Pedalling Perfection: Shimano’s Creative Synergy with Rising Animation Studio, Frame48

When I get together with Tom to talk about the origin story of this creative partnership, he tells me that Frame48's journey with Shimano predates the inception of the motion design and post production studio. 

“Back in the late 2010’s, I was directing action sports films in the mountain biking world, and Shimano sponsored a lot of those events,” he says. “I shot a feature-length documentary that followed the Enduro World Series - which was sponsored by Shimano - and it was during this time that I got to know the brand better.”

 

Years later the brand reached out, having become familiar with Frame48’s newly founded advertising and CG design capabilities – and the rest is history. 

Pioneers of technology-forward cycling components, Shimano has proven to be the ideal collaborator for the design-driven artists at Frame48. “We strive to make the technical selling points of their products really clear to the customer,” says Tom. “Whether it’s a cyclist that knows a lot about bikes or nothing at all, working with Shimano has been about figuring out the most effective ways to communicate what makes the product special and what benefit it provides to the end user, and doing this in a way that is on brand while also being visually unique and interesting. 

The productive partnership has also paved the way for a budding relationship with Shimano’s sister company, Lazer Helmets. For the past three years, Frame48’s boutique team of VFX experts have been simultaneously creating content for both brands. Similar to their collaboration with Shimano, their partnership with Chris Smith at Lazer Helmets has granted them the same creative freedom, enabling innovative showcases of their products.

As the world adapted post-COVID, the collaboration evolved, solidifying in 2021 with a shift towards more 3D motion design. This marked the beginning of a deeper partnership. “Over time, our relationship with Shimano has blossomed into a robust collaboration, with us becoming a trusted partner for everything from shoes to derailleurs,” explains Julian Conner, EP at Frame48. 

Initially focused on footwear, the partnership quickly broadened to encompass a diverse array of products. Today, the collaboration extends beyond intricate bike components like derailleurs and wheels, to comprehensive marketing campaigns with hundreds of deliverables for socials, web, and point-of-sale displays. 

The productive partnership has also paved the way for a budding relationship with Shimano’s sister company, Lazer Helmets. For the past three years, Frame48’s boutique team of VFX experts have been simultaneously creating content for both brands. 

Given the length of time they have worked with the cycling brands, I wonder how this calibre of work has challenged the team to upskill and evolve their capabilities. I ask Tom: “Our skills in building photorealistic CG environments have definitely improved as a result of the projects with Lazer and Shimano. For example, we might want to create a helmet flying through an Icelandic wilderness, diving in and out of the volcanic sand - because that's an environment where the product might be used - which would require us to figure out how to create a photoreal environment and match those references perfectly.” 

He describes how, in the early days of working together, the team kept things a lot more simplified - “a cycling shoe in a black void, breaking apart, showing the features” - but now, their first-class team and state-of-the-art technology enables them to build out an entire mountain bike trail that looks entirely photorealistic.

“The process has allowed for much more high fidelity rendering and more complex visualisations, allowing us to communicate more complex technology while also offering a wider variety of creative possibilities. This allows us to create worlds that are a little more recognisable and relevant to the customer, which has proven to be successful.” 

Adapting alongside the evolution of the brand’s objectives, Frame48 leverages the very best technology and tools to consistently up the creative ante. For their latest joint venture, Gravity, the team crafted all-new photo real environments, intercut with live action and mixed media - using Houdini. Similarly, the recent RC9 campaign presented the team with another opportunity to try their hand at something new and exciting. “With each project, we set new benchmarks for excellence, consistently surpassing our previous achievements and setting new standards in the industry.” 

“Houdini is an incredible software package that really enables us to achieve anything: from really complicated visualisations of technologies to photorealistic environments or intricate particles - the possibilities are endless. This tool has really allowed us to pitch any idea. For instance, with the wheels campaign we did this crazy particle world at the start of each spot, and that wouldn't have been possible without Houdini. Our latest campaign for the GE/GF shoes contained all photo real environments, intercut with live action captured by the one and only Anthill Films. This freedom to render realistic worlds with moments of stylized action has been a creative playground.”

From the exhilarating rush of the open road to the serene beauty of nature's trails, the partnership between Shimano, Lazer and Frame48 embodies creativity and innovation. As a result, the team has grown alongside a leading brand while continuously refining their visual language and enhancing the quality of their outputs. Propelling the brand’s technology through video, the team continues to explore the future of cycling one frame at a time.