- Tuesday, Jul. 17, 2018
Farm League produces an ingenious concept to meld the dynamics of pro-level tennis and music in the Wilson Tennis campaign “Play Your Heart Out.”
Wilson approached Farm League, tasking the Venice-based film company to come up with a fun and inventive way to launch Roger Federer and Wilson Tennis’ all-new Pro Staff RF 97 Autograph racket. Having the opportunity to shoot Federer in Indio, California, Farm League brought legendary music producer Money Mark of Beastie Boys fame into the mix. Together, these two legends created a bass-heavy, foley anthem using the Pro Staff RF 97 racket as the only instrument.
Directed by Charlie McDowell, the Farm League production team built a miniature tennis court in the middle of the Mojave Desert, surrounded by a collection of analog and digital sound recording equipment. Taking advantage of the beauty and acoustics of the surroundings, Farm League plugged a tennis ball machine into a portable generator and asked Federer to have at it. Utilizing both the sounds of the game and a collection of electronic beats derived from the power, accuracy and beauty of Federer’s swing, Money Mark live mixed the original track titled “Play Your Heart Out.”
In the 60-second spot, McDowell wove a visual tapestry of motion and sound by capturing the zip of a tennis bag, the pop of a can of tennis balls, the woosh of tennis balls soaring back and forth. The desert backdrop looked like a tennis court on the moon, creating a compelling juxtaposition as each shot drove the action forward, the ball struck the bass drum and kicked off the 808 boom.
As a special complement to the launch, Farm League designed and arranged for the pressing of limited edition vinyl records of the track. An innovative concept that hooks into the worlds of advertising, music and sports - a limited edition RF 97 box set, including the vinyl, will go on sale worldwide on July 16th. This exclusive kit will be limited to 1,200 units globally. The box set will retail for $597.00 (USD) and includes exclusive keepsakes from the campaign. For more information on the box set, visit: Wilson.com/prostaff.
Farm League’s experienced group of storytellers thrive by working within the increasingly relevant intersection of sports and music, skillfully assisting brands such as Wilson to launch marquee products by tapping into the synergy of those two worlds. Utilizing their creative, production, and post production firepower, Farm League took the project from concept to completion, turning up the volume on Wilson Tennis’ new Pro Staff RF97Autograph racket’s classic tuxedo design with a truly inventive approach.
Watch “Play Your Heart Out” below or on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/VLn7ZlGuYN4
CLIENT: Wilson
GLOBAL MARKETING DIRECTOR Kyle Schlegel
SENIOR GLOBAL MARKETING MANAGER Anna Guelzim
ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR Tim McCaffrey
GLOBAL SOCIAL MEDIA SPECIALIST Annie Safranski
PRODUCTION TEAM
DIRECTOR Charlie McDowell
Co-Founder & EP Tieneke Pavesic
Co-Founder, EP & CD Tim Lynch
ECD Marc Gilbar
EP / ACCOUNT DIRECTOR Michael Pizzo
PRODUCER Sara D’Alessio
PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR Peter Bunstein
1ST A.D. Matthew Waters
2ND A.D. Jim Munoz
DIR. OF PHOTOGRAPHY Isiah Donte Lee
1ST AC Karim Belkasemi
2ND AC Matt Taylor
GAFFER Brian Mundell
BB DRIVER Jack Shaw
KEY GRIP Sean Talbott
BB Grip Justin Bernard
GRIP Dan Poole
PRODUCTION DESIGNER Daniel 'Smitty' Smith
PROP MASTER David Bridson
KEY COSTUMER (RF) Catherine Hahn
KEY MAKE UP (RF) Lori Matsushima
POST TEAM
EDITOR George Manzanilla
POST PRODUCTION PRODUCER David Burden
ORIGINAL MUSIC BY Money Mark
SOUND MIX Jingle Punx
COLOR Marshal Plante, Olio Creative
VFX Scott Kinsey