Why don't bike companys make MTB movies?
- Thread starter 24seven
- Start date
RCOH
Eats Squid
DH & freeride are generally the smallest market of a major bike company, & they probably wouldn't make enough money from selling videos/dvds. Small DH/Freeride specific companies probably arne't making enough money to afford producing a video or maybe their team isn't big enough
As much as anyone might be into XC, I can't imagine any really wanting to watch a 1 hour long XC video. Downhill & freeride videos are hard & expensive to film. Unles you use solely helmet cam it would mean you have to have numerous cameras positioned on a DH course in order to capture someone riding the whole track. Good free ride locations are often in exotic climes that cost money to get to. Filming someone hit a 25ft step down doesn't look as good when it is filmed on a crappy handycam as opposed to 16mm film, which is expensive.
It is only in last 5-7 years that here have been big budget Skate vids, when i started skating, most vids were made by team riders filming each other on handycams. You can't really do that on a dh bike. Urban videos would be a bit easier to make as you can kind of session spots like skating, but it is still hard to follow someone doing a line on a bike while holding a camera, especially if their are stairs or gaps involved.
As much as anyone might be into XC, I can't imagine any really wanting to watch a 1 hour long XC video. Downhill & freeride videos are hard & expensive to film. Unles you use solely helmet cam it would mean you have to have numerous cameras positioned on a DH course in order to capture someone riding the whole track. Good free ride locations are often in exotic climes that cost money to get to. Filming someone hit a 25ft step down doesn't look as good when it is filmed on a crappy handycam as opposed to 16mm film, which is expensive.
It is only in last 5-7 years that here have been big budget Skate vids, when i started skating, most vids were made by team riders filming each other on handycams. You can't really do that on a dh bike. Urban videos would be a bit easier to make as you can kind of session spots like skating, but it is still hard to follow someone doing a line on a bike while holding a camera, especially if their are stairs or gaps involved.
I-AM-TEH-FASTEST-11
Blitzkrieg Films
MTB companies just sponsor films. It is an easy way to hook up good riders for sections and get cameramen around the country.
Though Fox pretty much made Chainsmoke and Headliners.. even then it was just major sponsorship.
Anyway who would want to watch the intense team ride trails, and only them.
I highly doubt Intense (or whoever) would want to have a bunch of other riders in team clothing and on bikes in their movie.
The whole thing would get boring very quickly.
It is much more simple to sponsor good riders, and good videos so that way when a good video comes out their good rider is in it, and gets his own scene.
Though Fox pretty much made Chainsmoke and Headliners.. even then it was just major sponsorship.
Anyway who would want to watch the intense team ride trails, and only them.
I highly doubt Intense (or whoever) would want to have a bunch of other riders in team clothing and on bikes in their movie.
The whole thing would get boring very quickly.
It is much more simple to sponsor good riders, and good videos so that way when a good video comes out their good rider is in it, and gets his own scene.
Icarus
Likes Dirt
Too true. I looked into it for making short films (to give me more control) but I was quoted for $2 a second. $120 a minute to buy and develop the film is crazy. Add to that a, at best, 40% footage use and its to expensive for me.RCOH said:
Sure, it might be off topic, but it might be interesting to some...
I-AM-TEH-FASTEST-11
Blitzkrieg Films
yeh same here, plus the editing/post production expenses are astronomical.
Yeah I agree with it costing to much but I think an Intense dvd or Ironhorse dvd would be great. But to get the variety would involve travelling to different locations as RCOH said.
Oh well perhaps in the future it might happen once downhill gets the same amount of financial support as motocross or FMX.
And yes a XC movie would be very very boring.
Oh well perhaps in the future it might happen once downhill gets the same amount of financial support as motocross or FMX.
And yes a XC movie would be very very boring.
bradh
Likes Bikes and Dirt
http://vids.worldofk.com/24/24bicycles.movcheese said:
.
scratchy
Farkin Activist
An angle that I don't think anyone has looked at yet is if say Giant does a MTB vid, who distributes it?
Bicycle Brands have distributors for their bicycles. The DVD distributors are completely seperate. In a market like Australia selling DVD's through the Bike distributor is a sure way to move less DVD's. Shop are used to ordering 20 different DVD titles through their DVD wholesaler.
That's problem 1
The 2nd problem is that your local shop sells Kona's, Treks and Canondales (as an example). Are they going to want to stock a Giant branded DVD? Probably not. They won't even have access to it if it is going through the GIANT distributor.
3rd problem. How not to make the video look like on long Ad. Rhyno pointed to the Kranked series. To be honest Kranked pretty much launched Freeriding on the world. It showcased what Canadian riders were doing. The earlier vids with footage from Rossland, Kamloops etc. were at the heart of MTBing in Canada. Is it any surprise that these local boys got sponsored by local companies? The Canadian and NW American companies like Kona and Rocky Mountain were having freeriding evolving around them and these 2 companies were at the heart of it making bikes for their local riders. Santa Cruz as well had their finger on the pulse with the Heckler (Simple, good mud clearance- both essential for backcountry riding in Canada). IMHO that's why those bikes featured in the early Kranks. In the later Kranks the MTB industry had caught up and riders were filmed on what they were paid to ride, Ellesworth, Canondales etc. just like DH racing.
The vids are like they are for a really good reason. The film maker can get sponsorship for ad placements while allowing total freedom to include what they want in the video. That's good for the viewer, it gives us a better product.
Say the boys from Blackphoenix where out shooting the latest Drift vid. Retitled "Raceline" because Apollo had commisioned them to do the whole vid. They have Rennie, Kovarik, Hill etc. bombing down a run, but they have to edit it out because part of the conditions of the "Raceline" vid is only riders riding "Raceline" bikes are to be shown. Our industry is too small for the boys to have a bunch of Raceline bikes to lend to good riders who aren't riding a raceline bike and the really good riders that you'd want to see in the video are signed to other brands anyway.
Not a recipe for a great vid in my opinion.
Bicycle Brands have distributors for their bicycles. The DVD distributors are completely seperate. In a market like Australia selling DVD's through the Bike distributor is a sure way to move less DVD's. Shop are used to ordering 20 different DVD titles through their DVD wholesaler.
That's problem 1
The 2nd problem is that your local shop sells Kona's, Treks and Canondales (as an example). Are they going to want to stock a Giant branded DVD? Probably not. They won't even have access to it if it is going through the GIANT distributor.
3rd problem. How not to make the video look like on long Ad. Rhyno pointed to the Kranked series. To be honest Kranked pretty much launched Freeriding on the world. It showcased what Canadian riders were doing. The earlier vids with footage from Rossland, Kamloops etc. were at the heart of MTBing in Canada. Is it any surprise that these local boys got sponsored by local companies? The Canadian and NW American companies like Kona and Rocky Mountain were having freeriding evolving around them and these 2 companies were at the heart of it making bikes for their local riders. Santa Cruz as well had their finger on the pulse with the Heckler (Simple, good mud clearance- both essential for backcountry riding in Canada). IMHO that's why those bikes featured in the early Kranks. In the later Kranks the MTB industry had caught up and riders were filmed on what they were paid to ride, Ellesworth, Canondales etc. just like DH racing.
The vids are like they are for a really good reason. The film maker can get sponsorship for ad placements while allowing total freedom to include what they want in the video. That's good for the viewer, it gives us a better product.
Say the boys from Blackphoenix where out shooting the latest Drift vid. Retitled "Raceline" because Apollo had commisioned them to do the whole vid. They have Rennie, Kovarik, Hill etc. bombing down a run, but they have to edit it out because part of the conditions of the "Raceline" vid is only riders riding "Raceline" bikes are to be shown. Our industry is too small for the boys to have a bunch of Raceline bikes to lend to good riders who aren't riding a raceline bike and the really good riders that you'd want to see in the video are signed to other brands anyway.
Not a recipe for a great vid in my opinion.
