After completing The Story of Air Max, our friends at Calico once again approached us with another dream project. A full graphics package including the main title design and sequence for a six-part documentary series about the iconic Nike Dunk called “The Story of Dunk” to be hosted on Nike.com.

The Ask

Unlike The Story of AirMax, Director Danny Lee wanted the entire intro sequence to be shot practically utilizing motion control in order to easily match-cut between the Nike Dunk historical lineage. Starting from its inception in the mid-80s as a basketball shoe, moving through its resurgence in the skateboarding world and becoming the cultural icon that we know and love today. The title sequence not only needed to be dynamic but also pay homage to the time period in which they appeared in a natural time-appropriate way.

Our Approach

Throughout the design process, our goal was to maintain authenticity, not only to Nike but to the time periods in which each iteration of the shoe lived. From the get-go, we knew that we wanted to tell the story of the Nike Dunk in a way that not only spoke to its heritage but also allows its story to continue for decades to come. Throughout each decade the Dunk has captured different audiences for different audiences while maintaining the energy that couldn’t be ignored. To match this energy we focused on capturing abstract shots of each shoe using our motion control robot drawing the viewer into this story. And yeah, we added a little VFX just to make sure we were staying true to the Nike crew.

The Results

Ensuring that each graphic we created felt authentic, we delivered graphics for all 6 episodes formatted in a variety of dimensions. Since the launch of this documentary series, we’re proud to say the series has received hundreds of thousands of views and counting on YouTube. You can also watch the series on nike.com. It was an honor to collaborate with Calico Productions and the creative team at Nike on this campaign.