On Running: Cloudswift powered by Helion

The Brief

On Running is a Swiss running shoe brand. Their new Cloudswift shoes were ready to hit the shelves, but first they needed stills and a TVC which focussed on the lightness of this high performance athletic footwear. They had the concept, Directors and a Cinematographer. Hillton AG, a Swiss agency and production company, approached us to be the fixers – getting everything ready for the arrival of their crew, client and the Cloudswifts.

The MMMob Approach

“Animals”, the dynamic directing duo who dreamt up the commercial, told us what vibe they were after, and we set to work. We needed to scout numerous locations around Cape Town, and round up a cast of actual runners for the action-packed shoots. We did all the paperwork for the permits, sourced props and tapped into our MMMob to build a skilled support crew. The Cinematographer also requested two specific high-speed cinematic lenses – there were only two sets of these in the whole country. We sourced the R1.5 million equipment, and upped the insurance on the job. All this pre-production correspondence was done solely through online communication – thanks, Skype.

The international team, along with the shoes, arrived a few days before the shoot. We started off with the stills. The sharp shooter was a long-standing MMMobster, Dave East. MMM stepped into a service role, ensuring it all ran smoothly. Next up was the two-day video shoot. With every detail reviewed and signed off ahead of time, we could cover multiple locations and allow the Cinematographer to make magic. Our Propmaster was the brains behind the floating fabrics – after multiple tests, the solution involved fishing gut, fishing rods and industrial-grade leaf blowers.

Once wrapped, our Swiss friends headed home and Hillton AG took care of the post-production.