It’s fair to say that snowboarding isn’t exactly a popular sport over here, but if you’re a follower of any content put out by sports brands such as Nike and adidas, you’re bound to have been exposed to some form of media around the sport. As the first installment of their new ‘Nomad‘ series, adidas take a trip to Japan to test out the 2014 collection of gear. In the mountains of Hokkaido and the streets of Sapporo, some boarders, who 90% of the UK population has never heard of, take to the snow and show off their skills. A sport that we never do unless on holiday, but always appreciate watching as these daredevils risk their lives for our viewing pleasure. Thanks, adidas. Click through to see the video.

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Who remembers GAP for their bright, light-hearted commercials featuring people like Joss Stone with colourful typography and dances? I even wrote an essay in university about GAP’s branding fail and decline in the 00s but it’s nice to see the brand turn it around. A new direction and positioning, moving away from being known as the family brand to one that appeals to the younger generation, the 20s- 30s. With smart moves such as the Best New Menswear Designer capsule collections in the past few years, it’s nice to see the brand push the boat a little further with their new campaign. The four films have been directed by one of the greats, David Fincher takes a film noire snapshoot look into guys and girls pursuing each other, quite light despite the heavy B&W which ties into the product being pushed: Black Denim. With lines like “Dress like no one’s watching,” “Simple clothes for you to complicate” and “The uniform of rebellion and conformity.” - pay the copywriter, he/she’s done his job well. The film is what makes it authentic, no celebrity featured but a famous director and a step in the right direction. Watch after the cut.

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Well, this is everything. I stumbled across a great interview with the cinematographer Chayse Irvin last night which led to me to browsing through vimeo to stumble upon this. They called him the lighting master and after watching this, I can definitely see why. Gatorade‘s commercial focuses on the locker room moment before the game, where the players mentally fire themselves up for the game ahead. The film perfectly captures the intensity and intimacy of those moments through the slow build up. The lighting, sound and colour go hand-in-hand perfectly - by the end of it, you’ll want to jump up and go play.

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I just love The Music Bed and what they stand for in the creative community. Their content is always making me question my own morals, work ethics and creativity - it’s thought provoking, insightful and always exceptionally well shot by the in-house team. TMB headed down to London to shoot with Philip Bloom, who you may or may not have heard of. I stumbled across his work through film-maker friends who kept retweeting his opinion on the industry/new equipment and trends. Philip discusses the path to success, being patient and creating a separation between work, art, and life. He also shares his greatest learning from his career so far towards the end, it’s a little similar to what I’ve previously said about ensuring relationships coming first and making time/space for them.

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A wonderful little advert from the folks at Droga5. They’ve helped sports brand Under Armour creatively shift from their brawny footballers to ballerinas for their biggest women’s campaign yet. Opting not to go with a big name athlete like many of their rivals would, the advert features Misty Copeland who’ll stand alongside the likes of Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn, tennis player Sloane Stephens and soccer star Kelley O’Hara in I WILL I WANT campaign series. The moving 60 second clip features the ballerina warming up while the voice of a young girl recites a harsh rejection letter she received in her younger years. Ballet is as elite as any other sport, if not more harsh than a modelling agency: “You have the wrong body for ballet. And at 13, you are too old to be considered,” says the voice. Despite all the rejections, Misty managed to rise above and become a soloist for the American Ballet Theatre which the spot highlights towards the end. Watch on the reverse.

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First thing’s first, I’m a badman init, just ask Carlos! However, every now and again something creeps up on us and unexpectedly brings out our emotional side. Maybe it’s the fact that I myself am going travelling soon and like those in the video, I am going to miss some people. Or maybe I’m just human. Whatever it is, the surprise that YouTube star Jack Harries gives his girlfriend for her birthday choked me (there were no tears, gosh I’m not that emotional). The video isn’t a cinematic masterpiece but it doesn’t matter, the story does a great job of appealing to our human nature and I like that.

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Everyone’s always been fascinated by subcultures and scenes, whilst trying to find their own sense of belonging. Bose have created a trilogy of short documentaries exploring music influenced scenes around the world, starting with an investigative look at the rather odd success of dancehall and reggae in Japan. Yes, you read that right. I remember when I first came across a dancehall video from Japan and being completely baffled. I just thought it was a fad, a really niche scene in Tokyo but this documentary says otherwise. It’s a fundamental part of their life and the music, the style and culture runs through them.

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A beautiful film piece on an inspiring story of a person who holds a unique achievement in India’s history. This film is a celebration of democracy and one man’s persistent effort and belief in the system. His passion and joy conveyed through the film is just wonderful to watch and not to mention it’s shot exceptionally well. India’s a funny country when it comes to politics; everyone’s aware of what’s going on and active when it comes to protests and voting. Around 65% of people voted which is crazy considering the population is over a billion. Here we struggled to get 20% of people to vote. Watch the short film on the reverse.

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A 3D docu-film about my area! 1 Way Up tells the story of Tre and Quillan, two teenaged boys from Peckham on the road to the BMX World Championships. It shows how they escape peer pressure to take less favourable social and life choices by investing passion in BMXing. It centres around Peckham’s BMX park; I remember when the park was being filmed, so the trailer definitely teased a smile from me.

However, more probably made me frown about this trailer than smile. Personally, I look forward to the day when films/TV shows/media about working class inner-city London, teenagers and black/ethnic kids aren’t about gangs needing a soft vocational activity they can ‘relate to’ to take them off the streets. My other gripe with the film (trailer) is the long-toted misaligned perception that Peckham is this rough area with full of little more than degenerates and disengaged kids. I scoffed when I saw 1 Way Up’s byline - “one of London’s toughest gang neighbourhoods.” This inaccurate depiction is only toted when convenient.

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‘If your heart was in charge of your feet, beating down to the beat of your dreams to the speed of the future…’.

Lovely film work from New Balance - an aspirational short film from Cole Webley for the brand. The narrative and concept of it reminds me of Levi’s Go Forth campaign from a few years back which features a similar message; to keep pushing on and breaking boundaries. This is the level of film I’d love to produce at work, strong narrative with brilliant execution and art direction.

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