The Brief

The 2016 edition of BC ONE (B-Boy Championship Number 1) was set to take place in Cape Town, and local hero “The Curse” was defending his Mzansi title. Red Bull ZA needed a striking visual to promote the contest.

It had to fit into the global ‘Street-Fighter’ theme, show breakdancing, depict the Mother City and abide by Red Bull’s strict action photography rules:

1. No Photoshop or Post-Prod manipulation, only basic editing, cropping and colour grading.
2. The action must be captured completely in-camera.
3. The athlete must successfully land their move, sequence or performance.

The MMMob Approach

MMMob Boss Thoban is a huge Bruce Lee fan. He pitched the idea of reimagining a scene from the legendary “Game Of Death” movie. The South African BC ONE Champ would play the role of Bruce Lee, wearing the iconic yellow tracksuit. He would be surrounded by a handful of B-Boy opponents. Instead of martial arts moves, they would be pulling off breakdance tricks. The concept was a hit amongst the SA & Global Red Bull Team, and it was time to create the shot, which had been conceptualised.

MMM chose Tyrone Bradley as the Photographer – he is one of only two official Red Bull Photographers in Africa. Next we hit the city skyline, scouting the perfect rooftop which would picture the iconic Table Mountain in the background of the shot – remember, no PhotoShop allowed. MMM settled on the rooftop of an Old Age Home in BoKaap – it’s elevation offered an uninterrupted vantage of the Mountain, with the cityscape below, and the silver painted flat-top roof didn’t have a ledge, allowing a clean frame from the feet up.

The MMMob’s finest tailors made a custom Yellow jumpsuit for our poster boy, ensuring no matter how contorted his body was, his costume would stay in place. Four members of his own crew were cast as the B-Boy baddies. The B-Boys choreographed and rehearsed a short sequence, so Tyrone could shoot Photo bursts, and capture the perfect action frame.

Our team hauled a big Pro-Foto Flash and Lighting Rig, along with other gear onto the rooftop, and mapped out the exact positions the B-Boys needed to perform in. We had a small window of opportunity to nail the money shot, in the late afternoon’s Golden Light. Tyrone got the perfect shot in the last usable daylight, then opted to wait until dark, to also shoot a ‘slow-shutter’ version. Both versions got the local and international clients excited, and made waves amongst the BC ONE community.

MMMobsters

• Creative Director: Thoban Jappie
• Photography: Tyrone Bradley
• Photo Assist: Wayne Reiche
• Production Assistant: Kirsti Chambers
• Executive Producer: Thoban Jappie
• BTS Photography: Kirsti Chambers