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There’s something so powerful about the idea of taking a dream and turning
it into reality - it’s what we all want, deep down, but we don’t always know
how to get there. This campaign is an elegant exploration of what it takes
– maturity, dedication, focus and, let’s be honest, a bit of hard graft. But all
dreams start somewhere. And in the beginning, having a positive environment
and permission to fail is what actually matters most. With the right support,
anything’s possible from there. And that’s what this film conveys so beautifully.
From a dynamic opening that features the Opals and Boomers owning the
court, to a gradual showcase of sporting practice, rather than prowess, this
film possesses a cinematic scope as it moves through spaces and characters. It
takes us on an emotional gear shift as we realise what it takes to go from zero
to sporting hero. We’ll create something stunningly filmic - using techniques
like a steadicam to follow the dynamic action on court, anamorphic lenses,
aerial drone shots and shooting off speed to give us a lovely dramatic pace.
And we’ll design a real stylistic shift across the piece so that, when paired with
clever match framing and emotive sound design, the emotional apex of the
story – where the Aussie Hoops kid is learning but getting so much support –
will position Ford at the heart of both the Opals’ and Boomers’ success, and
a healthy and happy community.
And to stay healthy and help your kids achieve, families do need support. A
Ford can get you from A to B (and C, D, E, F, and G if you count extracurricular
activities!), but helping your kids to achieve takes so much more. And that’s
also what this campaign is about - it’s not just about getting to basketball
practice once - it celebrates what happens when we come back, day after day
and year after year, as practice really does make perfect. Parents can’t do that
alone. So when combined with great community programs like Aussie Hoops,
Ford is helping foster stronger and more vibrant communities, something we
all want to be part of. It’s a terrific campaign, I’m delighted to be working on
it with you.

Opals and Boomers
As we have limited time with the Opals and Boomers, we’ll look to create a
cinematic, fluid, dynamic and energetic sequence that shows what they can
really do. On the day I feel it would be good to have some drills worked out
ahead of time, so we’ll seek Basketball Australia’s advice on the best plays to
film. In saying that I think we can explore some drills where we see the players
practicing:
•Shooting
•Zig-zag dribble
•Partner passes and pivots
•Defensive drills
•Two spots jogging and shooting
•Rebounding drills and
•Multipurpose ball passing, cutting and finishing
These actions will reveal the player’s strengths equally and enable us to
feature all players to showcase their skills. I’d also like to include some nonstructured
play too so that we are really covered in the edit for great,
dynamic material. Even though there will be so much action, we’ll capture each
player clearly so that we can leverage their famous faces, not just their
amazing moves!
While there is not much ‘acting’ per se for the players involved, I’ve worked
with professional sports people on numerous occasions and feel confident
in getting natural and easy performances from them which, in this instance,
showcase their incredible skills.
Their professionalism and steely determination will help juxtapose the
carefree enjoyment of basketball at Aussie Hoops level, as part of our emotive
story arc.

Tone & Approach to Transitions
The tone here is filmic, epic and moving. We want our transitions to be crisply
cinematic so our audience instantly understands what’s happening - they’re seeing
success in reverse. This is how the magic is made.
In terms of the transitions, we use a simple match frame technique as our transition
point. Using the ball in motion, we match frame on the speed and height of the pass, or
as it bounces off the ground. This enables us to almost ‘wipe’ the screen and change
locations, time and characters, giving us a dynamic, energetic and visually exciting
sequence. To help create an emotional tone, it won’t just be about the movement of the
ball, but also the people moving the ball, and the expressions we see on their faces.
Shooting this at 30 frames per second (slightly slow motion) will also help with a fluid
and cinematic transition. As outlined below in the location section, I’d also suggest
creating as much variety in the locations wherever possible - shooting between
interior and exterior courts and varied times of days with dynamic backgrounds so
that it is visually clear whenever we are transitioning between locations and players,
and helping us to build the emotional tension of the piece.