Print and digital campaign for the rebranding of Sport Channel ‘Al Jazeera’ to ‘beIN Sports’. Taylor James handled all the sports photography, CGI integration and post production. The schedule was challenging but we were able to adapt our pipeline to fit the exact requirements and time the agency had, and the results are stunning.

We worked with TBWA RAAD based in the Middle East on the campaign that would be to launch the new sports channel for the renowned Al Jazeera network to beIN SPORTS. They wanted to first create 3 teaser images with ‘Coming Soon’ in different languages to be promoted globally, and then 7 full images depicting the various sports for the TV coverage. The brief landed on our laps just before Christmas, with a quick deadline for Christmas Eve so it was all hands on deck!

A live casting was required for the shoot to ensure the sports talent could execute the require moves. The client selected the talent on the day ensuring they had exactly what they needed. The live casting also acted as a pre light, allowing the client to sign off lighting and talent in one day. We scheduled the shoot days straight after the casting day to ensure continuity of lighting and set, using Broncolor flash to ensure we captured the talent with maximum depth of field whilst freezing the action.

The campaign was shot over two days; and in order for the client to fully see how all the elements combined we had TJ retouch and concept artists on set pulling the pieces together. Our concept artist sketched out the swirls in order to show the client how the CGI could look. The sketches would then be modelled in CGI afterwards and integrated into the photographic shots in post-production.

CGI artists created wireframes of the huge swishes you see running throughout the images. The client was unable to supply us with the beIN branded sports attire so we had to improvise. Our retouch experts marked grids on the clothing (where the logos and various paneling would be) and then applied the badges and paneling in post production. Matching the colours and ensuring the folds and fabric textures were retained so the logos felt authentic. The client was concerned it wouldn’t work, but we communicated every step of our solution and checked they were happy and they were extremely pleased with the realistic result.

The final images were very well received and the elements came together well. Having our whole creative team on set to quickly comp up each shot made for a much smoother production. The art director was able to oversee and approve every key stage and so we were confident we had captured everything required for each image.

By ensuring that everyone involved (from the art director, models, photographer, their assistants to our concept artist, retouchers and CGI artists) all understood the scope of work and detail needed for each shot, we were able to feed in the right creative and expertise when required. The final artwork ran across the newly branded website and additional digital media.