AKQA: Interactive Innovators
At AKQA, content is king. The global interactive agency knows that jaded and jittery consumers can’t be nabbed by flashy websites or clever 60-second spots, so AKQA has upped the ante. “There’s a greater industry shift toward creating in-depth content”, says Group Creative Director Neil Robinson. “We want to make pieces that are entertaining and engrossing. You need to create engaging and relevant content if you want to connect with consumers today”.
AKQA uses Macs to create all of their cutting-edge content. “The Mac is at the core of our creative process”, says Robinson. “The majority of our creative and development teams use Macs, and we use Final Cut Studio to cut all our footage. iChat allows us to exchange ideas between offices on opposite sides of the globe. Our iPhones keep us connected wherever we are. Macs are reliable, flexible and powerful. They give us the creative freedom we need to stand out in this field”.
The agency’s content-rich approach has worked like a charm: AKQA was named one of the “Fast 50 World’s Most Innovative Companies” by Fast Company magazine, and Digital Agency of the Year by Advertising Age. It’s one of the fastest-growing interactive agencies in the world, with offices in San Francisco, Washington D.C., New York, London, Amsterdam and Shanghai.
AKQA’s clients – companies like Nike, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Kraft, Target and Visa – find the agency’s content-first strategy especially persuasive. For example, Nike recently commissioned AKQA to craft projects such as a series of in-depth documentaries for Nikefootball.com; an interactive video that lets fans delve into Kobe Bryant’s precise plays for Nikebasketball.com; and a dazzling website for the company’s latest gear.
Nike knows that sports fans can’t get enough of superstar athletes. That’s why they hired AKQA to come up with an innovative way to show off Kobe Bryant’s brilliance on the basketball court. Robinson and his team decided to shoot high-speed video of Bryant in his natural habitat: a court full of formidable foes. Robinson went to director Jesse Dylan for help with the shoot, and used his MacBook Pro and Final Cut Studio to put it all together.
Thus the Kobe Bryant “One Move Ahead” project was born. The interactive website fuses slow-motion video, motion graphics and a slick Flash interface to showcase Bryant’s basketball skills.
“It was the first time that Nike had commissioned AKQA to do a shoot for this type of project”, says Robinson. “We met Kobe and explained the concept to him. During the shoot we used digital cameras to ghost the high-speed film cameras, and to make live comps on the set using our MacBook Pros and Photoshop. It was important that our systems worked flawlessly, as you normally don’t get a chance to do retakes with an athlete like Kobe”.
AKQA built a Flash site that allows users to view the footage at various speeds, revealing the intricacies of Bryant’s moves. “One speed displays the game the way you and I see it”, says Robinson. “Then there’s a speed that represents how Kobe sees the play. We then provided a third, super-slow-motion speed, which allows ballers to explore how Kobe anticipates and outwits his opponents”.
The film footage was scanned to digital and edited in Final Cut Studio. The AKQA effects team added motion graphics to further expound upon Bryant’s moves, and the agency development team brought it all together in Flash for the web. “Speed was key for us”, says Robinson. “The day we came back, we did our editing in Final Cut and then made a working prototype in Flash. Final Cut is incredibly intuitive for us, and the workflow is incredibly fast. Maintaining creative momentum is massively important in these types of projects, and Final Cut comes through”.
