Nomad Productions shoots new Virgin Active campaign

Wim has been honing his storytelling skills over the past five years as an award-winning editor but is now directing full time. He will soon be jetting off to the Berlin Film Festival after being chosen out of 3500 applicants from around the world for the Berlinale Film Talent Campus.

Nomad is proud to have kicked off the year with three commercials for Virgin Active's new summer campaign. The concept of the campaign centers around Virgin's customers and how the brand is really integrated in their lives. Virgin wanted to get rid of the outdated and stereotypical 'gym bunny' image and, through a testimonial approach showcase Virgin Active users as everyday people with the same fears, aspirations, and goals as the rest of us.

Wim was an obvious choice when Virgin needed to find a performance director able to extract honest and moving performances for their commercials. Wim's forte is Cinema Verite, a documentary style of filmmaking, which he utilised in the Virgin campaign.

"I wanted to ensure that the viewers were able relate to the characters, making them believable and honest. I think we achieved that and more," says Wim after the shoot.

Wim, along with the Nomad Productions crew went to great lengths to ensure that not only was the filmmaking process an honest one, but that the characters were also the real deal - actual members of Virgin Active, trying to live a healthy life and obtain their personal fitness and lifestyle goals.

Casting was done at actual Virgin Active clubs where Wim spent hours talking to hundreds of gym goers.

"Eventually after three weeks of casting, and five days of shooting we ended up with three extraordinary stories. The commercials were all filmed at the Virgin Active clubs and in the casts actual homes and communities. Very little art direction was necessary and this makes the stories that much more believable," says Nomad's Jaco Du Plooy.

All three commercials are currently flighting across all channels.

To view the commercials, go to http://www.nomadprod.com/directors.html.