Blacklist's Tendril creates shiny new kicks for Nike.

Near-microscopic photorealism, explosive shards, raining crystal droplets, refractive prisms and a miraculous cleat. Blacklist's Tendril flexed every last creative and technical muscle they've got for this explosive video display for Nike’s London flagship shop and stores across Europe.

The direct-from-client brief from Nike Amsterdam was to create a visually spectacular brand film for the launch of the newest edition of Nike’s CTR360 midfielder cleat, a boot designed specifically for ball control. Using prisms and reflective shards to depict the boot harnessing the chaos of a fragmented world, the video shows the cleat as it re-inscribes its environment with control.

Upon receiving the prototypes of the boot in the mail, Toronto-based Tendril recreated it in CG with exhaustive detail, modeling everything down to the last stitch for killer close-ups. Because the cleat was so detailed, they knew all other elements, like the prism shards, would have to be similarly detailed with carefully placed chromatic separations, scratches and excruciatingly detailed reflections.

Adding to the visuals is music and sound design by John Black, a longtime collaborator of Tendril's. Black's accompanying soundtrack further enhances the power and dynamics of the visuals with each scene acting as a movement building up to the final crescendo and resolve.

Client: Nike
Client Producer: Els Tau
Client Art Director: Kevin Coatman
Client CD: Eric Duvauchelle

Production Company: Blacklist
Executive Producer: Andrew Linsk
Producer: Nathan Jew, Erik Gullstrand

Director: Tendril
Creative Directors: Chris Bahry, Alexandre Torres
Executive Producer: Kate Bate
Producer: Anne Deslauriers
Music & Sound Design: John Black of CypherAudio

Editor: Steve Manz

Designers: Chris Bahry, Renato Ferro, Luis Guillherme, Vini Nascimento, Alexandre Torres

Textures, Lighting & Render: Brad Husband

Assistant Lighting & Render: Kosta Lavrinuk
Modeling: NoEmotion, Renato Ferro, Vini Nascimento

Lead Animation: Vini Nascimento
3D Animation: Renato Ferro, Vini Nascimento, Ben Pilgrim

2D Animation: Leo Mateus, Andrew Vucko
Compositors: Chris Bahry, Brad Husband, Daniel Luna