Interview: Brandon Semenuk and Rupert Walker - Revel In The Chaos

How did you meet Rupert Walker and when did the idea of Revel Co come about?

[Brandon] I’ve known Rupert for a while now, but not till maybe two years ago did we actually start to hangout often. The first time I got to work with Rup was during the Chromag Liaison edit we did. During that shoot we got to bullshitting and both of us were talking about how we’d like to break way from what we had going on and do our own thing with no strings attached. Every time we hung out from there on this idea developed. About a year after that first conversation we pulled the trigger on '‘Revel In The Chaos.’'

What was the goal for Revel?

[Brandon] The goal for us was to compose something that, creatively, was rewarding to us personally. Basically reignite the fire that put a bike beneath me and a camera in Rupert’s hands. Except this time the difference was that we were creating a product that was entirely ours. No one dictated creative direction for this project but us, and that is exactly what we wanted.





Whose vision was the film creatively?

[Rupert] You could say it’s a hybrid of what we both wanted to achieve personally, but our visions were so similar from the start that everything came together organically.

What was the most frustrating part of the filming process?

[Brandon] Can be a number of things. Equipment difficulties, weather conditions, track condition or sometimes you’re just tired and you’re not inspired by what you’re riding, but you're in a crunch to get some shots so you deal with it. For this project we custom built every trail and jump, specifically for the film. Waiting on permission for the builds and coordinating the building process was stressful because there is always a level of uncertainty. Luckily everything worked and the outcome totally met our expectations.




What was the best part of the filming process?

[Rupert] When we would first start working on a segment there was an idea of how we wanted to portray it. But since our concept is a little weird and different at some points it was challenging to pull our concept together. Being able to put all the pieces of a segment together after a strenuous shoot and watch it take life was the most rewarding part for me.

We’ve seen several short iTunes releases now: The Wallisch Project for skiing, Revel, and then Aggy’s upcoming movie for mountain biking. Are quicker 10-25 minute movies the future of action sports films?

[Rupert] We wanted to produce something more thought-out and substantial then a web edit, but for the two of us we didn’t have the time or money to create a full length. We knew starting this that it was only about creating the best product we could possibly deliver to the viewer, the final length of the film was irrelevant to us. In the eight months of shooting, the final length of the film is just a scale of how much of the footage we thought was worthy to show.




What were some of the difficulties of shooting and riding at night in Utah?

[Brandon] The toughest part about riding at night was judging distances. At first glance I would think we lit a feature properly, but then I’d hit it and wouldn’t be able to see my wheel or handlebars in front of me because I’ve gone away from the light. It definitely added another level of difficulty. Also, since we were lighting the lines so I could safely ride them, I know that Rup and our second shooter Anthony Vitale had to work around the lighting setup to get the shots. In some cases – it was a give and take scenario between the riding and the filming needs – but all in all, given the resources and the man power we had, I think the segment came out awesome and is one of the strongest in the film.

How does it feel to be finished? Is there anything you’d do differently?

[Brandon] Honestly, it was sort of depressing to be done. Afterwards it hit me that probably nothing in my 2015 year would be as rewarding and enjoyable as it was to work on this project with Rup.
As for doing it differently; no. I think for just a couple of kids being out there, we did the best we could under given circumstances and we made calculated decisions

What do you hope viewers take away from the film after watching it?

[Brandon] I hope it will stimulate the viewers motivation/creativity and get them excited to go out there and ride. When I see an action sports video that I connect with, these are the things I take from it and I want to give that back.




What was it like shooting a film with one person in comparison to shooting with a whole crew?

[Brandon] Only having one filmer makes the process of shooting a lot more interactive. Being able to collaborate one on one with Rup is a lot easier than dealing with a bigger crew. Luckily for a few of the gnarlier clips that we got, we had a second shooter to help back us up so I didn’t have to do the trick twice. But for 99% of the film it was just me and Rup and I had to do a lot of tricks twice so we could properly show the trick in the film and do it justice. So just having one person obviously makes it more difficult to capture every moment, but more rewarding looking back because the two of us had to be on our game to get this project done.

What’s does the future hold for Revel Co. ?

[Brandon] We aren’t totally sure yet, we would like to do another film project that involves other riders. Probably not a full length though, we really like the idea of short films, that is our thinking at the moment. But who knows, ideas could change between now and the time we decide to take on another project.

How can we get our hands on a copy of Revel In The Chaos?

[Rupert] It will be sold on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Prime, Xbox, Vimeo On Demand, and a few other outlets.

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Pre-order Revel In The Chaos

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Presented By: SRAM
Supported By: Trek / Pinkbike

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MENTIONS: @revelco / @SramMedia / @trek / @rupertwalker

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Posted In:
Interviews Revel Co Brandon Semenuk Rupert Walker