Our team:
-Team Robot
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Is it snowing? Have you heard? Snowmass
Is it snowing?
http://www.isitsnowinginpdx.com/
Have you heard?
http://tbitw.com/
One of my favorite tracks ever was at snowmass, 2007, as featured in the popular cycling movie Stars and Bars. It was pretty flat, and was 3 minutes of mowed grass, taped off. It was drift city. The bummer was, in the middle there was a right turn into a creek crossing, then you pedaled uphill out of the creek bed. This was followed by a 30 second flat fire road pedal.
What? A creek crossing in a race?
Yes, a creek crossing in a race. One of the stupidest features I've ever seen. There was an uphill out of this, and a speed-killing turn into it.
It made for some wonderful, close-up slow mo Clay Porter shots, though.
http://www.isitsnowinginpdx.com/
Have you heard?
http://tbitw.com/
One of my favorite tracks ever was at snowmass, 2007, as featured in the popular cycling movie Stars and Bars. It was pretty flat, and was 3 minutes of mowed grass, taped off. It was drift city. The bummer was, in the middle there was a right turn into a creek crossing, then you pedaled uphill out of the creek bed. This was followed by a 30 second flat fire road pedal.
What? A creek crossing in a race?
Yes, a creek crossing in a race. One of the stupidest features I've ever seen. There was an uphill out of this, and a speed-killing turn into it.
It made for some wonderful, close-up slow mo Clay Porter shots, though.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Team Robot: spreading hate
Disclaimer: This post is full of hate, hate, hate. I recognize that Clay Porter brings a lot to the table, and tries to communicate mountain biking to a wider audience. I also recognize that Clay's investment in visual artistry and narrative is appreciated by many people. However, I am not "many people" or "a wider audience." I am a mountain biker, and I watch mountain bike movies so that I can WATCH MOUNTAIN BIKING. I watch race videos so that I can WATCH RACING. IF I WANTED TO LOOK AT CLOUDS GO BY I WOULD WALK OUTSIDE. IF I WANTED TO WATCH BIKES IN SLOW MO I WOULD JUST GO WATCH SPORT RIDERS ON ANY MANDATORY DROP FEATURE ON A RACE COURSE.
I think we all agree by now that that Alex Rankin wins.
Everyone except for frickin Clay Porter. Here's what Clay had to say:
“As far as slow-mo goggle shots and time-lapses go, of course you can expect that kind of stuff. People that say those kind of shots are played or whatever are so fucking stupid. It is because of those kind of narrow-minded people that mountain bike racing isn't bigger right now. People are used to seeing an Alex Rankin style of shooting downhill racing. Don't get me wrong, I love that style and think Alex is an amazing filmmaker with a visual style all his own, but do you think that when Sam Hill is talking about what he was thinking moments before crossing the line at World Champs, a fast pan is the ideal shot choice? Fuck no. A slow-mo shot showing the concentration in his eyes is a much better choice. I shoot a variety of styles of shots as it allows me to tell the story I want to tell. There will be slow-mo goggle shots, fast pans, time-lapses, and everything in between in 3 Minute Gaps.”
When movies are good, the actors don't have to tell you everything they're thinking. You don't see Bobby De Niro saying "I feel worried right now," very often. You follow the story as it moves along because the narrative is non-verbally communicated. Sometimes you don't need to have everything spelled out for you, and hey, sometimes you don't even care about what's being spelled out. Sometimes you just want to see fast pans of MIND FUCKING BLOWING bike riding. Sometimes 15 minutes of slow mo bike riding and 45 minutes of interview is not what I want to see. There was more clearly filmed gnar-shredding in the 2 minute 45 second Rankin clip than there was in all of Tipping Point.
Is there a purpose for Clay Porter movies? Of course. If I want to explain racing to my grandparents, I can think of no better existing method. The only catch is that at some point you have to mention that "oh, by the way, racing is also really fun and I enjoy it. We're not always tense and grimacing and super nerve-racked like the racers in ______ Clay porter movie."
Clay, racing is fun as hell. Why so serious?
And yes, I realize that I'm being an asshole, but in the words of the great Walter Sobchak:
(Editor's note: I'm still gonna watch 3 minute gaps when it comes out)
I think we all agree by now that that Alex Rankin wins.
Everyone except for frickin Clay Porter. Here's what Clay had to say:
“As far as slow-mo goggle shots and time-lapses go, of course you can expect that kind of stuff. People that say those kind of shots are played or whatever are so fucking stupid. It is because of those kind of narrow-minded people that mountain bike racing isn't bigger right now. People are used to seeing an Alex Rankin style of shooting downhill racing. Don't get me wrong, I love that style and think Alex is an amazing filmmaker with a visual style all his own, but do you think that when Sam Hill is talking about what he was thinking moments before crossing the line at World Champs, a fast pan is the ideal shot choice? Fuck no. A slow-mo shot showing the concentration in his eyes is a much better choice. I shoot a variety of styles of shots as it allows me to tell the story I want to tell. There will be slow-mo goggle shots, fast pans, time-lapses, and everything in between in 3 Minute Gaps.”
When movies are good, the actors don't have to tell you everything they're thinking. You don't see Bobby De Niro saying "I feel worried right now," very often. You follow the story as it moves along because the narrative is non-verbally communicated. Sometimes you don't need to have everything spelled out for you, and hey, sometimes you don't even care about what's being spelled out. Sometimes you just want to see fast pans of MIND FUCKING BLOWING bike riding. Sometimes 15 minutes of slow mo bike riding and 45 minutes of interview is not what I want to see. There was more clearly filmed gnar-shredding in the 2 minute 45 second Rankin clip than there was in all of Tipping Point.
Is there a purpose for Clay Porter movies? Of course. If I want to explain racing to my grandparents, I can think of no better existing method. The only catch is that at some point you have to mention that "oh, by the way, racing is also really fun and I enjoy it. We're not always tense and grimacing and super nerve-racked like the racers in ______ Clay porter movie."
Clay, racing is fun as hell. Why so serious?
And yes, I realize that I'm being an asshole, but in the words of the great Walter Sobchak:
(Editor's note: I'm still gonna watch 3 minute gaps when it comes out)
Throwing up/throwing down/robots
I had my first vomit-inducing workout so-far this season. Midpack pros everywhere, consider yourself warned.
I translated the Chinese in the Bruce Lee image, and it roughly translated to "WARNING! from TEAM ROBOT"
Here's a video of Sam Hill throwing down at Maribor 2007. I tried to find this song online, but it's pretty much impossible:
By the way, Mr. Hill is probably the hardest athlete on the planet to wrangle an interview out of. Ten words, but only five of them are intelligible.
And just for good measure, here's some robot related news. Sweet clip. If you're trying to figure out WTF is going on in this clip, your guess is as good as mine:
-Chaz
I translated the Chinese in the Bruce Lee image, and it roughly translated to "WARNING! from TEAM ROBOT"
Here's a video of Sam Hill throwing down at Maribor 2007. I tried to find this song online, but it's pretty much impossible:
By the way, Mr. Hill is probably the hardest athlete on the planet to wrangle an interview out of. Ten words, but only five of them are intelligible.
And just for good measure, here's some robot related news. Sweet clip. If you're trying to figure out WTF is going on in this clip, your guess is as good as mine:
-Chaz
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Sam HIll bummer time, Nico Vink shred time
I don't know why this video isn't all over the internets, but I stumbled upon this Sam Hill video while I was busy studying his bike and kit so I can copy everything he does next year. To his credit, it looks like he was going really, really, really fast.
2010 was not his year, and then at Worlds, it was.
These are the turniest, berm-gappiest trails I have ever seen. This video proves that Nico Vink shreds downhill, moto AND bmx. That means that he is winning at life, except for being Dutch.
Nico Vink Helmet Cam from GroundedBMX on Vimeo.
Bikes+sex=Vital MTB, and Dubya
Vital MTB posed the question: What is the sexiest bike of all time?
The word "sexy" gets tossed around a lot. People often think "sexy" means generally visually appealing, but that's what it means. "Sexy" refers to things with which you want to have sex. As we all know, most people don't actually want to have sex with bicycles.
Needless to say, we at Team Robot are not most people. Robots don't play by your simple, human rules. So, without further ado, we bring you the bikes that Team Robot would most like to have sex with:
George Bush said what?
I can't believe I didn't put this video up sooner. Unoriginal? Maybe. Satisfying? Absolutely.
The word "sexy" gets tossed around a lot. People often think "sexy" means generally visually appealing, but that's what it means. "Sexy" refers to things with which you want to have sex. As we all know, most people don't actually want to have sex with bicycles.
Needless to say, we at Team Robot are not most people. Robots don't play by your simple, human rules. So, without further ado, we bring you the bikes that Team Robot would most like to have sex with:
George Bush said what?
I can't believe I didn't put this video up sooner. Unoriginal? Maybe. Satisfying? Absolutely.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
The best ever
I've been watching dumb car jump videos on youtube for a long time. Nothing makes me happier than seeing a crummy old car get sent for days off a poorly improvised Dukes of Hazzard kicker. After watching so many car jump videos, I thought I'd seen the best. I thought they were all kind of similar. I thought their wasn't much originality.
That was until tonight. This is the best car jump video ever.
Ever.
Atrocious accents, superb driving.
That was until tonight. This is the best car jump video ever.
Ever.
Atrocious accents, superb driving.
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