The Washington Nationals - Natitude - 2012 :30 (US)

Major League Baseball's spring training is going full tilt, meaning it's time for East Pleasant and its sister companies to again help the Washington Nationals gear up for the season, this time in the form of a high-energy :30 TV commercial, that was filmed as part of their 2012 "Natitude" campaign. Developed in conjunction with the Nationals and their branding agency Forty Forty, the campaign's commercial was directed by East Pleasant's David Weinstein and features editorial work from Pleasant Post and VFX from EP*Vision.

The spot is a full-blast montage of action shots and stylized studio close-ups, blended with narration by Nationals' slugger Michael Morse and second baseman Danny Espinosa. After considering different ways to tell the story, Weinstein and EP*Vision creative director, Maryam Parwana, decided the Phantom was the perfect camera for the campaign.

"The Nationals are a young team on the rise, with guys who play with an edge and the confidence to deliver plenty of excitement in D.C. this season," said Andrew Feffer, Chief Operating Officer of the Washington Nationals Baseball Club. "East Pleasant did a phenomenal job capturing the raw grit, emotion and determination of our players - everything that Natitude represents."

The spot follows a comprehensive effort in 2011, in which East Pleasant and Forty Forty conceptualized and directed the team's commercial campaign and, with EP*Vision, overhauled the Nationals Park scoreboard and digital displays.

"When you slow down such a fast motion as a pitcher pitching, or a batter swinging at 1500 FPS, it's just beautiful, and I really think it came through in the campaign," noted Weinstein. "The funniest part was talking to the coaches who walked onto the set. They all wanted to get their hands on our footage so they could analyze their players' mechanics at 1500 FPS. I think they were more excited than anyone."

"The Nationals have been one of many clients to recognize the value of East Pleasant's comprehensive production approach," noted EP Sarah Roebuck. "Our close relationships with Pleasant Post and EP*Vision allow for a far more thorough understanding of a project's true needs than what is possible in a traditional production pipeline, in which people at all points on a project are working in isolation."

East Pleasant's relationship with the Nationals grew out of work they had done with the NFL Players Association under COO Andrew Feffer, who was so impressed with the company that he brought them over to the Nationals when he joined the team in 2010.

Credits
Client: Washington Nationals
Air Date: March 2, 2011

Prod Company: East Pleasant
Director: David Weinstein
EP: Sarah Roebuck
Director of Photography: Stash Slionski

Editorial: Pleasant Post
Editor: Lindsey Houston
Producer: Natalie Rose

Color Grading: Pleasant Post
Colorist: Tristan Kneschke

Post/Effects: EP*Vision
CD: Maryam Parwana
After Effects Artist(s): Lessa Millet, Joon Lee
Producer: Peter Stanik