Saint 2009 Promotional Video

This is a video I produced last year during the two Canadian World Cups at Mont-Saint-Anne and Bromont. It’s a promotional video for the 2009 Shimano Saint group. The video showcases sponsored athletes racing and providing real-world feedback about the product.   I was following the MS racing, Animal Commencal, Giant and Yeti World Cup racing teams.  These teams include amazingly talented riders like the World Champion Athertons and World Cup slayers such as Matti Lehikoinen, Tracy Mosely, and Sam Blenkinsop just to name a few.

I really enjoy shooting these types of videos but they are definitely one of the more demanding things I produce.  They present just a few more challenges than filming an executive behind a desk.  There are a lot of uncontrollable variables such as the weather, lighting, crazy fans and how well the riders I am there to film do in the race. There are also technical challenges like producing quality interviews on the side of the hill or in the pits with the announcer’s voice blaring out of huge speakers everywhere. The hardest part though, is actually getting good, fast-looking, images of the riders.  Even thought they are hauling, it doesn’t always come across that way on video.  I am usually at the race venue a few days leading up to the race to get b-roll, interviews and product images.  I also film practice runs on those days, but rarely end up using that footage.  Riders simply aren’t going fast enough and they’re usually not wearing the right kits.  The greatest issue while filming practice however, is never knowing when a rider will come down the course.  I sometimes wait an hour in one location for a selected rider to pass.  Practice does allow me to scope out locations I will want to reshoot on race day though.  I review my dailies every evening and figure out my game plan for the next day.

My overall strategy is to try and capture interviews during the practice days leading up to the event. The closer it comes to race day the more distracted, or focused on the race, the riders become. I typically capture these interviews in the team’s pit area. I also like to grab small sound bites on the hill, going up the chair lift and at the finish line or awards ceremony.  I prefer an emotional response.  Even though I am usually asked to have the riders touch on the technical merits of the products, nothing beats an honest emotional response.

Race day is really the only time to get decent footage. I know the riders will be on the gas!  More importantly though, through the magic of a start list, I actually know when the riders are coming down the course.  Genius!  This is when I get my best footage.  I still need to nail every shot in order to have enough footage to make my final video compelling.  8 riders at 2-5sec each doesn’t add up to much footage, so I need to make it count!  The challenge now becomes about capturing as many interesting locations as I can.  I need to get each rider in a different section of the course or the video will look repetitive.  I have to prepare my storyboard based on the start list and decide to make my way up or down the hill accordingly based on the images I am after.  Riders come through one minute apart so, depending on where they are on the start list, I may only have one or two minutes to relocate.  If I think a rider may win, I need to arrange to be at the bottom of the course for their run.   If I think a rider will clear a technical section incredibly well or take a line no one else is taking, I will want to be there for that.  Sometimes we only get the start list minutes before the race starts.  Leaving us to sprint up the hill, scrambling and fighting our way through the crowd.   This quickly turns well laid plans into the crap shoot that is “practice”.  I really wish they would just email us the list so we could be in position and work off our PDAs or iphones.

The biggest obstacle from a filming standpoint however are the fans.  I love them, but I hate them.  I think the crowd can definitely make a shot incredible, but they can also make getting the best shot impossible.  Even though I have chosen my perfect filming locations, the fans weren’t there during practice when I did.  This can pose problems if fans are where I need to be or are in my shot, either blocking it completely or reducing the possible length of it.  I like long shots that establish where a rider is coming from and going to.  It’s not like with photography where you only need one window to get the shot.  You need to pan, push, pull and you need an in and an out.  The best places on the course are packed with fans so I need to find faster sections that are more in the open.  Even though I have media credentials, they really don’t help you much.  Only TV get a dedicated platform and cordoned off section of their own.  There is no special section inside the course tape for media, so we are left to fight it out with the fans really.  Fans, for the most part, are very understanding if I ask them to move.  Sometimes there is no time or a language barrier though so I have to find solutions.  In the end, I am hired to do these sort of jobs because I deliver despite the adversities I face while filming.  I love being at the races and being on my toes the whole time.  I love the challenge!  I wouldn’t trade this for any other gig.

Thanks to Shimano Japan and the crew at Shimano Canada.  Thanks also to the riders, mechanics and team managers for all your help.  I couldn’t do it without you.  See ya at the races!!