There are few things we love more than capturing stories in motion. Fortunately for us, renowned apparel brand Uniqlo was set to capture Chacho, one of NYC’s most stylish skaters, for an upcoming campaign. Our team was tasked with showcasing Uniqlo’s Lifewear: Made for All line to build a compelling ad set for socials and YouTube.
With Chacho’s skating skills shining through, building strong, spirited visuals that immersed customers on the streets of New York was easy.
Before hitting the streets, it was vital that we nailed down the target audience and built the arch behind the creative accordingly. Uniqlo’s current Lifewear line is built to appeal to a younger generation that might otherwise be skeptical of traditional advertising– so we knew it was essential to let Chacho’s story do the talking and shy away from any overt cliches.
To do this, we maneuvered across four different locations in NYC to witness Chacho's style in a variety of contexts. By pulling together footage from our several in-house cameras and capturing live soundbites, we were able to get a real sense of the brand through Chacho’s lens.
From the earliest stages of preproduction, It was clear to us that we would need to utilize several cameras to immerse the viewer into skating in the city that never sleeps. Effective storytelling revolves around capturing nuances and details; something that can’t always be accomplished with a static or single-camera shot.
Supporting a couple of cameras in the heat of a New York summer can be a challenge, but if a particular method or piece of equipment services the story, we’re in.
We pulled out our beloved Arri to produce that distinct color profile that shines through in our stills and hero shots;
A rigged Go-Pro for rugged onboard footage;
And a drone to give us those wide, establishing shots:
Our in-house gear allows us to go the extra mile with every project, and since every member of johnnypuetz Productions is trained to operate our gear, we’re able to capture dynamic pieces in record time, or in this case, within the span of an afternoon.
When it was time to put together an edit, we called in our specialists to sort through the stunning footage and create a video that puts both Chacho and Uniqlo at its heart. We carefully crafted this project with textured transitions and diegetic sound building upon the natural energy of the city.
The result? A powerful piece that effortlessly stands out in a sea of content:
Focusing on some of the city’s most promising creators helps us all tap into our creative selves– it was an honor to capture this perspective for Uniqlo.
If you find yourself in need of high-quality video services, please don’t hesitate to reach out! You can find us on socials to stay in the loop or check out more project deep dives on our blog.
- pictures JP Kathoefer