Lights, Sound, Action
London
24 August 2016
The Nike Unlimited You. Filming and Editing Alice Masters
MADE FOR NIKE
Where there has been sport, there has always been a sense of drama. The spectator's involvement is enhanced by uncertainty about both the outcome and how that outcome will be achieved. On the level of the individual there is this same jeopardy, bolstered by the will to succeed as well as the subsequent elation of achievement. When it comes to training, however, such exhilaration can quickly dissipate into routine; the pay-off is deferred.
Last weekend, at the climax of its 17-day Unlimited You season of events worldwide, Nike created a unique experience to denude training of the humdrum. Video, lighting and music were deployed to create an immersive work-out environment inside Shoreditch's Old Truman Brewery. The Unlimited You installation aimed to push participants to run faster and train harder by restoring a sense of excitement and theatricality to exercise. To mark the occasion, Disegno created a special film of the event, which premieres at the top of this page.
The Unlimited You training area was created by Artisan, the collaborative wing of the art collective United Visual Artists (UVA). Founded in 2003 to provide stage design for the band Massive Attack, UVA has since produced a series of installations that use light and sound to provoke reactions that are both instinctive and contemplative. Unlimited You drew on Artisan's expertise in blending sensory stimuli to affect the emotions. “It is intended,” says a representative from Artisan, “to be a multi-sensory of experience. Sound and visuals play an equally essential role.”
The graphics, taking the form of videos and lighting on the brewery’s walls, were created for the specific purpose of exercise. ‘We used lots of bright, vivid neon colours,” says Artisan. "We wanted to encourage people to feel bold, daring and motivated.” The power of the physical senses to create extra-physical sensations has long underpinned both UVA and Artisan’s practice: “It’s impressive how our senses and bodies react to light, and how receptive humans are to sound and light, touch and smell. We’re interested in exploring this in all our projects.”
Three of the brewery’s voluminous rooms were tailored for different exercise experiences. The first, focused on running, takes the participant through a series of digital landscapes. “It is all about using flowing lines to create a sense of linearity,” explains Artisan. “A journey from A to B with a gliding, fluid motion.” The boxing room that followed used “more geometric, flashing, staccato animations, to mirror the movement and action of boxing punches,” centring around a virtual ring created by bands of light. A final space, dedicated to both boxing and circuit training, fused the two styles.
In order to augment these visuals with an equally distinctive sound, Nike approached Joe Goddard and Alexis Taylor of the band Hot Chip. The pair assembled a propulsive electronic soundtrack, including specially composed pieces. An orchestra was commissioned to play alongside this soundtrack, adding a further layer of drama. The musicians remained hidden until the climatic third space, enhancing the sense of apotheosis in this final phase.
The idea of technology bolstering sport has often linked to the idea of advanced wearables, whether through devices that monitor fitness or performance-enhancing materials. By contrast, the Unlimited You gym rather drew upon technology’s ability to enhance the emotive power of sport. “Technology,” says Artisan, “has helped turned sport into a spectacle. Look at any major tournament or arena and the technology that surrounds the games – it enhances the experience of watching, and the sense of event.”
Through technology, Unlimited You allowed participants to become the event themselves, turning the stadium inside out so that everyone becomes a performer. In doing so, it offered a glimpse of a potential future in which the experience of exercise is elevated above the physical.
This article was made for Nike.
Nike’s Unlimited You was open from Friday 19 to Sunday 21 August, at the Old Truman's Brewery.
Old Truman’s Brewery, 89 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL.
Related links:
Nike Unlimited You
Artisan
Alice Masters