Upon its return to London, the Why Not team turned its Archer Street Studio into a virtual film studio. Working with The Mob as producers and Eye (which did videos for the Pet Shop Boys) as 3-D animators.
The result is an eerie futuristic space in which 3-D models of the new Nike products float and spin against a background done in Why Not’s signature graphic style of soft abstract shapes and a muted color palette.
All of the editing was done in the Why Not studio (with help from effects operator Luke Halls) using Adobe After Effects and Apple Final Cut Pro on Mac G4s souped up with 72GB external hard drives. The immediacy of the studio and equipment allowed Why Not designers to play around, assume more control, and ultimately get the results they wanted.
The project for Nike Europe follows Why Not’s involvement with Nike’s activities during the European Football championships. Nike set up a football-shaped building in major stadiums as a free playground for kids. Why Not produced eight short interactive films designed in the style of a computer game with top Nike footballers (sporting Nike gear, natch) as the players. Kids could choose which footballer they wanted to be. Each player had an "individual asset" list, each had a "weapon," and each had a catch phrase.
Why Not filmed boots, footballs (soccer balls to the folks back home), and jerseys rotating slowly from all angles. When speeded up, these images created dynamic movement that contrasted with static shots of the individual footballers — for example, a football boot whizzes toward the viewer rotating in space. In-your-face graphics were created using DV cameras affixed to the athletes themselves for a bird’s-eye view to capture Nike-booted feet in action, for example. Shots of grass (taken from snake’s-eye view) were also distorted to simulate speed. Finally, animated type swirled around the animated players
Why Not is geared for more Nike Europe promotions, but that’s not all. This design firm has managed to make its magic for clients as diverse as the entrepreneur and enfant terrible Malcolm McLaren, Virgin Records, and the BBC, and has produced work spanning Morecombe, England, to Tokyo, Japan, and most places in between. Whatever Why Not Associates does next (including the soon-to-be aired commercials for a new U.S. battery company, LEAP) will warrant another look.
Next time I’ll be checking in with Jonathan Barnbrook’s studio, a stairway removed from Why Not’s SOHO digs in London.
Until then, all the best,
This article was last modified on January 3, 2023
This article was first published on November 14, 2000
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