Nice Shoes helps Timex reposition fashion watches
Nice Shoes has made a foray into re-branding with an in-store film and two spots for Timex that made their premier at Baselworld 2011, the World Watch Jewelry Show in Switzerland. The New York-based creative post studio has been working direct-to-client over three months to help creatively reposition two of the watch giant's brands, Nautica and Ecko Unlimited.
Each piece uses a mix of CG, motion graphics, and live action to showcase the watches' unique detailing and inner workings in a newly re-positioned context; Nautica retained its sporty lifestyle look but elevated with a sophisticated and timeless all-American feel, while Ecko Unlimited moved away from luxury glam to a sleek, hard-edged tech vibe.
"Our aim was to evoke a sophisticated and irreverent feeling," says creative director Aron Baxter, who also directed the “Unlimited” spot. "It's a little more mature than they had previously conceived. We had very in-depth focus groups with Timex on the new direction to make sure we hit particular marks with each spot."
For the in-store display spot, Nice Shoes created a motion graphics pieced based on a light grid and onyx surfaces that takes viewers on a kaleidoscopic journey through different facets of the watches and lifestyle culture.
For the first two months, creative directors Baxter and Brian Bowman worked on nailing down the concepts before ramping up production in the third month. The animation teams created everything in Maxon’s Cinema 4D and Autodesk’s Maya, and then used The Foundry’s Nuke, Adobe’s After Effects, and Autodesk’s Flame for compositing. The job also marked one of the biggest collaborations between the company's VFX and design departments.
"The VFX and Design teams completely synergized and worked as one," says Bowman. "It was very rewarding to see everybody especially new members of the team ⎯ meld together and complement each other."
"Our clients encouraged us to 'turn up to 11' and we dully obliged," adds Baxter.
"It was an absolute pleasure to work in collaboration with Nice Shoes," notes Bob Evans, Timex VP Creative Services. "They took time to understand our final delivery needs, while offering some great creative options to help us achieve those goals. The entire process was well managed and really gave me great ease of mind that they would deliver nothing short of a masterpiece. The best part was watching the artists grow with creativity throughout the entire project —this is why I look forward to working together on future projects."
to view Timex videos click here: video1,
video2,
video3
Credits:
Client: Timex
VP of Creative Services for Timex Fashion Brands: Bob Evans
Project Manager: Vanessa Neri Brand
Director: Stephen Scholz
Senior VP Fashion Brands: Tricia Norton
Spot Title: Timex Nautica
VFX, Design and Animation: Nice Shoes
CD: Brian Bowman
Producer: Christos Mountzouros
Editor: Dana Bol
CG Artist: Ryan DeCarlo
Compositor(s): Joe Lawrence, Kristin Koch Assistant
Editor: Tony Dolezal