Engineered For Whatever
Columbia Sportswear
£2.4M Global Campaign, AV, PHOTOGRAPHY SOCIAL.
Shot in Austria • Slovenia • Croatia.
Role: Lead Senior Producer, accountable for the end-to-end production of the global campaign. Produced four AV films while leading a production team, directly managing a Producer and Assistant Producer delivering photography and social content.
Production Timeline: 9 months, from initial brief and triple bidding through pre-production, production, post-production and final delivery.
Director: Henry Alex Rubin @ Smuggler
Film 1: Global Brand AV
The hero brand film was the centrepiece of Columbia's global Engineered For Whatever campaign, blending live action, user-generated content and bespoke animation to celebrate the unpredictability of the outdoors. Shot across some of Europe's most rugged landscapes, the film was designed to capture the environments Columbia customers actively seek out, where the brand's products are truly put to the test.
Production took us from the alpine peaks of Austria to the forests of Slovenia and the rocky terrain of Croatia. We filmed with renowned adventurer Aaron Ralston, hiked camera equipment into locations inaccessible by vehicle, and captured athletes and adventurers in the environments where Columbia products perform at their best.
The hero film formed the foundation of a complex global campaign, with more than 40 deliverables produced across Global and US markets. This included multiple film versions, social-first edits, digital cut-downs and market-specific adaptations, with separate music tracks created for the UK and US audiences. Editorial was led by Joe Guest at Final Cut, while Framestore seamlessly integrated bespoke animation throughout the film. Original music was composed by SoundTree for the global campaign and Mr Pape for the US version, requiring close collaboration across production, editorial, post-production and client teams to deliver a cohesive campaign across every platform and market.
The result was a distinctive mixed-media campaign that balanced cinematic live action with playful animation, from cartoon hotdog vultures and battling snowmen to dramatic thunderstorms, bringing Columbia's adventurous brand personality to life.
Columbia ‘Product Test’ Films
The following three ‘test’ films were designed to authentically demonstrate the durability of Columbia's products, with every stunt performed for real. Filmed in a documentary style, the campaign relied on practical execution, complemented by seamless editing from Joe Guest at Final Cut and subtle VFX from Framestore.
Film 1 : Test 003
Every stunt in the campaign was executed for real. For this test film, we custom-built a snowplough rig and physically towed our stunt performer through deep snow to authentically demonstrate the durability of Columbia's products.
As is often the case in the mountains, the weather had other plans. Heavy fog rolled in, grounding the drone and making it impossible to capture the hero wide shots needed to complete the film. Without weather insurance in place, there was no straightforward solution.
As Lead Senior Producer, I brought together the client, agency, VFX Supervisor and key production leads to quickly assess our options. The fog was set to lift through the night, so I recommended an alternative approach: return at sunrise with the snowplough, capture the missing aerial plates using a drone and a stunt dummy, then seamlessly integrating the sequence in post-production. It was the only solution that protected the creative while avoiding a full reshoot.
Although the client incurred additional filming costs due to the lack of weather insurance, I was able to offset a significant proportion of the expense through an insurance claim relating to the earlier mountain relocation. The revised plan allowed us to deliver the intended creative with minimal disruption to the production schedule and ensured the final film matched the original creative vision.
Film 2: Test 002
Shooting real-life stunts in alpine conditions at the end of the ski season in Austria presented exceptional production challenges. Just days before filming, our original location was forced to close due to a Level 4 avalanche warning, requiring the entire production to relocate to a mountain that had never been recce'd. As Lead Senior Producer, I was responsible for making immediate operational decisions, notifying insurers, reassessing risk, safeguarding a crew of more than 100 people and orchestrating the relocation of the entire unit with minimal impact to the production schedule. Once filming began, rapidly changing weather conditions and complete white-outs demanded constant adaptation to keep the shoot moving while protecting both the creative ambition and the safety of everyone on set.
Film 3: Test 001
Is there anything more likely to make a producer's heart skip a beat than seeing a helicopter in a script? It's not the creative idea that's daunting - it's everything that comes with it.
For this film, we weren't just flying a helicopter; we were suspending a stunt performer from the side of it and flying them into a Croatian ravine. Every detail had to be meticulously planned and approved, from aviation permits and specialist insurance to risk assessments, emergency procedures and airspace coordination. Months of preparation went into ensuring the stunt could be executed safely for everyone involved… our stunt team, the crew, the pilots and the surrounding environment.
As Lead Senior Producer, my role was to bring together specialist aviation operators, stunt coordinators, insurers, legal teams and production partners, ensuring every approval was in place before a single rotor turned. When the helicopter finally lifted off, the audience saw a few seconds of exhilarating action. Behind the scenes, those few seconds represented months of planning, collaboration and an uncompromising commitment to safety.
The moment the helicopter took off, the audience saw the start of an exhilarating stunt. I saw months of planning, aviation approvals, safety briefings, insurance, risk assessments and contingency plans finally come together. It was the final day of a 3 week shoot, and when the helicopter landed safely, it was followed by a very well-earned sigh of relief.
For those few seconds on screen, an enormous amount of work happened behind the scenes to ensure everyone returned safely and the creative vision was realised exactly as intended.