Introduction & Research

Several weeks ago Dave Wood asked me if I would be interested in a summer project once college had finished this year working with some 3D/games students from St Helens college and some younger students from De La Salle School who were freerunners. The basic idea was to have live action freerunning moves shot on a green screen then composited into a created 3D environment. I would be the Graphic Designer, working alongside the team to create any visuals needed for the project as it developed, e.g DVD covers, website design, any promotional material etc.
It sounded really interesting and definitely a challenge as there was no set brief so I didn't know what would be required/expected of me.

I knew very little about freerunning apart from the fact it was a feature of the Assassins Creed video game and I'd seen it in a few adverts so my first port of call was to research the sport and try and get a visual idea of the culture and background.
One of the main questions I had was if there was a difference between 'Parkour' and 'Freerunning' which I now understand thanks to Dave B.

Parkour is getting from A to B quickly and efficiently, fluidly.
Freerunning adds style moves such as flips to the standard set of moves.

I visited several websites such as
urbanfreeflow.com, pkto.ca, americanparkour.com
I also watched the film 'jump britain' on youtube.com which showed Sebastien Foucan leading a team of traceurs around britain's landmarks.

(this is a review I found of the film)

Jump Britain looks at how the urban sport of Parkour (Free-running) has developed in the United Kingdom in the period since Sebastien Foucan and co. took on London in the prequel to this stunning piece of television. J:B examines one of the UK's fastest growing urban sports and meets the people behind its incredible growth. It also follows Sebastien Foucan as he PK's across Britain (Channel 4 insisted on the geographically and politically incorrect title before you ask!) performing on some of the most iconic and spectacular locations imaginable. Indeed, it is hard to fathom how the production team managed to talk anybody into allowing this to happen at all - in one sequence Foucan runs across and then jumps a gap in the retractable roof of the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff! Simply mind blowing. It would seem that this documentary may prove to be a defining moment in the development of Parkour, not only in the UK but globally. Its simplicity is its greatest attraction but for all its balletic grace, a certain degree of philosophical pretentiousness remains. Trying to justify and rationalise their chosen activity seems to form their greatest obstacle and a hunger for sustained media attention will invariably further drag Parkour into the mainstream. You get the distinct impression that despite vehement protestations that is exactly where those behind this activity in the UK wish it to go.

I used to skateboard a lot in my teens, and similarities between the 2 sports are obvious, however I was reluctant to link the 2 visually. Skating has an age old 'anti-establishment' tag following it, rightly or wrongly (we sometimes did trespass, and I assume so do the people who practice Parkour) however the vibe I got from the websites and people in the video was much different.

Not reckless, not 'extreme', no fashion, no competition, no brands. This was backed up passionately by some guys on a forum... (click to view Q and A's)

I posted a few questions on pkto.ca and was met with a variety of responses, leading to a conclusion that there is no subculture within parkour, it is not affected by fashion, music, politics etc.

On one hand this excited me because there is no expected set of visuals that represent the subject, on the other hand where do I start?!