As the NBA grinds into top gear, one of its most famous and storied franchises – the New York Knicks – rolled out a high-energy film celebrating the team’s past, present and future called ‘Built By New York’
Teaming up with New York-based agency Translation and Venice-based production company Farm League, the short film marks the 75th anniversary of the two-time champions and regular (albeit not recently) playoff contenders – a team which has retired the numbers of some of the greatest players to have played the game.
The theme revolves around the idea that all these accomplishments are not simply due to talent, but to the gritty, hard-working attitude of the city itself.
Drawing parallels between the drive and heart of the team and the city itself, the creative is anchored around the line that “In this city, you get built different” and the idea that if you want to understand the Knicks then you have to understand New York City.
The video features recognisable elements and icons of the city – including words, faces, places, textures and bodies – blending together to form a shifting portrait and an evolving dialogue spanning the decades.
Shot in the city’s streets over two days, the aims was to capture authentic and uncontrived moments in a collage style compuliation of genuine New Yorkers and real fans – including chess matches and skaters, as well as basketball players – mix with iconic archive game footage and highlights.
The 30-second spot premiered on broadcast television ahead of the 24 October game which saw the Knicks host the Orlando Magic at home, while an extended 60-second version will be featured across the New York Knicks social media channels.
The spot was helmed by Farm League Director, long-time New York resident and passionate hoops fans Miko Lim: a director, photographer and mixed media specialist well known for his energetic and emotional sports work.
“I have a great love for the city, the team and the people, so this project was a dream come true. New York is the world’s greatest melting pot, so I really wanted to speak to that history while also paying respect to one of the most historical franchises in the NBA,” said Lim.
Production outfit Farm League worked with visual artist Federico Forlani to craft a ‘flash treatment’ style to the film over the course of three weeks.
“What really stands out to me about Federico [Forlani] is his artistic integrity. He believes in motivated effects and avoids gimmicks at all costs. Because Madison Square Garden has stood the test of time, we found so many great match cuts of players in the 60s and 70s like Willis that matched players in the 80s like Bernard, and then on to Ewing, and so on to the current team,” added Lim.
The campaign was created for the Knicks by a team at agency Translation which included Head Of Integrated Production Alison Hill, Executive Producer Pamela Yeh, Senior Producer Alice Cottle, Producer Ashley Pineda, Creative Directors Karsten Jurkschat and Alex Little, Copywriter Greg Bruce, Art Director Jack Graham and Account Director Jordan Ofsevit.
The Production Company was Farm League with Director Miko Lim, Executive Producer / Founder Tim Lynch, Executive Producer Michael Pizzo and Jose A. Barrios, with Post Producer Theo Fischel-Bock, Editors Miko Lim, George Manzanilla and Max Edit and VFX Artist Federico Forlani.
Comment
Translation is the go-to agency when it comes to brilliant basketball strategy and creativity spearheaded by its award-winning work for the NBA itself such as its 2019 ‘This Is Why We Play’ brand refresh to 2021’s ‘NBA Lane’).
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