This film tells the story of the 2016 USA Women’s Gymnastics Team.

It shows this tribe of normal young women “going dark” and becoming invisible, both literally and metaphorically, as they step away from other aspects of their daily life, focusing and training single-mindedly 24/7, in relentless pursuit of sporting greatness.

We show the brutal strength and impossible physical ability of the team, building a breathless sense of repetition—working on full-body strength, skill and ability training on the mat, traveling to competitions, living and breathing their sport, over and over again.

The USA Gymnastics Women’s National Team will be one of the world’s most followed teams in 2016. Every four years these young athletes rise to meet the world’s massive expectations.

However, this group of young women have yet to prove themselves on the world’s biggest stage: the upcoming Olympics in Rio. Soon they will be on the minds of everyone in America as they go for gold.

The cinematography expresses and complements the idea of “going dark.” The sullen lighting throughout is reinforced by the energetic documentary-style camera work to depict the raw and intense nature of the team’s training. We have looked to make gymnastics feel different by lighting it to feel tribal and developing a tone that was unexpected for Under Armour. Structurally, the cinematography splits into two throughout the spot. We flip between the more physically intimate shots and a continuous, one-take “backbone” shot of the three girls training at night in the gym—the camera pans further and further out until we reveal them training at night in an isolated gym in the desert.