animation/ video that conforms to standard web viewing formats.

Aesthetic Direction:The spot will contain a combination of aesthetics, including, but not limited to 2D flash animation and 3D character animation. The finished piece will combine a photorealistic environment with some 3D “oil-painted” characters. I am personally drawn to all different forms of animation. There is anunlimited amount of inspiration to be drawn from every type of style, however I believe in combining different techniques and styles to create unique works of art unlike any other. I would also like to showcase my knowledge of animation in a piece that will show what I’ve learned in the last four years at Parsons.

R E S E A R C HSigg Jones by Asterokid

A successful short film about a pair ofmagical sneakers giving the wearerunexpected power.Nike 2015 will be in keeping with this style and overall idea.

R E S E A R C HNike Sister One by ilovedust

Another successful short film that plays with the idea of shoes empowering the wearer. I will attempt to take the color and vibrance from this and add it into the city-scape.

R E S E A R C HArchitecture Reference by Santiago Calatrava

Calatrava’sarchitecture is well known for itsbeautifully intricate and geometric shapes and forms. The new city will take on a form that is directlyinspired by hisarchitecture.

R E S E A R C HThe Runner by BLR and Transformation by Jacksonkarinja

The Runner depicts a robot like character doing “Parkour” through an urban jungle. Themovements of the character will be very much in reference of this style and sport.

Transformation shows a city undergoingarchitecturaltransformation. The technique used will be referenced heavily within Nike 2015.

P R OTOT Y P EStoryboard

A boy jogs in to the scene. He appears tired as he stops for breath at a lamppost. Camera cuts to a box shaking in the foreground. Light is eminating out from the side in the shape of a Nike swoosh. The boy walks over to and picks up the box. As heremoves the top, ablinding light pours out of the box and the screen goes white. Fade back in on a box hitting the floor, and a pair of Nike 2015’s now on the boys feet. Camera cuts to the city that has begun to transform with newer buildings pop-ping out of the ground.

P R OTOT Y P EStoryboard

Camera cuts to a dark alley on the side. A giant gorilla emerges from the darkness.Gorilla smashes it’s fist down trying to hit the kid, but the kid narrowly dodges the swing and begins to run. The shoes light up and we see the kid begin to run super fast making large leaps and bounds. The kid stops at a lightpost for breath when we see the earth rumbling beneath him. A building pops up from under the ground and brings him up to rooftop height. A giant goo monster emerges from the side of the building.

P R OTOT Y P EStoryboard

The goo monster’stentacles chase the kid and we see him dodge each one as he bounces off walls to avoid them. The kid does a series offantastical “parkour” moves to leap from building to building while still being pursued by the monster. He makes a final jump and leaps out of the reach of the monster. He lands in a back alley. A shadow draws over him and he turns around to find a giant robot standing menacingly over him. Cut from the robots eyes, to the boys eyes, to the shoes which light up and autolaces.

P R OTOT Y P EStoryboard

The boy leaps into the air. Cut to first person perspective of the robot as the boy does a round house kick, leaving a trail of light across the screen that burns into the Nike logo.

P R OTOT Y P EMain Character Design

The original design came off as a bit too “rubbery.” The bodydeformed weirdly incertain spots, therefore I re-designed the overall shape and look of the boy.

P R OTOT Y P ENike Mags Design v1.0

Obviously the mostimportant part of the film, the sneakers feature an auto-lace and lightup system. Since themodeling and rendering of these shoes, Nikeactually produced the shoes in reality (without the auto-lace ability.) The shoes produced by Nike vary slightly from my original reference from the film therefore I will need to revisit this in the near future to re-design and polish the look to really make the sneakers “shine.”

P R OTOT Y P EMonster Design: Gorilla

The first monster our pro-tagonist encounters. Just like the rest of the char-acters he’s seen sporting a pair of Nike Dunks.

P R OTOT Y P EMonster Design: GOO

The second monster our protagonist encounters. Made of a gelatin like material, this monster will be able to change shape and distort its body in impossible ways.

P R OTOT Y P EMonster Design: The Robot

The final monster the character encounters. The design heavilyreferences old animation robots such as Gigantor and Black Ox.

P R OTOT Y P EOriginal City Design

P R OTOT Y P EOriginal City Design

P R OTOT Y P EOriginal City Design v2

P R OTOT Y P EOriginal City Design v2 (Making Of)

P R OTOT Y P ERe-imagined City Design inspired by Santiago Calatrava

P R OTOT Y P EOriginal Sound Track by Superobo

View the animatic with Sound DesignView a playblast of the animation so far

A N I M AT I CA N I M AT I O N P R O G R E S S

P R O D U C T I O N S C H E D U L E

December 28th: Finish animation scene 2.January 4th: Begin scene 3 (transforming buildings).January 11th: Finish animating Scene 3January 18th: Begin animating Scene 4 ( Ent. Goo Monster> Goo chases main character> Parkour)January 25th: Animating scene 4 continuedFebruary 1st: Finish animating scene 4.February 8th: Begin animating scene 5 (Landing in alley, ent. Robot Monster, fights back. Finish with round house kick)February 15th: Scene 5 continuedFebruary 22nd: Finishing animating scene 5.February 29th: Refining all models.March 7th: Finish models, background cityscape images.March 14th: Begin texturing/ lightingMarch 21st: Texturing/ lighting continuedMarch 28th: Start and finish 2D animationApril 4th: Begin rendering.April 11th: Finish rendering. Refining sound-design.