Brief Explanation

The film begins with a riddle with no answer that draws our runner into his pursuit. We tap into his escalating intrigue, as the city and its ghost-like messengers urge him to move faster and faster. His experience becomes adrenalised, as he comes close to catching up to the shapeshifters in front of him, but never attains them. Shanghai, the city of the future becomes an exciting catalyst for the spot. The city urges and taunts. Our main runner is an almost nameless person, an everyman whose experience, vision and drive become inspired by Shanghai. This isn’t a film about unattainable athletics, but real people, real events, where the adrenaline and desire our runner experiences becomes a mirror into an almost mythical world. The city becomes the protagonist, urging him and us forward, until he becomes a symbol of the city, urging others forward… to Just Do It… Shanghai-style.

Execution

We had to capture the mechanics, the danger, the obsessive intrigue of the chase and the runner’s close-up emotion and desire that made our film’s experience visceral and memorable. The chase wasn’t just a mechanical device, but an emotional journey for the runner. We continually tapped into our main runner’s emotion, so we could believe and relate to his drive to keep up with the speed of Shanghai as manifested by its messengers. It was an athletic and spiritual game of cat-and-mouse in one of the fastest cities in the world.