THE NORTH FACE — Global Campaign 2026

Creative Direction & Full Post-Production : How we brought the 2026 Global Trail running and Climbing campaign launch to life.

The North Face handed over terabytes of footage and a rough creative direction. No detailed brief, just raw material, full creative trust, and one clear outcome: deliver their global campaign across trail running and climbing, from concept to final cut.

The scope

4 Hero films (each built around a specific product launch) designed as a unified body of work.
2 hype edits.
6 standalone videos.

Each master declined across every distribution format such as 4:5, 4:3, 9:16, 16:9 (clean and dirty, subtitled and unsubtitled, with and without VO, with and without final mix). Site, retail, social media.

Somewhere between 80 and 120 final deliverables.

The concept : these products were built with athletes, not just tested by them. The films had to reflect that the gear had been developed through real feedback, real terrain testing and real performance. But without the usual talking head interviews. Just athletes and the products they helped create.

How we worked

Before a single frame was cut, we established the creative architecture:

Visual rules
VO copywrtiing
Sound design intention
Format hierarchy.

Every decision downstream had a clear reference point. Maybe an old habit from my engineer life, but this is how things can move fast and precisely in my opinion.

From there, execution was iterative. Constant validation with TNF at each stage, adjusting in real time rather than reworking at the end.

A small, dedicated team — one creative director, one composer — in permanent dialogue with the brand.

What we handled

One point of contact, from the first rough cut to the final export. TNF worked with me directly, I coordinated the rest.

Creative concept — developed and refined iteratively with the team. Each film was built around a specific product and athlete, while staying part of a coherent whole. The four films echo each other without repeating themselves.

VO copywriting — written and refined in close collaboration with TNF, adjusted until every word earned its place against the image and fit the marketing goal.

Color grading — a unified visual language, consistent across all formats and aligned with the campaign photography.

Original music & sound design — My team composed an original score for each hero film, directed to carry the emotional arc without competing with the VO. The goal was to integrate better the Sound Design with the music.

3D asset integration — original compositions embedded into the visual system from day one, not added in post.

Production planning & delivery — old habit from engineering : we retro-planned the entire post-production before touching a single clip. Picture lock, sound design, color, final mix, exports.
Each stage locked on schedule. 80 to 120 final assets across 4:5, 4:3, 9:16, 16:9, clean and dirty, with and without VO, with and without final mix. No surprises at the end.

What it looks like for a brand

Before filmmaking, I spent 7 years as an aerospace engineer. Precision at volume, zero margin for error, in contexts where mistakes had real consequences was the day job.

The stakes are different now but I kept the standard.

One point of contact: Every brief, every revision, every deliverable handled through a single creative lead who knows the project as well as you do, from the first frame to the final export.

Fast turnaround: Revisions are integrated in real time, not batched into the next agency sprint. Delivering 100+ assets across multiple formats, platforms, and spec requirements — without drift, or errors, or a version control nightmare — that's a systems problem. One I've solved before fortunately.

The creative work moves fast because the structure underneath is solid. Not the other way around.