I have to admit I am a huge Bryce Harper fan, so I decided to break down NBA player Kemba Walker’s spot. It is easier to be unbiased; this way you can focus solely on the production and not the athlete. Before you read on, watch the Kemba Walker spot below.

THE FIRST 15

With online videos, you want to grab your target audience in the first 15 seconds, (some may think this is too long or too short). To begin, start with the first 15 seconds of this video. Note the slow building music and the quote that fades in. Walker says, “I was gassed but I just wanted to win so bad that my heart took over.” 5 seconds in after hearing and seeing the powerful quote, I was hooked. I also enjoyed the cuts of beautiful yet gritty shots of guys playing a game of basketball. Additionally, the slow motion footage adds a dramatic feel to what we saw. As Walker catches a pass, it cuts to a shot of him training. This is the 15 second mark. Notice how it goes from slow motion to real time which not only makes him look faster, but picks up the pace of the video.

TRANSITIONING

That sharp transition and change of space lets you know that something is about to happen and the story starts to build. At 30 seconds, the music also ramps up which adds even more interest to this piece. Until the final shot (no pun intended) the video cuts between the scrimmage and the training. The moves he does on the court are directly related to the training he did. I really love how they use the tool of speed to make this commercial more dramatic and more intense.

LIGHTING

They did a great job with the lighting. Even though the video is of very high quality, they did not over light the scene. They made it seem realistic and kept a certain grit that makes this believable. The last shot may be my favorite. I love the extreme wide shot showing Walker and his trainer going one on one. You get a certain feeling of him being on his own and that it is up to him to be the best. Using the hashtag #IWILL also incorporates social networking with out saying ‘follow us on Twitter.’

MUSIC

Don’t forget about the driving factor that ties this whole thing together, music. The slow build of the music to an emotional peak down to a soft let off helps tell this story. I have a feeling this is a custom rendition of a song because of how perfectly it fits together. If you don’t know how important picking the right music is, watch this video again with a song of your choosing. Let me know how that works out.

LENGTH

This one point deserves it’s own paragraph and maybe its own blog post. Think of how much information you got from this video. Did it move you? Make you want to find out more? It did for me and the video was only 80 seconds long. Pretty crazy! A lot of people associate a longer video with more information but that is usually not the case. This is a perfect example of that.

SELLING

Consumers are getting smarter. They now have realized a commercial forcing a sale won’t work any more. In this video, Under Armour highlights their gear but doesn’t jam it down your throat. I really dig this strategy and feel it works very well. What it also does it makes me want to watch all the videos in the series. Not only because I love watching a good video, but because I love sports too. As an athlete I was very interested in the clothing and gear they were using in the videos.

YOUR THOUGHTS

So what do you think? Does it make you watch more, go on their site or check out their Facebook or Twitter?