Following the hugely successful launch of our ‘Under The Tongue’ adidas Predator documentary, we sat down with director Keane Pearce Shaw to get the inside scoop on the making of.
We all know the boot, but until now, the story behind it was almost more of a myth than fact. Now though, with the release of ‘Under The Tongue’, SoccerBible’s Predator documentary produced in collaboration with adidas, the story is told in full, presented through the creative lens of director Keane Pearce Shaw. The documentary itself is a celebration of the legacy of the Predator, capturing that myth and magic of the iconic boot; that almost unspeakable quality that is so unique to the DNA of the franchise. Sure, everyone knows what it is, but everyone equally has their own interpretation and memories of it, and so ‘Under The Tongue’ tells that story, reinterpreting memories and feelings, with the heart and soul of the story being centred around the maverick mind of the inimitable Craig Johnston, the man who first dreamed of putting rubber on a football boot.
But with a story that spans over 30 years, taking in some of the biggest names and most memorable moments in the game, not to mention its sheer cultural impact, where do you even start? Following the documentary’s premier at Koko in Camden, London, we sat down with director, Shaw, to find out all about the making of what is sure to be a defining moment in the Predator’s story.
CREATIVE & INSPIRATION
The adidas Predator is one of the most iconic football boots in history. What did you want to capture about the boot’s legacy that hadn’t been explored before?
To be frank, everything! A lot has already been covered on the boot in dribs and drabs, but I wanted to make a documentary that was the be-all and end-all for everything Pred. From Craig’s story all the way through to the very latest incarnation, it was really important for me to firstly capture the essence of what the Predator is, the feeling and memories we all have of getting our first pair, but also put that through a modern lens and make it feel current.
“There’s not one single football boot that has a story like the adidas Predator. It had a big bang moment, a coming of age, a struggle. Thats why it deserves a film like this. It’s the story of an idea, a mad man who dreamed to change the sport for the better, and historic moments that shaped the game thereafter.”
How did you approach telling the story of the Predator from both a personal and a cultural perspective?
It was always important for me for this not to be a talking head piece as much as possible. Any great documentary takes you on that sensorial and nostalgic ride, and repackages it as something new. Me and Pete Martin (Creative director) started off with a dream minute by minute breakdown of our perfect Predator documentary, the key players in the story, our key archive moments and things we wanted to reinterpret as graphical animation segments.
The documentary feels like a deep dive into the soul of the Predator. How did you balance focusing on the technical aspects of the boot with the human side of the story—the players who wore it and the impact it had on football?
I wanted this documentary to appeal to everyone; from avid football fanatics who could recite every moment and version of the Predator better than I, to the One Direction fan who would believe you if you said Nottingham Forest was a large park in middle England. All jokes aside, it was really important for me to make this as captivating as possible for all audiences. I think that’s what makes a great story, no matter what your background, its interesting enough to put bums on seats for 1 hour 10 minutes.
THE PROCESS
What challenges did you face during production, especially when capturing the history of something as iconic as the Predator boot?
Archive, archive, archive! To my point about this not being a talking head, that was our first and biggest hurdle. The bigger the project got the more we realised how hard (and expensive) it is to clear that much archive. Luckily we had a great team working with us that made it possible to get the moments we needed, plus some incredible archive from adidas and Craig himself. We captured great soundbites with our talent all across the world, but I never wanted to use it in vision. Luckily, me and my team of DOP’s chose to shoot them in a stylistic way that allowed us to fall back on them when needed.
When we first received the brief, our heads obviously span in five million different directions. The hardest part was to whittle it down and leave things on the cutting room floor.
The documentary blends interviews, archival footage, and behind-the-scenes access. How did you curate these elements to create a cohesive narrative?
I would say my work as a director has always been mixed media focused, so being allowed to put that style into a documentary was extremely liberating and exciting. Usually I get 30-60 seconds to tell a story, so when adidas and SoccerBible gave me the opportunity to create one hour of madness, I hit the ground running.
As mentioned earlier, I wanted to recreate and reinterpret memories. Even though everybody has seen Beckham's goal against Greece and Zidane’s volley, for the documentary to have any gravitas it needed to show these in a totally new light. Whether that's through animation, the audio storytelling or even sound design, the documentary is designed to trigger feelings, if you’ve seen that moment a million times or none.
INTERVIEWS & STORYTELLING
You’ve spoken to a lot of key figures in football and design for this project. Was there a particular interview or insight that really resonated with you or changed the way you viewed the Predator’s legacy?
It’s hard to look past the nicest man in Football Sir David Beckham, isn't it… He sent my Grandma a video message wishing her a happy 80th birthday on set, so all in all a personal pinch yourself moment. Back in 2017, one of my first projects with adidas and SoccerBible was to chat to David about his personal collection and memories about the boot. So to come full circle and create a feature length documentary about the boot's foundations, legacy and future was something I could only dream about as a boy. He was the reason I wanted a pair so badly, I played right midfield, I practiced hours and hours in my Grandad’s garden curling a ball.
The film features players from different eras of the Predator’s history. How did you approach interviewing players from various generations, and what unique perspectives did they bring?
Again, working with Pete on this was crucial to banking what we needed for the doc. Anybody that works in football knows how little access and time you get with players these days – you’ll be lucky if you get more than 20 mins, so to get something thats going to carry a full length documentary, its crucial the line of questioning is planned to perfection. We also wanted a refreshing take on it, a new line, the honest truth, not a safe adidas sponsored answer. Humanising the talent, no matter how grande, has always been one of our key skills. It’s what allows us to get up close and personal, get them to open up a little bit and let us into the mindset and world of an elite athlete.
The documentary emphasises the role of innovation in the creation of the Predator. How did you balance the technical side of the boot’s design with the emotional connection that players have with it?
Balancing Craig’s story and adidas’ story was always going to be the challenge, how can I equally portray the two real key players in the story, whilst keeping them both happy! But I think having these two different perspectives of the boot actually helped me separate the technical, curation side of the boot with Craig and his early prototypes, then with adidas came the polishing, the marketing genius and player involvement. This helped me find that sweet spot in terms of narrative and keeping everybody and anybody interested.
"Humanising the talent, no matter how grande, has always been one of our key skills. It’s what allows us to get up close and personal, get them to open up a little bit and let us into the mindset and world of an elite athlete."
THE PREDATOR'S LEGACY
Tell us a little bit about what the adidas Predator means to you – what’s your personal connection to the boot?
Like most people, it was the first boot I ever craved. There’s a clip that makes it into the documentary of me receiving my first ever pair of Predators on my 10th birthday. It was sports day at school that same day, I wore them to school and wore them in the 100m race. I came last. So really this isn’t a story about the Predator. The conspiracy theory is this is a superhero / villain comeback story and I made it my lifelong ambition to make a film about the Predator for all those that laughed at little fat Keane losing the 100m race that day.
Given the continued popularity of the Predator, even decades after its original release, what do you think is the secret to its enduring appeal?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot and why this documentary is so important to so many people. There’s not one single football boot that has a story like it. Yes, there’s other that had iconic moments, incredible marketing ads or colourways we all wanted, but none of them have that journey. Like any consumer product thats gone down in history, it had a big bang moment, a coming of age, a struggle. Thats why the adidas Predator deserves a film like this, its not just a celebration and another branded content piece; it’s the story of an idea, a mad man who dreamed to change the sport for the better and historic moments that shaped the game thereafter.
THE ADIDAS BRAND & FOOTWEAR CULTURE
The Predator has had an incredible cultural impact—not just on the pitch, but in fashion and pop culture. How important was it for adidas to make sure that cultural element was present in the documentary?
I think getting the right spokespeople for that section was always the challenge, but also key in getting that section right. Louis Tomlinson and Eni Aluko are both cultural icons and storytellers in their own right, so not only do they both have a strong affiliation and affection for the boot, they also depicted the journey beautifully. We could have easily banked a million taking heads saying how great the Pred is and their favourite moment, but I think that would have actually diluted the impact the story had. Both of these incredible talents described the feelings we all had growing up in a way that was captivating enough for us to build that fashion and pop culture section out.
BEHIND THE SCENES & PERSONAL REFLECTIONS
Looking back at the entire production process, what are you most proud of in terms of how the story of the Predator was told?
I think sticking to our guns knowing the story we wanted to tell. There were things that weren’t easy to convince other parties on why we were doing it, or how it was a part of the story. When there's a vision in your head, a certain animation or a connecting segment that doesn’t necessarily fit the linear structure, out of context it looks mental. So the hardest bit was to convince everyone to bare with us until the whole thing was put together. Another thing is when you’re getting given the odd player appearance here and there, stretched across the 16 months its quite easy to fall into the trap of repeating the same PR branded message or forgetting where you’re at with the story itself.
If you could sum up the Predator: Under The Tongue documentary in one word, what would it be?
Manic.
LOOKING AHEAD
With the Predator still being a key product for adidas, how do you think the documentary contributes to its legacy as a cultural and footballing icon?
I think its only going to add to the obsession and cult following the boot has. No other football boot deserves its own documentary, and I don’t think there’ll be another like it.
What do you hope audiences take away from the Under The Tongue documentary? How do you want them to feel after watching it?
I hope it gives people that feeling we all had when we fell in love with football for the first time. And as Craig says, never give up.
Why not download the 'Under The Tongue' compendium book? You can do so here.
Shop adidas Predator boots at prodirectsport.com/soccer
