Nice Shoes

Nice Shoes, Shortlisted in Cannes, Celebrates a Bronze Lion Win - 06.30.2010

Nice Shoes and McGarryBowen: Three Years of Collaboration for Chase - 06.21.2010

Nice Shoes Hires Bowman To Run Design Division - 06.14.2010

Nice Shoes Redefines Red Workflow - 06.01.2010

Nice Shoes Handles Post For Myren's Latest Doc - 05.25.2010

Nice Shoes Delivers Promise In United Nations PSA - 06.07.2010

Nice Shoes Contributes To Unique Polar Bear Club Video - 05.19.2010

Profit-Sharing Model Perfect Fit For Nice Shoes On Hot Indie Films - 05.03.2010

Nice Shoes Spins Out Post For Another Indie Movie - 05.01.2010

Nice Shoes Again Collaborates With Offspring On Ford Campaign - 05.06.2010

Arias with a Twist: The Docufantasy Debuts At Tribeca Film Festival - 04.16.2010

Nice Shoes Expands VFX Team - 03.22.2010

Nice Shoes Makes A Splash With Stella For Mother - 02.23.2010

Arias with a Twist: The Docufantasy to Premiere in Berlin - 02.16.2010

Nice Shoes Hires Travis Taylor To Oversee Sales & Marketing - 02.03.2010

Revamped Nice Shoes Rolls Out Another TD Ameritrade Campaign - 01.19.2010

Nice Shoes Adds Division By Joining Forces With Freestyle Collective - 12.04.2009

Nice Shoes Brings Creative Vision and High-End VFX to the NHL - 11.01.2009

Nice Shoes Color Grades MTV VMAs Promo Starring Britney Spears & Russell Brand - 09.10.2009

Nice Shoes Color Grades and Titles Garbage Dreams - 08.12.2009

GEs Real-People - 08.06.2009

BlackBerry Loves U2 - 07.22.2009

Nice Shoes Colorist Lez Rudge Makes An Imprint On New Spot Promoting Mandela Day - 07.07.2009

Nice Shoes Names Mike Donovan Managing Director - 07.01.2009

Nice Shoes Goes Risqué For Calvin Klein Jeans - 06.23.2009

Aron Baxter Returns To Nice Shoes As New Creative Director - 06.09.2009

Nice Shoes Sponsors Dusty Festival - 05.09.2009

Nice Shoes Makes A Nice Move - 04.16.2009

First Boards Awards Hosted By Nice Shoes - 04.02.2009

"BlackBerry Bullet" Punctures Apple - 03.12.2009

Nice Shoes New York Makes $3 Million Investment in FilmLight Color Grading Systems - 03.05.2009

Colorist Ron Sudul - The Top Five Questions I Get as a Colorist for Nice Shoes - 02.26.2009

Nice Shoes Colorist Lenny Mastrandrea Participates In Mayors Office Panel - 02.02.2009

Nice Shoes Steals The Show With Electrifying VFX For Chase - 01.15.2009

Posted: 07.07.2009 16:39

Nice Shoes colorist Lez Rudge lent a helping hand to a spot from Gotham/New York celebrating Mandela Day on July 18 - the 91st birthday of Nobel Peace Prize winner and former South African president, Nelson Mandela. The commercial’s beautiful visuals focus on hands helping in many charitable ways; the spot closes with a multi-colored palm print logo and Mandela’s voice declaring, “We each have what it takes to make an imprint.” Rudge was working on a spot with Gotham’s Neal Bergman when he overheard the producer talking to colleagues about the Mandela project. “I asked what he was doing for Nelson Mandela,” Rudge recalls. “Neal told me the agency was creating a pro bono spot for Mandela Day, and I told him I’d like to work on it. Rudge comments: “Art Director Ariele Jerome from Gotham wanted a contemporary feeling so I felt the best way to present the subject matter was to keep it simple: I didn’t want it to come across as slick, stylish and affected. Clean and simple images are what resonate with people, it’s a more honest way to tell the story.” Badger shot a series of close ups of helping hands: filling a plate at a soup kitchen, administering an injection, scattering seeds, assisting a man on crutches, hammering a nail, signing in ASL, passing sandbags in the snow. The spot ends with hands capturing fresh running water as Mandela’s voice urges viewers to make “an imprint.” At Nice Shoes, Rudge created a cool, slightly silvery feel to Badger’s bold, beautifully composed images. He opted to keep the skin tones of the hands -- many of which belong to people of color --deep and rich to heighten the strong impression. “We had a very smooth and enjoyable session,” he reports. “We were all thinking along the same lines so there was a nice synergy between us.” Gotham’s Neal Bergman adds: “It was a great pleasure working with Mathew Badger and the Gotham Creative Team to produce this amazing TV spot to promote the upcoming worldwide celebration on July 18,2009 of Nelson Mandela Day”. “Lez Rudge at Nice Shoes was very excited about the beautiful footage that Badger had shot last month on location. The simple lighting and photography added to the realism of the final footage making it very real and earthy. Great shoot and great post work by Nice Shoes.” Rudge is no stranger to pro bono work having on several charity commercials, including an inspiring spot for the Make a Wish Foundation last year, directed by Kevin Donovan. “I enjoy doing pro bono projects,” he says. “It’s a small thing I can do to give back to the community.” Notes: Jonathan Edwards of Red Car NYC cut the Mandela Day spot. Pat Portela was the Executive Producer for Nice Shoes. About Mandela Day: Mandela Day is spearheaded by the 46664 organization named for Mandela’s Robben Island prison number. The group notes that Mandela has spent 67 years making the world a better place so each of us should consider devoting 67 minutes to helping others.