UEFA CHAMPION’S LEAUGE | PROMO CAMPAIGN

CONCEPT, DIRECTING, CINEMATOGRAPHY, EDITING

UEFA needed to develop their visual style and wanted a look for their promos that distinguished them. To achieve this, promos were conceived that would be filmed in a cinematic style using cinema cameras and cinema lenses. Something they had never done before.

Two minutes of camera operating and I quickly realised why they don’t shoot football like this: it’s massively difficult technically and physically draining.

We shot and cut several, but this was my favorite. It was amazing camera operating on the field at Old Trafford - even if it was pouring rain. Frustratingly the new (at the time) RED Cinema cameras would shut down with the intense noise vibration of the crowd after a goal…

Fortunately when I started cutting — there was just enough of one goal to use for the end shot.

UEFA loved these promos because they did feel different. I suspect this is mainly because I know nothing about football. I didn’t know any of the famous players and had no idea where to point the camera to follow the ball: I was only interested in shooting the athleticism and the emotion.