NBCUniversal “brought Paris to the Los Angeles area -- virtually” -- as it invited 60 athletes to a Universal Studios lot to “create content that will be used during the run-up to and during" the 2024 Paris Games, according to Josh Peter of USA TODAY. The network already has begun “rolling out video on social media” featuring athletes such as climber Brooke Raboutou, gymnast Shilese Jones and breakdancer Sunny Choi. The project began about eight months ago, when NBC contacted Industrial Lights & Magic and “shared its vision.” ILM trucked in equipment from its headquarters in S.F. in time to “assemble the stage” by Nov. 16, when the athletes rolled into town. Athletes were shot in front of "five scenes: a fashion show runway under the Eiffel Tower, the banks of the Seine River, rooftops, the streets and a boat ride, which is how the athletes will make their entrance at the Opening Ceremony." The images used for the background were "gathered during a trip to Paris" and "projected onto a screen 20 feet high and 50 feet wide.” NBCUniversal CMO/Entertainment & Sports Jenny Storms said the concept behind the project came about as the athletes are the "largest driver of consumption" around the Olympics, but "for the first time in a while, there is also another enormous driver that’s coming through in our research and our insights over the past year, which is our host city" (USA TODAY, 11/29).
