As I mentioned in the blog post about my upcoming Colorado trip, I plan on making a polished, documentary-style video, perhaps 20-30 minutes in length, that will make everyone who sees it regret not joining me. I also want to create a really slick "gist" video, perhaps 3-4 minutes, that will succinctly sum up the spirit of the adventure. There's just one problem: I have absolutely no experience making motorcycle videos that are worth watching. My previous attempts have been a wash.
I have a general frustration when it comes to recording my offroad exploits. The freedom, exhilaration and excitement I feel while riding is lost in my recorded media. At some level, I blame this on the ubiquitous GoPro and similar action cams, and how easy they make it to capture terrible video. Ain't nobody wanna watch 2 hours of first-person fisheye. Fisheye kills the most exciting aspects of offroading - the perspective, the size of the obstacles, the sense of speed. Case in point: This incredibly fun ride down single track, filmed entirely on a GoPro, that is just endless mehhhhh:
When you squish such a large point of view into a small video frame, you risk monotonizing your visual palette. Unless you have a ridiculous amount of variety in your environment, the view simply doesn't support videos longer than a few seconds.
All this is not to say GoPros themselves can't be incredibly useful and capable cameras when combined with a little innovation and some effective editing. For chrissakes, look at any of GoPro's promo videos (this one is from the Hero2, quality of which pales in comparison to the newer models):
So, it's crucial to have a good variety of shots. You can't just strap a GoPro on your helmet, leave it there for 2h15 and call it a day - doesn't matter if it's the original GoPro HERO or the latest and greatest HERO5 - you need to mix up your angles.
Above in mind, this next video is comprised entirely of third-person shots, and already I'd say it's a vast improvement over 15 minutes of GoPro sludge: (for reference, this video has almost 120k views while my GoPro snoozefest has gotten barely 2k)
Still, this won't pull the viewer in unless that view happens to be into riding (and even then, it's got niche appeal at best). There's no style, no art. It's still a boring "home" video.
So, how do you film an adventure worth watching? Let's start by reviewing some of my favorites. KTM (who have recently acquired Husqvarna) seem to have cracked the code:
To be honest, not sure if these are even ads for motorcycles or for visiting Sweden and Austria.
So - how to they do it? From what I gather:
1. Many varieties of shots. Some with aerial drones, some with cameras capable of shooting with super small f-stop. All of them stable (either with a gimbal or hard mount).
2. Short shot duration (usually less than 5 seconds)
3. VERY few onboard (GoPro helmet or chest mount) shots
4. Color correction / grading (a Dark Art about which I have much to learn)
5. Telling a story, even if it's a simple one
I've recently stumbled across this video about making mountain biking films (but of course the same applies):
In summary:
1. Come up with an idea and tell a story with people
2. Use a tripod and don't zoom
3. "The 3x3 rule" - Every story has 3 sequences (beginning, middle and end), and every sequence has 3 parts (beginning, middle and end)
4. Cover every scene in 3 different frame sizes - wide, middle and close
5. Seize the magic hour - get up early, stay up late
6. Don't be shy about getting shots of activity off the bike
7. Keep edits short - cut on movement / cut on beat
8. Shoot with a flat profile, correct colors, turn shadows blue and highlights yellow (basic grade)