To many, mountain biking isn’t one of the sexier action sports – well, clearly they’ve never seen what Brandon Semenuk is able to accomplish with his bike. The folks at Red Bull took notice of Semenuk’s skills and thus the next generation of mountain bike film was born.
Brandon Semenuk’s Rad Company is a stylish combination of ear-pleasing music, groundbreaking cinematography and gnarly mountain bike moves. It’s 45 minutes of progressive riding, with as much attention given to the riders as the scenic backgrounds of the six locations Semenuk visited.
Even before filming, the 23-year-old already had an idea of where he wanted to shred.
“A lot of zones like Utah and the British Columbia zones were already places that had a strong scene and had a lot to offer for terrain,” Semenuk told us in an interview. “And then there were random locations like Fiji that were kind of like more adventure segments. Obviously, riding was the number one concern but while building the features, we would build them kind of around the scenery – like if there was a super-good scenic spot, that’s where we’d try to make the best feature.”
Various terrain types throughout the locations led to a variety of weather conditions for Semenuk and his crew. From sunshine and cliffs, to rain and mud, to flurries and dirt, there was a little bit of everything, for any type of rider. But while Semenuk admits it was, at times, difficult to battle the elements, it was the camera crew that had to endure the most punishment.
“The weather was difficult for us, but obviously more for the camera men,” he added. “It’d be pouring rain and they’re holding all this electronic stuff, with their cameras in garbage bags, trying to keep it protected, while we’re spraying them with mud – getting mud in the lenses and all that.”
As gnarly as the tricks are throughout the film, it’s the camera crew that really brings the piece to life.
Rad Company is the next generation of action sports cinematography, shooting in both normal speed and slow motion, often with multiple angles – some of which you’d never expect. GoPro cameras, helicopters and just your typical handhelds are all used to bring crisp, colorful perspective, the likes of which will drop your jaw to the floor.
“The idea of the film was just to have a shred flick, like progressive moves and have zones that kind of really shoot it like the progression of riding and all that,” Semenuk said. “There were probably like four, or five, cameras [filming] sometimes. Before we’d drop in, we’d tell them what we’re going to do and then they’d kind of know where to go and what would be cool with them.”
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To have a visually stunning film is nothing without the accompaniment of sound. And while you can often hear the riders and their sound effects, the true tone of the film is set by the soundtrack. From classic rock, to funk, to alternative rock, there’s a little something for everyone and the tracklist certainly keeps the filming moving at a quick pace.
“I tried to make it kind of like a mix-tape soundtrack, that’s what we were going for, and we kind of accomplished that,” he admits. “With music nowadays, it’s difficult to get rights, so there were a lot of last minute song changes – but overall, we got what we were looking for. We had a few songs that were edited up [to the scene] and pretty much final, but then there were some last minute complications.”
But there were few complications during filming, which took just about one year to complete.
“Some of the shoots we’d basically just show up and run everything within two or three days but then there’s a couple we had a lot more time – like there’s a couple we had a couple weeks for and a couple we had like five or six days,” he said. “We’d usually only get like one day of practice.”
Semenuk is thrilled with the final result of the movie and although there are a couple of things he’d like to go back and change, we think he’s just nit-picking. Either way, he couldn’t have been more grateful to the group at Red Bull for all of its helping making his audio-visual dream a reality.
“I’m pretty stoked about it,” he chuckled. It’s pretty much what I wanted. Obviously, there’s always little things you wish you could change. For me to make it through a full year, to get that much footage and walk away uninjured, is just a feat in itself. Red Bull is super-good at what they do and for them to give me the opportunity is amazing – they really kind of just let us do our own thing.”
Order Rad Company on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Download, or through iTunes and Google Play.
Ed Miller is a contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @PhillyEdMiller or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
Photos courtesy of Red Bull Content Pool.
