The celebration of Space Jam’s 30th Anniversary continues with yet another pair of Air Jordan 11s.
Today, Jordan Brand launched a pair of Air Jordan 11s inspired by the magic ball that created the Monstars. The women’s-exclusive rendition brought a new approach to the classic Jordan silhouette, and the next pair is doing the same.
Using screens when editing programming wasn’t exactly a new art when Space Jam premiered in 1996. In fact, it became a practice over half a decade before the film starring Michael Jordan hit screens. In the 1940s, movies began using the editing technique to transition backdrops seamlessly. Interestingly enough, the original screens were blue. It was not until television meteorologists began using these blue screens that a transition to green, which would no longer clash with the suits weather forecasters were wearing, became the common practice.
By the time Space Jam began filming in June 1995, using a green screen was down to a science. As a result, Warner Bros. and the creatives behind the scenes were able to create the iconic world Jordan would find himself in for the movie. For most of the shoot, Jordan delivered lines and interacted with cartoon characters that weren’t even finalized yet. The stand-in actors took their jobs seriously, wearing green spandex suits and often crawling on their knees so Jordan could retain a low eye level when delivering lines. All the while, his Airness would deliver those lines in a 360-degree green-screen room. According to Studio Spill, Space Jam held the record at the time for the most visual effects in a movie.
The result of such efforts was Jordan’s iconic role in Space Jam. It was a pivotal film in the history of the Looney Tunes and a quintessential cultural moment of the 1990s. To think that Jordan delivered such a cultural phenomenon mostly using green screens is bizarre, but that is the fact that led to the creation of this special Air Jordan 11 colorway.
Jordan Brand has spent the month celebrating 30 years of the historic Space Jam. Through an extensive capsule, the Jumpman has delivered memorable products that highlight the film’s history. Naturally, the most anticipated part of the collection has been the three-piece set of Air Jordan 11s. The second of which celebrates the technique of green screening.
Dubbed the Air Jordan 11 “Green Screen,” the special pair of sneakers delivers an all-green suede upper on the classic Tinker Hatfield-designed sneaker. In a first for the silhouette, the suede upper extends into the midsole, giving it a classy look. At the same time, the pair introduces a glow-in-the-dark outsole, a first for a men’s Air Jordan 11.
Much like the “Magic Bal” Air Jordan 11, the pair spares no detail with the sneaker or the packaging. Custom insoles featuring Jordan hitting a dunk in the film are rounded out by a green box with Space Jam branding and an homage to green-screen technology on the interior of the box lid.
Green screen technology changed media forever. Its role in developing the iconic film Space Jam cannot be overstated. As Jordan Brand goes all in on the massive milestone that is 30 years of Michael Jordan’s bright spot on the big screen, it was only right for one of the most iconic sneakers in his catalog to shine a light on the art that made the movie possible.
The Air Jordan 11 “Green Screen” launches this Saturday, November 14th, via Nike and participating Air Jordan retailers like Foot Locker.
Check out our exclusive unboxing of the sneaker below.
