Animation
Nike AirMax Ad
I used this project assigned by my university to venture out into new lands of 3D animation. The brief was, well, brief. We were given the 3D model of the Nike AirMax 97’ shoe and asked to make a 30 second mock advertisement.
I began the assignment looking at the history of the sneaker. The Nike AirMax 97 marries comfort and performance. The featherlike shoe was originally designed for running, and the full-length “AirMax” unit in the sole added soft, squishy comfort to each step.
SETTING THE SCENES
After identifying themes of lightness, flexibility, speed, and sleekness, I began sketching a storyboard. The storyboard highlighted motions that spoke to each of these themes. The ad begins with the “lights out.” The Nike logo makes the shoe come to life. Series of vignettes show the shoe in action with amorphous objects conveying the comfort and durability of the shoe’s materials. The ending scene focuses on the sole that gives the Nike AirMax its name. And with the last frame, the video then ends where it starts: with the Nike logo.
The materials and colors for the ad were inspired by the basketball team I grew up watching, The Golden State Warriors. Bright and uplifting colors bring a fun nature to the animation. After ideating, I staged each scene in Cinema 4D using custom deformers and motions from Mixamo. Then I went back and added lighting and materials before exporting each scene. Finally I brought all of the clips together in Adobe After Effects and introduced transitions and basic time remapping.
ALL IN ALL