NBA on ESPN "Playoffs/Finals 2023"

PLAYOFFS

THE CHALLENGE

We were tasked with ending the 2022/2023 ESPN “Utopia” campaign in the most epic fashion possible. The catch: ESPN needed the flexibility to swap players in and out as matchups changed throughout the playoffs. My job was figuring out how real player footage could relate to camera moves on a CG utopia court with no players. Making one symbolic of the other, in a way that stayed flexible for the campaign.

THE TROPHY

The result was a utopia “finals” CG court and trophy atop a mountain. Since the trophy had just been newly redesigned for the NBA by Tiffany, we had an opportunity to unveil it as a feature. We landed on projecting vintage finals moments in its reflections. A detail that gave the piece real emotional weight.

FINALS

THE EDIT

Cutting between utopia shots and real world player footage was a strikingly effective concept, helped by a smooth edit connecting the players’ actions in each world. Codirected with Grif. We cross pollinated throughout the process, both contributing to the world design, edit, and transition language.

PRESS

The Drum. Ad of the Day