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… that starts off with 60 seconds of footage of the drive to the trail or patchy images of gear in a dimly lit storage area I am going to fall asleep. Or I will at least fast forward to the good stuff. That is all.
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True story.
Some videos you’re lucky if it’s [i:1n5wvkxd]only[/i:1n5wvkxd] 60 seconds long…
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Almost everyone with a Mac and GoPro fancy themselves as a reincarnation of Stanley Kubrick. The first thing I usually do when watching one of these is to mute the sound and drag the slider until I see someone riding a bike. It’s the only thing that makes them tolerable.
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Like this one, they were off to a good start with the hike-a-bike climbing, but then they still had to cut to the ‘driving to the trailhead’ shot
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Someone’s been watching to many vids on Pinkbike. Those vids become a carbon copy of themselves after 3 or 4.
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Totally. It’s sad too because there is the occasional good video, but it gets lost in all the cookie cutter ones.
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What would y’all call an ideal MTB video than? I consider myself a noob and just grabbed Magix 17 Pro video editing software up which I’m messing around with currently. I’ve got footage to edit, would y’all critique me? YouTube search tryagain20772 like I said, I’m a noob and only have 130-140 miles so far completed according to my tracks android application.
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"maddslacker" wrote
Like this one, they were off to a good start with the hike-a-bike climbing, but then they still had to cut to the ‘driving to the trailhead’ shot
Wow, all cameramen were incredibly well prepared for the dropped bike’s lone descent down the hill. And hey, what do you know? The same shot that shows it’s in as good shape at the bottom as it was at the top just happens to include the bike’s brand? Man, the planet’s really aligned for them.
Well, either that or it’s just more craptacular advertising.
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"schwim" wrote
Well, either that or it’s just more craptacular advertising.
😆
Product placement FTW
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I’ve put together a few videos myself and I know one of the biggest challenges is getting enough footage to fit a 3-4 minute song. As such the "drive to the trailhead" becomes filler for a lot of video producers plus it sort of sets the scene and helps tell the story. Conversely, getting a quality zip-line shot must take half a day to set up but all you get is like 10 seconds of footage.
Anyway, -1 on me for complaining about a problem without offering a solution. Trying to think of other things that might be a little more interesting/different to fill time in MTB videos. Anyone have any ideas?
– Wrenching on the bike pre-ride. Been done before, though maybe not as overdone as the drive to the trailhead.
– Panning over the rider’s shoulder as he/she studies a huge, detailed map before the ride.
– Stretching before getting on the bike (I’m imagining this to be funny, Richard Simmons -esque)
– Climbing slowly up the trail. This way you start with riding from the beginning while anticipation builds for the descent. (Maybe a little too "real life" for some.) -
How about just more riding?
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"maddslacker" wrote
How about just more riding?
I suspect that would mean fewer videos would get made (which might not be a bad thing). Still, I think there’s a lot of room for creativity here – I mean, just look at how many MTB pics/vids are featured with the latest smartphone ads, video editing software screenshots, etc. It’s hard to find something cooler than mountain biking to make a video about – yet we’re getting bored with MTB videos.
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Oh wow, I can’t do something like that by my self with one camera lol. More riding is something that needs to be there, is playing the video in 1.8x bad because the audio is horrible? going uphill seems to be the worst kind of angles to capture their grade, any advise on that one? Great stuff so far though. Thanks!
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I stay away from speeding up the video – that’s cheating. If you want fast action, ride faster. 😀
That being said, when I shot my Bear Creek video I had to ride each section twice to get two different camera positions. When I got back I realized I wasn’t going the same speed in the first and second take so I had to adjust the speed in one clip to the match the other.
Good video definitely takes time which is why I don’t post many videos. 😆
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MTB videos seem to serve one of two purposes: action or research. Most folks are into action, which is why all the professional DVDs are downhill/freeride focused. I use them for research: with so many trails in the world, how do I know which ones I want to go ride? Videos are a great supplement to written reviews and guidebooks. It was a homemade video (a very high quality one) that made me put Gooseberry Mesa at the top of my bucket list and I’m glad it did! All the reviews pointed me to a St George/Hurricane Ut trip, but the stills didn’t do the place justice–the video put me over the top. Ditto a vid I saw of the Hole in the Ground trail in Taho–never would have mad the trip there without the vid and that remains one of my all time faves.
Of course, two minutes of footage of driving to the trailhead serves neither purpose at all.
Since I generally don’t use vids for entertainment, I don’t get too concerned about the artistic elements of the video. I’m just trying to get a feel for what the trail’s going to be like. Of course, I still appreciate good editing, clear picture, coherent flow, etc.
Having never invested the time or resources in making a vid myself, I’m generally not gonna complain about the shortcomings of others. If I find a vid useful, great, if not–oh well, I didn’t pay for it anyway!
BTW, Pete Fagerlin makes some real good helmet cam videos.
http://www.petefagerlin.com/ -
"trek7k" wrote
Good video definitely takes time which is why I don’t post many videos. 😆
Yeah shooting and editing videos is VERY time consuming. To me it seems like sometimes the product just isn’t worth the effort.
But shooting and edit POV videos is quite a bit easier and less time consuming than doing a full-blown vid.
For more on shooting and editing great POV videos, check out these two blog posts I wrote:
http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-ge … -the-trai/
http://www.singletracks.com/blog/uncate … echniques/ -
@Trek7k good video! Inspiring with angles and how you did the views. Where do you mount your gopro normally while riding? Helmet, chest, frame? I was going to publish a movie tonight but after that I know I can do better with more shots tomorrow. Thanks man.
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My favorite video series (and then some) of late is Ultramontane. Check ’em out: http://ultramontane.ca/
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"JoshuaTee" wrote
@Trek7k good video! Inspiring with angles and how you did the views. Where do you mount your gopro normally while riding? Helmet, chest, frame? I was going to publish a movie tonight but after that I know I can do better with more shots tomorrow. Thanks man.
I’ve ridden with POV cams in the past (Contour, GoPro, and Drift) but the Bear Creek video was done with a Flip cam and a portable tripod. As Greg mentioned, POV cams make it a cinch to get footage (just ride!) but the lack of multiple angles and perspective has been really overdone. If the purpose of the video is "research" as skibum mentioned, POV footage should work fine. But if you want to entertain people, you gotta put a lot more time and effort into the vid.
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The new Contour Roam that I am reviewing has a tripod mount.
Best of both worlds?
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I try to get to the action quickly, and include a variety of perspectives to keep viewer interest, as the same shot angle throughout can get monotonous, at least for me. So in this video, mtb riding buddy Charlie let me attach my gopro to his bike, using alternating positions, from handlebars, straight forward, to side view, and seatpost rear view.
The wide angle shows not only the rider in full view, but the surrounding terrain. It also gives an excellent sense of movement and flow, not possible with a static tripod. Here’s the video described above. Riding kicks in in 3 seconds flat:
[flash=640,480:1dv8zft5]http://www.youtube.com/v/HVvc10Tp0W8[/flash:1dv8zft5]
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"trek7k" wrote
I’ve put together a few videos myself and I know one of the biggest challenges is getting enough footage to fit a 3-4 minute song. As such the "drive to the trailhead" becomes filler for a lot of video producers plus it sort of sets the scene and helps tell the story. Conversely, getting a quality zip-line shot must take half a day to set up but all you get is like 10 seconds of footage.
Anyway, -1 on me for complaining about a problem without offering a solution. Trying to think of other things that might be a little more interesting/different to fill time in MTB videos. Anyone have any ideas?
– Wrenching on the bike pre-ride. Been done before, though maybe not as overdone as the drive to the trailhead.
– Panning over the rider’s shoulder as he/she studies a huge, detailed map before the ride.
– Stretching before getting on the bike (I’m imagining this to be funny, Richard Simmons -esque)
– Climbing slowly up the trail. This way you start with riding from the beginning while anticipation builds for the descent. (Maybe a little too "real life" for some.)I really liked the opening for last Sunday’s Cinema Sunday. The sharpening of the tools was a unique way to open the film and fit into the trail building aspect of the film. It might have been a bit long at three minutes, but given the total length of the film (26 minutes), it was only 11% of the video. That would be like having a 30-40 second intro on a 5 minute video.
I think a cool intro would be a washing of the bike after you ride. This wouldn’t work for every vid, but if the bike was some nice mud on it I think it could work. It’d be kind of a "This is what it looked like afterwards, now let me show you how it got there."
The pre-ride stretching could be pretty funny, if done right. Another option could be a quick pre-ride checklist. Checking the brakes, shifters, tires, etc and then jump into the riding.
It’d be even better if they made it a montage! 😆 -
I hear ya mate…And I blame Warren Miller for this cliche’. It was cool in the 80’s.
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