Back in the Saddle, Kind of

Well I’m finally back to California after what should have probably been the most traumatic ordeal of my life.  My thanks to J-Rod for his article and well wishes.  After finally regaining some level of consciousness, I was surprised to discover he had quoted me in the article.  I recall responding to his message but I had no clue what our conversation entailed.  No matter, I am eternally grateful for all of the thoughts, prayers and well wishes I’ve received in the past weeks and even more grateful to be alive and well.

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Video killed the magazine star?

Action sports videos are all the rage these days (specifically in our sport). It seems that the segment of the video market has boomed in just the last 5 or 10 years. I attributed it to the drastically lower prices on consumer based video production equipment compared to years ago. DV, MiniDV, hard drive, flash media versus 8mm and 16mm Cellulose acetate film or Polyester Film, gone are the days of film splicers, Moviola’s, and dark rooms. Now all you need is a inexpensive DV camera and PC with the correct hardware to produce a DVD worthy video. Oh and not to mention some sort of creative talents.

With the drastic cut in start up and post production costs for an aspiring action sports film maker, the industry is literally flooded with video releases (all at $15-$30 retail I might add) how does the armchair ATV or motorcycle junkie pick a video from the sea of videos in Motorcycle parts catalogs, on-line stores, and dealership shelves?

First it might be informative to introduce some of the pioneers in what is now the action sports genre.  The two most prominent names that come to my mind are, Warren Miller and Bruce Brown. Warren Miller known for Ski Films releasing one feature length documentary style ski film a year since 1949, and has developed an intense following among the winter action sports segment. Bruce Brown first claim to fame with feature length surfing films starting in 1958 with “Slippery when wet” and his most popular break out film “Endless Summer”. But the film most of us offroaders identify him with is 1971′s “On Any Sunday”. More on this later.

With video entertainment media such as this, everything is very subjective and everybody has their preferred style and or wants from an action sports video. I will break them down into 3 categories of (self described) genres. Keep in mind I personally lean toward documentary, lifestyle or educational videos of these type.

Action/Freestyle

This genre is basically wild stunts, some racing footage, and epic locations with professional riders set to popular heavy metal or alternative music of the day. The videography is usually very stunning and some are almost like a travelogue of popular destinations around the world. The downside of this genre is the whole movie is just a bunch of short segments (about the length of the song used in the back round) filled with jump cuts and fast edits. There is usually no cohesive “plot” or storyline to keep the viewer engaged. These types of movies appeal best to the enthusiast and are best watched in a group in the garage bench racing with your buddies and some cold ones. Non riders or casual viewers will find these movies boring after probably the first 5 minutes. Typically these movies are not feature length lasting only around 40-50 minutes (with some exceptions). Biggest take away is these types of movies are not very timeless and are not generally that memorable. I love the Crusty Demons and H-Bomb series but I cannot say there is one memorable movie or segment that stands out from all the rest.

Best picks from this genre

Fleshwound Films (Dana Nicholson and Cami Freeman) Crusty Demons of Dirt series (currently 14 films to choose from)

H-Bomb Films (Wes Miller) Huevos series (currently 12 films to choose from)

Race Documentary

These movies narrowly focus on either one race or series of races. Typically these movies mix a small amount of “back story” on the riders or race and lead into the current race or series they are documenting. Filmed somewhat in a reality show style, they follow the top riders in the race or series highlighting the ups and downs and any other drama to build the characters and storyline to culminate to the finish of the race or finally of the series. These films are fairly niche based requiring a bit of knowledge of the race, racers, or series history to fully appreciate the videography and drama of the characters. These films will mildly appeal to the casual viewer as most do a good job of bringing the viewer into the drama and suspense of “whats going to happen next” although to fully appreciate the movie some riding experience is necessary. These movies do stand the times a bit better as they are more like a time capsule and are fun to watch from a historical aspect years later.  Typically these films are feature length.

Best picks from this genre

The Great Outdoors video series (2002-present), documenting the National motocross circuit

Enduro at Erzberg (2005-present) documenting the Erzberg Enduro

Motorsports Documentary

There are very few  films in this category.  These films take a general overall look at motorsports as a whole and condense it down to a feature length film.  The good ones that stand out do a good job of explaining each motorsport discipline in layman’s terms while highlighting the achievements to the exceptional riders from each sport.  These movies tend to be more palatable to non riders and casual viewers as they teach as well as entertain, trying to answer the universal question of why. An example of this is with the movie On And Sunday I can show this movie to nearly any non rider or casual viewer and they stay almost glued to the tv and come away with a sense of “wow, I understand why you love the sport so much”. Its a film that has aged gracefully and I consider it required viewing before even buying a machine.

Best picks from this genre

On Any Sunday (1971, Bruce Brown) updates: OAS Revisited, OAS Motocross, Malcom, and More

Dust to Glory (2005 Dana Brown)

Honorable mention:

Dirt (1979 Eric Karson) A rare gem not seen by most motorsport fans, features lots of 4 wheel racing.

Well there you have it!  My take on the whole action sports video genre as it applies to my favorite sports.  Every body has an opinion on their favorite film or film series, so let us hear about yours! Leave a comment below or visit the ATV Magazine forum. Also to watch some of my own videos follow the link to my Youtube page.

Save your brain, Always wear a helmet

The inspiration for this article comes from an unfortunate incident over the July 4th holiday weekend that I hope to never witness again.  A man and woman were riding two up on a section of trail near the trail head parking area.  Apparently the driver lost control some how overturning the ATV throwing the riders.  Neither riders were wearing helmets.  Subsequently the driver suffered a massive head injury, an open skull fracture.  EMT’s tried to get the man stabilized as a Flight-for-Life helicopter was flown in to airlift the man to the nearest trauma center (in this case 65 miles away).  As of this writing the man ended up passing away even after a miraculous improvement in his condition upon reaching the hospital (according to press releases)  Official press releases can be found HERE and also HERE.  My sympathy goes out to the family.

It was a sobering fact reminding me why I always ride with a helmet.  It is true that a helmet can not prevent every conceivable situation that could cause a head injury, but it has been proved that a helmet will mitigate the severity of head injuries versus no helmet at all.  Would a helmet have saved his life in this situation?  Well hindsight is always 20/20 and you can always play “what if” but I believe it would have at the bare minimum left him with a survivable injury.  Even though a helmet probably would have saved his life, nobody ever wants to see a fellow rider go down this way.  In his death this should be a reminder for the rest of us to wear as much protective gear as reasonably possible to mitigate possible injuries while enjoying our favorite sport.  If your interested in reading about other protective gear read Getting Geared Up!

The most important organ in your body is your brain.  Protect it with an approved helmet.

Back to the old stomping grounds

As this holiday weekend approaches a lot of us will be celebrating our freedom to vacation when and where we choose by traveling to that hallowed riding spot that we have some eternal connection with.  For many the reason may be because it is with in a 5 minute drive from the house, a scenic place with good camping or in my case its the place where I grew up riding that WAS less than a 5 minute drive from my house, now that has stretched out to a 6 hour drive.

Back in the 80's this place held an annual harescramble

The place I am talking about is in Harlan County Nebraska at a little place developed by the US Army Corp. of Engineers in the early 80′s.  My memories of this place start back when my dad raced a few hare scrambles put on by a local racer that organizes motocross races in the same area.  The place had nearly perfect terrain for a hare scramble.  The terrain had hills, trees, and mud.  The hare scrambles were always fun to watch, and maybe that was mostly because my dad was in it.  As a matter of fact my dad was always racing on the oldest bike there a 1974 Yamaha SC500. Remember this was in the 80′s!  After a few years of hare scrambles the place would be nearly defunct as in it would be only ridden by locals such as us.  Even big holiday weekends would turn out less than 10 or so riders for the entire weekend.  The trail was never maintained at all during the entire time period that we rode it. 

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