Ralph Lauren: In Focus: Haylie McCleney

After a year hiatus, the Summer Olympic Games are going ahead and athletes from around the world are finally coming together again to compete in the biggest international multi-sport event. This year, ahead of the games, Ralph Lauren the official outfitter for Team USA wanted to promote five star athletes through a series of documentary-style branded shorts. The films, created by creative film company Farm League and film and television studio XTR, will be released ahead of each athletes’ first competition round, starting with professional softball outfielder Haylie McCleney. The short form episodic series will follow the lives of athletes from five different disciplines, including Softball (Haylie McCleney), men’s Sabre Fencing (Daryl Homer), Skateboarding (Heimana Reynolds), Karate (​​Sakura Kokumai) and Paralympic Track and Field (Roderick Townsend), highlighting Ralph Lauren's ambassadors and showcasing their journeys to becoming Olympians. Having previously worked with Farm League and director Britton Caillouette on a new feature film in development, XTR were no strangers to the capabilities and the craft of the creative company, and brought them on board for this collaboration. With a tight turnaround of under a month, Farm League used a divide-and-conquer approach by tapping directors Caillouette and Janssen Powers to co-direct the series. The first film follows the life of two-time WBSC Women's World Champion, Haylie McCleney. A small town kid from Morris, Alabama, Haylie has envisioned her life as a professional softball player since the early age of five. The 90” film bears a signature Farm League style of personal storytelling, juxtaposing realism with cinematic visuals. The audience is invited to a “day in the life” experience with the Olympian through the intimate style of storytelling, which traces her journey from the spark of her dream to the current moment. Unlike traditional sports pieces which concentrate on action, Caillouette and Powers wanted to create individual human portraits that reflect the inner state of mind of the subject. By telling these stories through old photographs, cinematic footage and interview VO, they accomplished the highly visceral and personable tone.