ABOUT

The Reebok Classic trainer is an iconic shoe that has been around since the early 1980s. As a kid growing up in rural Ireland, I remember my big brother, Padraig, got a pair of these for Christmas. I was so envious! It was love at first sight (between me and the Reebok Classic, not me and my brother). Eventually I got my own pair - multiple pairs in fact throughout the years, in all different colours and styles. Ahhhhh….. the memories…. I grew up with this shoe!

After university, I moved to East London near Brick Lane. There, I used to see people wearing these shoes all the time - whether they were on a night out or going to work in the morning. The Classic always came BACK into fashion - though in my opinion, it should have never left.
This was the inspiration for the elements used throughout the animation: the bricks, neon and the sound track were all inspired from memories of hanging out in East London (mostly on nights out, of course).

I almost wanted to tease the viewer with the dark silhouette and then hit them with the impact when the neon and bricks form together into a final composition.

This is one of my favourite personal pieces I have ever made as it speaks to not only my own nostalgia, but to that of East London. I am almost bummed I finished it as it was so much fun to make. I really enjoyed researching neon tubes and taking pictures of brick walls wherever I went!

I created this animation using Cinema 4D (Octane Renderer) for the 3D, Adobe After Effects for the colour correction, compositing and logo animation, and Premier Pro for the video editing and sound.