Washington Nationals - Open - (2013) :60 (USA)

For the third consecutive year, EP*Vision‘s Maryam Parwana and East Pleasant Directors David Weinstein and Stash Slionski have teamed up with the Washington Nationals and their branding agency 40/40 on the team’s season advertising campaign and in-stadium display content.

“Going into the initial campaign with the Nationals in 2011, we knew that they were working on a three-year cycle and that they wanted a modular approach so that 2011, ‘12 and ‘13’s campaign would all work with each other seamlessly,” notes Weinstein. “The 2013 look worked fluidly with the Phantom campaign we shot in 2012 and the team was able to use all the assets in a cohesive package.”

EP*Vision was charged with updating the spots’ graphics and integrating the campaign’s live-action and graphic elements even further. EP*Vision CD Maryam Parwana oversaw the project’s overall visual aesthetic, depicting a confident Nationals team stepping into the spotlight. Subtle touches, like the addition of black to the red and white Nationals color palette, lent the campaign a grittier quality than in previous years.

“One of the most technically complex aspects of this project was making sure that players, typography, and copy could be easily swapped out over the course of the season,” stated Parwana. “Players get injured, slogans change, and we wanted to provide a kit with great animation, design, and an easy workflow for the team.”

Informed by their extensive sports experience, directors Weinstein and Slionski brought an easy-going approach to working with the athletes. “The first thing you have to realize with athletes is that they take direction better than anyone – most of them have been playing organized sports on a high level their entire lives, so they’re used to a regimented schedule and people telling them what to do all day, every day,” says Weinstein. “When they get on set with us, we just make them feel at home, play some music they like, and try not to take ourselves too seriously. Their job is stressful enough, so we just mess around and make it feel like a clubhouse.”

East Pleasant has worked with 40/40 since 2007, when the two entities teamed up on a series of projects with NFL PLAYERS, the marketing arm of the NFLPA. The transition to working with the Nationals and COO Andy Feffer proved seamless. “There was a comfort level already established and we really knew what we could expect from 40/40 creatively and vice versa,” explains Weinstein. “No matter the shoot, there has to be a narrative to it, with great storytelling and great visuals, and 40/40 principal John Trotter understands that as well as anyone.”

About East Pleasant:

East Pleasant, an Emmy Award-winning production company founded in 2004, is a group of creative individuals layered in years of expertise on both the agency and production sides of the advertising industry. The studio is a highly flexible entity, able to handle traditional or nontraditional TV commercials, films, web projects, episodic TV, music videos and documentaries of any scope, perfectly tailored to its clients’ needs.

Company principals – which include EP Michelle Cuccuini Hicks and Directors/Founders Damien Drake, Stash Slionski, Xander Strohm and David Weinstein – oversee a diverse, globetrotting team of producers, directors and editors who focus on shooting beautiful imagery that tells relevant stories. This group has produced work for some of the most recognizable brands in the world – Nissan, Nokia, Nike, Kenmore, Clinique – while teaming with top agencies Wieden + Kennedy, TBWA, JWT, Time Inc., and Skinny to name a few.

Client: Washington Nationals

Agency: 40/40

Production Company: East Pleasant
Director: David Weinstein & Stash Slionski
EP: Michelle Cuccuini Hicks
Director of Photography: Stash Slionski

Editorial: Pleasant Post
Editor: Chris Fiore/Parallel Universe
Producer: Taylor Colbert

Color Grading: Pleasant Post

Post/Effects: EP*Vision
CD: Maryam Parwana
Producer: Niabi Caldwell

Sound Design & Mix: Big Yellow Duck