Tales from Behind the Camera: A Year with MTBcut

Dec 21, 2011

After recently looking back over some of the films that MTBcut have produced in 2011 I figured that there must be an article in this, a bit of background on the action and a few stories to tell about the films hopefully it can give an insight into the fun, planning, adventure and chaos that goes hand-in-hand with working and filming in the mountain bike industry.

We're also running a contest via our MTBcut Facebook page to win a Lowepro Flipside camera bag. Just post your favourite MTBcut video to our Facebook page and tell us why it's your favourite. The most creative answer will win the bag.... Big thanks to Lowepro for hooking us up!

Sir Jimmy Saville: My Outdoor Capital

So lets start back in December 2010. A cold Scottish winter and we were approached by The Outdoor Capital of the UK and Visit Scotland to produce a viral for the Fort William area. Living fairly locally it worked well for me to shoot and direct the video and come up with the concept. Now, many of you outside the UK will never have heard of Jimmy Saville, but before you watch this video I should explain. He was a top radio DJ back in the 60s/70s, a compete eccentric and own's a house near Fort William (Check his Wikipedia page). Bizarrely he is also a bit of a hero of Danny Macaskill's. A Danny Macaskill and Jimmy Saville combination, hmm... cue the phone calls.



This film was probably one of the most fun shoots ever, constant laughs and a fun concept. We had also just got on board with the DSLR movement having always shot primarily on Sony XDCam so it was the first project using a Canon 5D.

Team CRC/Nukeproof: Prepare to succeed

We'd agreed to create a short pre-season film with the guys at CRC/Nukeproof so my collegue Aaron 'Mono' Bartlett headed down to Shropshire to spend a few days with Matt Simmonds and Joe Smith and create this film. This turned out to one of my favourite edits of the year with a great behind-the-scenes look at what pro downhillers get up to in the off season. There were plenty of comments as the season progressed about Matt Simmonds kitchen skill too, washing up and boiling eggs!



Team CRC/Nukeproof: What doesn't kill you

As the DH season approached myself and Mono headed out to Ireland with the Chain Reaction Team to film their pre season camp and see them compete in an Irish national race. 2 days with the team training and then follow them over the race weekend. To cut a long story short, this trip was a disaster. In just a couple of days the CRC team was cut from 4 riders to 2. Lew Buchanan crashed in training and broke his shoulder and Matt Simmonds smashed his kneecap in his race run. A super tough start for the season for them. This kind of setback has a huge impact on us, there are 4 of us working on MTBcut on a regular basis and we all want to work with riders who are doing well, injury free and having fun. That is what makes for the best films and photographs.

With the teams we work with we become pretty personally attached to them and part of the team so this was a huge setback at the beginning of the year.



Team GT: Team Intro at South Africa

A full team of Myself, Mono, Scott Marshall and our team photographer Sebastien Schieck headed out to the first World Cup in South Africa. Its so awesome to have such a crew to travel with making things easier and more fun. For the first time ever we were working with the GT team in 2011. A super small but tight setup with two of the nicest dudes on the circuit, Marc Beaumont and Mic Hannah. This team have such a tight vibe and the relationships between riders and mechanics are amazing.... Check this little introduction video, filmed by the whole team and edited up by Marshall.



Mongoose: Know Your Roots Roadtrip part 2

Mono pulled the lucky straw on this one. A 10 day roadtrip across the US with the Mongoose team shooting in sunny weather and some incredible locations. If there was a downside, it was only the UK team rider Chris Akrigg was injured and couldn't make the trip. A fun trip and some amazing footage. Thanks to Lec Park for the graphics too.



Danny Macaskill: Industrial Revolutions

If you don't know who Danny Macaskill is then, well, you must have just landed on this site by accident. Arguably the most famous mountain biker on earth and a talent unlike I've ever seen in my 15 years in the sport. Luckily enough, Danny is also a very good friend of mine and one of the most grounded people out there. In May this year he approached me with a project for TV in the UK. A documentary called Concrete Circus that would be aired on Channel 4 in the primetime slot of 9pm on a Monday night. Obviously he didn't have to ask twice!

As a filmmaker this marked a pretty big change for me as a director and MTBcut as a company. We had over a week to film his section and a good few weeks to edit too, something that has been pretty rare for us in the past. Working with teams and at events we work to very limited timescales in order to get films online and released in time. Generally filming for a day or two and even less than that to edit is what we're used to, essentially we don't mind that but having a wider timescale allowed for more creativity and essentially a better finished product. It also allowed some great research into music so that we could license the best possible track, something that paid dividends on this video. That being said it was quite late when we got moving with this project so we only had a few weeks to get a location and permissions together for the shoot so it wasn't all relaxed!

To be honest the shoot was pretty stressful. Danny was carrying an injury to his knee and the riding was tough on his body and mental state. On the other hand, we had an incredible location and I was working with a close friend and one of the most talented dudes out there... Nothing to complain about.

Needless to say, the video went down so well and the response was phenomenal. Over 4 million hits on Youtube in a few months and with the documentary set for release on TV Worldwide in January it's been simply amazing!

So much good has been born out of this video and I'm hugely grateful to Danny and Channel 4 director Mike Christie for the opportunity. Since filming this we have filmed a viral for Coca Cola and been put in a position to move into some bigger projects for 2012 which is so exciting. We have also launched a sister company to MTBcut named Cut Media to work on a few larger and non MTB productions.



Team Lapierre: Windham World Cup

Team Lapierre are without doubt the most fun team on the circuit. The chemistry in the team is fantastic, everyone has such fun together yet maintains a great focus on the racing. In 2011 Loic Bruni and Cam Cole joined Sam Blenkinsop on the team. Loic in particular is a breath of fresh air on the World Cup so much fun and humour. Just watch this video through and check out the water fights and golf carts! With Mono and Marshall hitting up every World Cup the two of them make a killer team. I get to make it to some of the events and others I'm at home handling boring office stuff and uploading all the video goodness! Here's their take on Windham, with Marshall at the editing helm.



Chain Reaction Cycles: How they do it!

Not so much a riding video but an interesting look behind the scenes at Chain Reaction. This place is phenomenal, way more than just a bike shop, its like dreamland for most riders. Any product you want is somewhere in here! I spent a day wondering round the warehouse with one of the CRC guys to give you an incredible behind-the-scenes look at the World Biggest Online Bikestore!



Joe Barnes rides Ben A'an

As well as working with several of the major teams at MTBcut, we also try and put a bit back into the sport and support some of our favourite and local riders. One of those being Joe Barnes. In my opinion Joe is one of the best guys in the World on a 5 inch travel bike. Technically his skills are unreal and I have never seen anyone match him on AM riding (and I've seen him ride with Gwinny!). I'm so stoked that we can support Joe and help show off his skills. Watch out for him smashing the Enduro scene in 2012!

Here is a little clip of him riding Ben A'an. One of the toughest and to most people unridable decents in Scotland. To be honest the video doesn't do this trail justice. If you live in Scotland, go and try and ride this trail and you will realise the sheer awesomeness of Joe Barnes!



Inside Hope Technology

At the end of the season we visited Hope Technology for a few days. The guys at Hope wanted a video for their trade stand at Eurobike and also something to release that shows off their new facility in Lancashire. I have known and worked with the guys at Hope for years, they even sponsored me when I used to race DH. The company is amazing, it is truly owned and run by bike riders. They make bike parts because they want to, a new product only comes out because one of the guys who works at Hope needs one, not because there is a gap in the market or a new fashion. Its so hard to put into words the passion and attitude at Hope Technology. Almost every other company with ship parts in from Taiwan because its cheaper, not at Hope, pretty much every little part in your Hope brake, hub, headset or whatever is made in this factory. The quality is unbelievable and the technology is unrivalled, these guys are working to F1 style design.



Team CRC/Nukeproof: Weight of the World

For the final video of this post. I wanted to show one of the running themes behind our CRC edits this year. With all the World Cup films, I work as producer, basically working with our clients to work out concepts and video content and then put everything in place for the guys travelling to film/edit. I leave all the creative side to the awesome Mono/Marshall collaboration. The main thing decided at the start of the year with the CRC guys was that we wanted to show the more professional, focussed side of racing. Sure everyone clowns around and has a laugh sometime but the riders and teams are only doing this for one reason, and that is to win. At World Championships this year Lew Buchannan was one of the favourite Juniors, along with Lois from Lapierre and Troy Brosnan. Lew hadn't had is best season after the broken shoulder put him out for so long, but anyone who knows him realised that a wet Champerry would suit him really well and he really could win it. No-one knew that more than Lewis, which, in a strange kind of way may have made his task harder. He put some pressure on his shoulders.

I think this edit by Mono shows a great insight into what goes into a team. i think the relationship between Lew and team manager Nigel in this is great to watch. You can feel the tension before the race and unfortunately the disappointment afterwards too. Something you don't often see in other World Cup videos.



Sebastian aka The Hoff

For the end of this article I wanted to show some of the work of MTBcut photographer 'The Hoff'. We've worked with Sebastien for 2 years now and he's such a quiet dude that sometimes I think he doesn't get the recognition he desrves for being one of the top MTB snappers on the planet. He travels the World Cup circuit with the boys and is one of the funniest but motivated guys we've ever worked with. We always have a laugh at his German efficiency but to be fair, Sebastien is always first guy on the hill in the morning and last guy off it at night.


So there you have it, a background on our work in 2011. Things are looking amazing for 2012 already! We just finished up a 3 day shoot with Danny Hart for Five Ten that will be online early next year so keep a look out it will be amazing!

Remember, post your favourite video to the MTBcut Facebook page or tell us on http://www.twitter.com/mtbcut and tell us the reason why and you could win a brand new Lowepro Flipside bag just like we use!

If you want any more info about MTBcut and our work then hit me up at Stu@MTBcut.tv.

Have a great Christmas and New Year!