The concept came from an early conversation with 3-1-5 that expressed a need for a piece that appealed to a diverse mix of people: from those at the beginning of their fitness journeys to world-class athletes and dedicated gym-goers.

Taking inspiration from ads by Nike, Adidas and Gymshark, the aim was to create something aspirational and motivational that converted new customers. The goal was to create a video that acted as a brand-identity piece, demonstrating the 3-1-5 culture and its wonderful people.

The video follows five key individuals, each with different training goals: a GB athlete; an older gym member; a young beginner in a PT session; a mother and daughter; and a committed bodybuilder. The breadth of this group allowed us to emphasise the message that there are no boundaries to who can train at 3-1-5. We wanted to break the stereotype of typical gym-goers as muscular, heavy-set men and open it to include men and women of all ages and abilities.

Having pitched and signed off on the idea, we penciled in two days for filming and worked with the 3-1-5 staff to contact members who represented each of the above five groups. Once the most suitable candidates were selected, each of the members was briefed before the shoot on what to expect and what we would plan to film, with any questions or concerns being addressed in the lead-up to production.

Filming began in early December 2020 before the announcement of a third national lockdown and extended across two days. Each member was called in at a specific time to minimise disruption and to adhere to Covid guidelines. This also allowed us to capture them training confidently, as they usually would.

We wanted the piece to look and feel natural, so gave the individuals minimal direction as they completed their exercises. In some instances, we provided vocal encouragement to push the members to their maximum potential.  

With each of the exercises, we used a two-lighting set up to create a moody look – one key light (Aputure 300D) and a gelled fill light (Aputure 120D). We used red and blue gels to add colour and life to the scenes. Red gels were used when capturing the higher-intensity sessions, such as boxing, spinning, and resistance training. Blue lights were used for gentler exercises such as yoga, running, and moderate weightlifting. We used these colours to show boldness, strength, determination, and energy and to link the video with 3-1-5’s branding.

Having been placed in a third national lockdown in January 2021, and after discussions with the team at 3-1-5 in the months that followed, we decided we’d use the video as a countdown to the gym reopening to build anticipation with members and drive new memberships.

We wanted the video to follow our characters getting ready and setting up before exploding into their exercises. In our early edits, we used an upbeat and carefree song that matched the energy and pace of the workouts. After internal reviews, however, we found this song didn’t portray the right tone we had outlined in our brief. While the video was energetic and positive, it didn’t harness the power of emotion that we outlined in our pitch and didn’t build with the video as intended.

Our focus with the new song was something emotional and explosive that built as the video progressed, something raw and gritty that helped tell the narrative we initially envisioned. The new song helped solidify the overall tone and matched the messages of positivity and pushing hard that the video embodied. We added a voiceover by motivational speaker Les Brown to accompany the song. We felt this complimented the piece nicely and fit with the 3-1-5 brand.

Following comments by the 3-1-5 team, we added some text with positive phrases as the narrative in the video built, to highlight some key points that the team felt represented the gym. These acted almost like call-to-actions within the video and included phrases such as: “Take control,” “Get in the zone,” and “Be a positive force.”

The video was delivered in 4K and colour graded by our in-house team. Audio captured on shoot days was included alongside stock footage to help build the atmosphere within the video. Some additional sound effects were added to transition between clips and further convey the mood of the piece.