The amount of actual "wild" available in Southern California isn't what it should be, so I went searching for a subject the exact opposite of the traditional definition yet still had the same meaning. In my younger days I had a really good time on dirt bikes and thought I might be able to capture a little of why it is so fun.

I hope you all enjoy watching as much as I did making it. Shot with a Canon xh-a1. Edited in Vegas. Music by Dimitris Plagiannis.

Challenge version - http://www.uwolchallenge.com/challenge3/BE_UC3_californiawild.mov

585px wide flash version - http://www.magicnetstudios.com/video/calWild.html

1280x720 WMV file (130mb) http://www.magicnetstudios.com/video/download/uwol3.wmv

Hey Bruce. That's definitely a different take on wild than the other challenge films I've watched so far. I liked it...adds some diversity to our group. Cool music as well. Thanks for sharing.

Rick

"Get your motor running, getting on the highway..."
This was the first that stike my mind when Meryem pronounced the theme for uwol#3. It's different, but it is wild and I wouldn't dear to sit on one of those bikes :)
Great work, Bruce.

This is certainly a different kind of wild. I really liked the way you put it together- the music and quick cuts and fades of the elements in the film gave it an organic feel where the action of the dirt bike riding was mirrored in the way it played on film. Definitely not a kind of wild I would try, but fun to watch!


Ruth

Bruce:

How far back are those younger days. In 70's I remember trying to shoot still at a dirt bike motocross track in North Fork, CA.. with a 2 1/4 camera. To young for you ? Brought back the memories. Great video, and super use of compression and color..

Thanks all,
I was shooting for the polar opposite of "the wild" as most would define it.
To quote Meryem, "We're looking for the entry which best explores this mysterious, ineffable thing which summons us into nature and the outdoors."

I, as all of you do, really enjoy nature. I grew up backpacking in the Sierra Nevada's and just wanted to grow up to be Jeremiah Johnson. :) Having lived in Southern California for the last 20 or so years, I have watched as what natural areas there were, deteriorate to something that is just a ghost of the past. The trees are mostly burnt, rain is in very short supply as is anything green, and most of all the land has been neglected by us, the caretakers. I find it hard to be enthusiastic about what was, so I decided to find what draws SoCal folks outside.

The fun part was how many families I met at the track. And I mean all of them, from the little 3 year olds right up to mom and dad. This has become one of the true family sports in SoCal. It's great that this sport draws them outside and they are able to do it as a family unit. I didnt see a single family argument or an unhappy face the whole time I was shooting. There is something to be said for that.

Sorry Chris, thats a little far back for me. Although I'm in my early 40's, I didnt start riding until I was in my late 20's. Might have even been my 30's. Never got that good at it and ended up with a lot of broken bones trying to stay up with McGrath and Bradshaw. And no, I never could keep up with them. :)

You got some really good "wild" action stuff there. Looks like that course had to be half dirt bike riding and half flying.

I liked the editing pace and effects you used.

Good job

That was really wild! Thanks for sharing.
I like the way you edited the video to the music.

welcome to UWOL, bruce, it's always fun to see the free range of interpretations of the theme.

any video that includes cute footage of a yellow lab automatically wins! just kidding--the dog love of my life happens to be a yellow lab, and i get all warm and fuzzy when i see one, even if the accompanying music is thrash....

Great piece and an alternative subject matter for this challenge and most definately WILD!. Great shots,great use of sound track, perfect exposure and your editing/fx is stunning, crystal clean, dramatic, dynamic and well.....very cool!

Very pro output...great stuff. and if you want to divulge any of those fx tricks then feel free, especially the 'burning' effect ? :)

Thanks everyone for the kind words. This is my first attempt at anything like this and was afraid I might have gone too far off the map to be taken seriously. :)

Hey Matt,
The effects I ended up with were a matter of luck. I've been using Vegas for a few years but never really messed with the effects much as I think most folks overuse them or use them at the wrong time.

I got this piece rough cut and started thinking about how to make the interlude sections separate themselves visually from the faster paced sections.

The burning effect at the beginning is a combination of effects. First I converted the clip to black and white. Then I added a black restore filter and dialed it up to lessen the amount of grayscale in the picture (I wanted mostly black and mostly white, with not much in between).
I then added the light ray filter and dialed that up. I had to come back and tweak this one after I added the next few filters.
Then I added diffusion. This one also needed tweeking in combination with the lightrays as too much one way or the other really messed things up.
Lastly came a gradient overlay to get the color. I just used the sunset preset and then tweaked the amount to suit what I wanted the look to be.

The other interlude sections are lesser combinations of the same theme, usually just minus the light rays.
The main ingredient to the look that I wanted ended up being the black restore in combination with converting the clip to black and white. You can end up with a really neat look with that combo and then add in a gradient overlay and you have alot of possibilities.

Get in! Makes me wanna hit the dirt myself ;-) Great shots, but you've thought about the big and little picture by taking everything into account - I know with these things how easy it is to get lost in the action, but your cutaways are perfect and offset the high adrenaline stuff so well.Well timed to the music - it's super spot-on pacy. Don't have much more to say other than I'm looking forward to see what you do next ;-)

Cheers,

Rob

This is a fabulous clip. I saw no flaw in this... period. Editing was perfectly timed with the music. It was tight. Racey. Special effects were perfectly done to give it the overall thrill and captivation of the piece. I think it is a job excellently done.

Cat

Wow, absolutely awesome Bruce!!! I have to say, this is not at all what I was expecting!

I loved the editing! It was wicked!

I enjoy the use of the music and editing to it. I am a big hard-rock/metal fan...

Very nice job! Two thumbs up all the way!

What was your editing program?

Keep up the awesome stuff!
~Gabriel

Bruce,
wow, what can I say! This was a very wild film, not sure if it fits within the theme though.
Technically I will say a masterpiece, both camerawork and editing.

Keep up your good work!

Thanks guys. I really appreciate all the kind comments.

Gabriel I use Sony Vegas to edit with although I wouldn't say it would be a requirement to accomplish this style of cutting. I feel fortunate in that I "see" music when I hear it. That really helps in how you layout the cuts.
I will listen to a section of the song and see what pops into my head visually and then try and match what I have shot to fit that section.
Once I go brain dead using that method, I start reviewing what I've shot and see what section of the song pops into my head while I'm watching that clip.
This method seems to work best for me and leads me to the rough cut. Once you have the rough cut it becomes more about visual timing and matching downbeats.

I am a big fan of the extreme sports film genre mostly human powered films (climbing, mountain biking, kayaking) but this is exactly the type of film I love to watch. Fast, fun editing, and kickin music (where did you get the music by the way?) Do you know the band?

Good clean (dirty) fun, excellent cinematography and the most action packed film of the bunch.

Thanks for the film,

Jeff

Thanks Jeff. I got the music from Shockwave. Not cheap, but to get a license on this type of music is tough to find. The artists name is Dimitris Plagiannis and the song is called Ownage.
I think in the future I will hunt down a band or two and secure the rights straight from the source.