The Sweet Shop’s John S. Park and world famous climber + photographer Jimmy Chin never stop exploring in their latest spot for The North Face
Award-winning commercial director John S. Park has teamed up with Factory Design Labs, Pandemic and performance apparel and equipment company, The North Face to create a pulse-pounding new spot that celebrates the spirit and heart of adventure. Bold and visceral as ever, Park uses a combination of in-camera, digital, and practical techniques to craft a one-of-a-kind journey that fearlessly tests the strength and durability of the world-famous The North Face brand.
The action-packed spot entitled “Never Stop Exploring,” follows famed The North Face athlete, climber and photographer, Jimmy Chin as he sets out on a quest to capture the ultimate magic hour photograph. Using a very difficult and unique split-screen mirror technique, Park takes the viewer on two nearly identical journeys, joyfully following Chin as he traverses both mountain and urban landscapes, effortlessly running, hiking, climbing and jumping from one impossible location to the next. Along the way, he moves with a smile on his face, assured in the quality of his new The North Face Thermoball jacket and its ability to protect him against the best and worst each region has to offer.
Park said, “Early on, I chose not to use any motion control rigs for this shoot. It was a risky choice because of the difficult conditions and the radically different geographic locations but we took the risk because I felt that those split screen techniques have been done to death. We needed to do something different. This posed a lot of challenges for matching shots but fortunately we had great people on our team who managed to pull it off beautifully, including Jimmy himself whose timings and movements had to be impeccable. It made for a very rewarding and memorable experience.”
“Never Stop Exploring” is yet another example of Park’s energetic style and ability to create exciting, story-rich pieces that are brought to life through the thoughtful use of dynamic, burst-off-the-screen visuals. Planned as part of a larger campaign, The North Face invites viewers to follow Jimmy on to the next stop of his adventure by taking part in various social and consumer events which can be found on their digital campaign site.
John S Park is represented by The Sweet Shop in all countries throughout Asia, with the exception of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
Credits – Marketing Director: Neville Lin.Agency: Factory Design Labs, Shanghai. Managing Director: Sook Ping Chow. Executive Creative Director: Kelvin Leong. Agency Producer: Aywei Wong. Production Company: The Sweet Shop. Director: John S Park. Executive Producer: Claire Davidson. Producer: Ivy Low. DOP: Werner Maritz. Editor: John S Park. Post Production: Locus Post, Seoul. Music: Floor6 Studio, Seoul. Co-Production Partner: Pandemic, China. Executive Producer: Aywei Wong. Line Production Company: The Network, Cape Town. Art Director & Production Designer: Jeremy Argue.