The Olympic Pivot: How We Revealed PUMA’s Kits Without the Athletes

What do you do when you need to reveal a high-performance PUMA Group Olympic kit, but the world-class athletes who wear them are thousands of miles away training for the podium?

At JED Lab, we didn't see a roadblock—we saw an opportunity to merge traditional cinematography with the frontier of AI and 3D design. Here is how we built an "Olympic Village" of creators to pull off a high-fidelity kit reveal using body doubles and future-gen tech.

Innovation at Espaces INNOV

To execute a vision this technical, we needed a controlled environment built for the future. We took over Espaces INNOV in Granby—a hub known for fostering technological advancement—and transformed it into a high-octane production lab.

The goal? Create a digital bridge between physical performance and a global brand’s premium standard.

The Strategy: Physical Performance Meets AI

The secret to believable movement isn't found in a computer; it's found in the human body. To ensure the kits moved with the power and grace of an Olympian, our process followed a rigorous technical workflow:

1. Casting the Doubles: Led by Kate Lalic, we cast body doubles who could mimic the exact explosive movements of specific Olympic disciplines.

2. The Green Screen Foundation: Under the direction of Jack Lafortune and DOP Mathieu Elie, we captured these high-intensity movements with precision.

3. AI & 3D Layering: Using the physical data from our doubles, we applied complex AI workflows to overlay the exact likeness, body structure, and facial features of the real PUMA athletes.

4. Hand-Drawn Detail: To give the videos a "premium" edge, we layered hand-drawn animations over the AI-generated visuals, ensuring the final product felt like a work of art rather than just a digital simulation.
   
   "The body movements were the heartbeat of this project. AI gave us the likeness, but the physical performance of our doubles gave us the soul." — JED Lab Production Team

A High-Fidelity Result

The result was a series of visuals that honored the athletes' likenesses without requiring them to step foot in a studio. By combining human sweat with digital intelligence, we delivered a campaign that met PUMA’s exacting standards for their biggest stage yet.

The Olympic Village of Creators:

A project this complex requires a specialized team. We are incredibly proud of the crew that made this "impossible" shoot a reality:

• Director: Jack Lafortune

• DOP: Mathieu Elie

• Casting & Production Director: Kate Lalic

• Studio Lead: Steve Rasier

• MUA: Nathan Archambault

• Shoot assistant: Oline Bégin

• Cameramans: Espace INNOV team

• Sound: Martin Béchard