adidas Originals OZWEEGO - Back to the future ft. Dough-Boy, Lala Takahashi and Jackson Yee (2019) :30 (China)

To promote the new adidas originals OZWEEGO for the Chinese market adidas and Hypebeast created this slick alt-reality campaign. The flagship commercial features a star-studded cast of C-pop idol Jackson Yee, Japanese influencer Lala Takahashi, and rapper-producer Dough-Boy. Hypebeast enlisted boutique design and VFX studio Fin Design + Effects to craft the VFX for the film.

Directed by Crystal Choi, Creative Director at Hypebeast, the 30-second film theme is reworking the past to create a new future. We see the evolution from the 1998 classic OZWEEGO to the new, fresh, futuristic design. This is why a 3D printer replaces the chisel and hammer that Jackson Yee uses to craft the new shoe. 

Fin Design + Effects was tasked with creating the futuristic flourishes to complement the theme of the film. Fin’s VFX Supervisor Justin Bromley was on the shoot with the director in Shanghai to advise on the technicality of the VFX in relation to the shots, after which the post production was handled by Fin’s Sydney studio.

Alastair Stephen, Head of Visual Effects at Fin Design + Effects, comments: “Hypebeast’s Crystal Choi approached us with a refreshingly clear and succinct vision. This was one of the things that initially drew us to the project as we knew we could get stuck into the production straight away – leaving ample room for creative adjustments. Crystal had very clear references for the visuals she wanted and was open to technical advice on how we could craft this. It’s a very design-centric spot, so our main challenge was constantly being mindful of achieving visuals that were true to Crystal’s design sensibility. It was a pleasure to build on our body of work with adidas and Crystal was very collaborative and clear; I think the sleekness of the spot is testament to that.”

Speaking on the process, Fin VFX Supervisor Robert Grbevski comments: “Technically-speaking, the film required us to cover a whole range of CG disciplines. It made for an interesting palette of design, ranging from more abstract sequences such as the cuboid figures, which were achieved in Houdini, to the more traditional photoreal effects such as the mannequins, which we achieved in Maya. We executed most of the work in Houdini – for example where the old OZWEEGOs evolve into the new model – as it was well-suited to the design-centric nature of the project. Compositing was all finalised in Flame.”

Client: adidas

Product: OZWEEGO

Agency: Hypebeast

Production Company: GTONE

Director & Creative Director: Crystal Choi

Post Production Company: Fin Design + Effects

VFX Supervisors: Justin Bromley & Robert Grbevski

Producer: Isabelle Howarth

Head of Visual Effects: Alastair Stephen