The edit is designed to represent the repetitive, relentless nature of training in the dark for four years. Gymnastics is cyclical and rhythmic, full of punctuations of landing, movement and impact. We wanted to portray this in the edit, cutting the film in time with natural beats and the tribal cry of the music. The movement between the three different girls—and their different disciplines—is connected to make them feel like a single force. As the music intensifies, so does the edit, as we start to see harder and more impressive moves and sets. The edit builds to a crescendo at the end and we come back to the final backbone shot—a moment to rest—until the scream kicks back in over the girls’ faces.

This film tells the story of the 2016 USA Women’s Gymnastics Team.

It shows this tribe of normal young women “going dark” and becoming invisible, both literally and metaphorically, as they step away from other aspects of their daily life, focusing and training single-mindedly 24/7, in relentless pursuit of sporting greatness.

We show the brutal strength and impossible physical ability of the team, building a breathless sense of repetition—working on full-body strength, skill and ability training on the mat, traveling to competitions, living and breathing their sport, over and over again.

The USA Gymnastics Women’s National Team will be one of the world’s most followed teams in 2016. Every four years these young athletes rise to meet the world’s massive expectations.

However, this group of young women have yet to prove themselves on the world’s biggest stage: the upcoming Olympics in Rio. Soon they will be on the minds of everyone in America as they go for gold.