The Mill worked with Wieden+Kennedy (Portland) to tell the story of Shakur Stevenson, a US Olympian whose boxing story began when he was introduced to the sport at age five. ‘The Corner’ was directed by Romain Gavras of ICONOCLAST.
The Mill was on hand during the shoot to ensure the seamless integration of effects in post, particularly for the huge crowds surrounding the ring which were built in CG.
Creative Director and Shoot Supervisor John Leonti says, “We shot with a good amount of extras in the foreground and populated the rest of the arena with crowds generated in Massive. The aim was to have the arena packed to capacity with people watching the Olympic hopeful while telling us a little about his journey to the ring.”
In addition to filling the stands with people, the 3D team had to make sure every added element was perfectly placed – a process made more complex by the handheld camerawork throughout.
‘The Corner’ was topped off with the dramatic effect of blood running down Shakur’s nose, generated by the 2D team.