What do you do when a company with over 600,000 users asks you to become a content provider for their new home-workout streaming service? That’s a no brainer--you agree. Now, imagine they contact you twelve days before the launch… Do you still agree? Hell ya.
Storyboard, film, and edit five at-home workout videos for the launch of FabFitFunTV that translates the essence of the Burn 60 experience to the home viewers in 12 days
Due to the project’s time constraints, we leveraged company knowledge to develop an avatar that would guide the development of our content. Lucky for us, FabFitFun’s target customer mirrored that of our own. The goal of this phase was to understand the setting in which the viewer would consume our workouts.
The critical decisions established during this phase were:
During our initial brainstorm, I used an experience map as a tool to develop a narrative structure for production. By using images from a Burn 60 class, I was able to guide the conversation to focus on answering the following questions:
This exercise was pivotal in developing a storyboard to communicate our vision to the director.
I synthesized our research and brainstorming insights by establishing three core design principles.
The bond between the trainer and the client is supreme. We must simulate the interactions a client would experience in-class.
To support the trainer, we must design a visual communication system that is simple and scalable.
Trainers should spend 80% of time coaching to the camera, communicate the “why” behind each interval, and make it fun!
The visual system's core function is to communicate directional information to the viewer. Using the experience map, I pinpointed opportunities to implement visuals that aided in translating the Burn 60 class experience to video. To support the mission of efficiency, the design style is simple, clean, and bold. Because FabFitFun TV can be viewed on TV and mobile devices, I made sure the system possessed a high level of contrast and legibility.
With our storyboards and workouts in hand, we met with the producer, Michael LaBellarte, and director, Simon Needham of Blue Eyed Pictures to discuss the films styling and production schedule.
Our goal was to design a set that fit our modern brand aesthetic and supported our visual system. To create a high level of contrast, we built a large white backdrop. We also placed a red gel light above the treadmill to mimic our signature studio lighting.
In our meeting, I reiterated the three core design principles to the team: create an intimate connection, train to all levels, engage, educate, and entertain. These principles drove our decision to implement an A/B camera set-up. With the use of two cameras, we could create a cut-sequence structure that would satisfy our needs.
When it comes to boutique fitness, music is everything. I knew we needed to choreograph the music to our workouts for our videos to be successful. I chose to create a theme for each trainer and personally scored each run and floor segment with royalty-free music.
After a grueling 12-hour shoot and three days/nights bunkered up in a West Hollywood bungalow, we cut and shipped the Full Body Burn Series on time! This was my first experience in film, and I was blown away by Michael and his team’s sheer determination in those final hours–it was magic. Can’t wait to do it again!