Product & sports film · Garmin Forerunner 935 “A Dedication”

The watch isn't the hero – the dedication is.

The Forerunner 935 measures everything. Garmin's “A Dedication” campaign cared little about that – it showed the dedication behind the numbers. We shot the film with ultrarunner Steve Way ourselves: England, a black studio, one hard light from above.

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Concept by Garmin. Steve Way by us.

“A Dedication” was a series of athlete portraits, all in the same look: a black room, one hard light from above, sweat, slow motion. The message: who cares about your VO2max – what counts is the dedication.

Concept and material largely came from Garmin. The athletes (Charlotte Morel, Alessandro Fabian, Michelle Vesterby and others) were shot by Garmin in Milan – we edited and localized the films into many languages. One, though, we produced ourselves: Steve Way, the smoker turned world-class runner. For that, we flew to England in December 2016.

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One light. A black room. Dust.

Stills from the Steve Way shoot – with short moving clips in between.

Steve Way steps out of the dark into the cone of light – black studio background

Steve Way running in slow motion, torso and clenched fists

Detail: the wrist with the Garmin Forerunner 935

Hands on the dusty studio floor – starting position

Hand and forearm with the watch, hard light, hard shadows

Foot on dusty ground – the stride kicks up dust

Steve Way as a silhouette in the cone of light

Runner in motion, hard spotlight from above

Steve Way approaches the camera out of the dark

Hero portrait: Steve Way facing the camera in the light, Forerunner 935 on his wrist

One light from above. Nothing else.

Three days around Southampton: first track and field work with the drone, then the studio core near Bournemouth. One hard light from above, black background, Steve in slow motion through the cone of light – every step kicks up dust, sweat runs.

Deliberately more dramatic than the US original: 60 fps, hard edges, no fill light. The watch only appears in passing. The result: a 40-second film – plus social cuts in several languages and a broadcast version.

Product films with a point of view

Studio or mountain: we tell products as stories instead of feature lists – and we can do both, shoot ourselves or cut a multi-language campaign from existing material. Based in Austria's Salzkammergut, shooting across Austria and beyond.

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The job at a glance

Client: Garmin – “A Dedication” campaign for the Forerunner 935 (Creative Director Tom Jenkins, Marcoms Manager Europe Christine Werdinig)
Product: Garmin Forerunner 935 – GPS multisport watch for runners & triathletes
Timeframe: Shoot December 14–17, 2016, product launch March 2017
Brief: “A Dedication” athlete portrait with Steve Way – produced entirely by us; plus edit & language versions of the remaining athlete films shot in Milan
Look: Pitch-black studio, one hard light from above, slow motion (60 fps), sweat & dust – deliberately dramatic
Scope: Directing, camera, lighting & edit (Steve Way film); editing the athlete series in several languages (incl. DE, EN, FR, IT, ES, PT, NL) + a broadcast version
Locations: Southampton (Outdoor Sports Centre, New Forest) & a studio near Bournemouth (Pro Studio Hire) – England
Distribution: Online & social; published on Garmin EMEA
Team: B&T Film: Florian Maderebner (director & camera), Simon Zauner (camera), Manuel Köllner (production), Ines Thomsen (stills photography), Saskia Reichl (make-up)

Partners & context: Garmin ↗The spot on YouTube (Garmin) ↗

Who was on set

Crew

Florian Maderebner – Director & Camera (Director / DOP)
Simon Zauner – Camera (Camera Operator)
Manuel Köllner – Production
Ines Thomsen – Photography (Stills)
Saskia Reichl – Make-up

On camera

Steve Way – British ultra and marathon runner

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