| Author | Message | ||
     Photon7p |
Hey Badwebbers...I need help with my student project. I'm a film student at the Art Institute of Tampa(FL) and I'm needing some help on an idea of mine for my student film. I'm wanting to make a documentary similar to The Endless Summer except looking for the perfect wave I'm looking for the perfect curve. I in need of some really cool roads that have a lot of curves and really cool stories to go with them...and thats the easy part! I also need some equipment...camcorders, bike mounts, tapes etc. Other things...oh...maybe a place to stay while I'm shooting, a couple of riders that are willing to ride for about three weeks straight, and gas and food money...and maybe a support vehicle? I'll probably have a small budget and some equipment soon but I'll still need a lot of help...I've got about a year to plan this out! Thanks, Paul. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Cool roads are cool, but cool people are cooler. My last trip to Deals Gap / Cherohola was some fine riding, but pale in comparison to the people I met. Add Wheels through Time Museum to your destination list for sure... call ahead and I would not be surprised if you could get a ride in some vintage iron. I would put more emphasis on the people then the roads, and get a big cross section of people. | ||
| Henrik |
Very good point Bill. While the search for the perfect curve and maybe for what makes it perfect is an interesting carrier, I think the people you'll meet and their stories will "make" the actual movie. But then - everyone is a frackin' director these days  Henrik | ||
| Madduck |
Just getting a definition of "perfect curve" would make for a good movie. My perfect curve is the only one on the road for a couple of miles but it was ideal for blasting past unwary riders that don't watch their rear view mirrors well. It is so sweet to blow by someone not expecting it. Best day was in 1995 when JC and I blew by Roger Reiman, catching that man by surprise was damn near impossible but he was out testing a customer bike and was even hunched over listening for a noise in the primary. Two evo dressers at over 80 mph running thru supertrapps make for a helluva surprise. He spent about 10 minutes cussing us out at the shop and we spent months in his doghouse as his dad Hank told everyone the story over and over again. The curve isn't all that much but the memories linger. | ||
| Photon7p |
Great responses! How do you think I should weigh it? Cut down the amount of actual riding and up the amount of time for story telling? Maybe concentrate on less roads...I was originally wanting around a dozen...but after reading what you BWs wrote I'm starting to think a movie about the best story would be more on the lines of what you guys would like to see? Heck...it would almost be a better documentary about myself traveling around the country just to get these stories on film! so if you were to imagine the ultimate documentary on modern day motorcycle riding...what would you expect/want to see on that film? | ||
| Bad_karma |
Photon7P The Dragon is great and love it. If you would like some 15mph turns with over 20' gradient check out US 250 out of Staunton, Virginia on your way to Monterey, Virginia. Maybe a dash west on 39/55 from Cass, West Virginia to Summersville, West Virginia. Look at a short ditty that is route 6 going up Afton mountain to route 250 just below The Blue Ridge Parkway west Charlottesville, Virginia. A few of my favorites that might help. Joe | ||
| Reepicheep |
Look for motorcyclist congregation points, preferably ones that people actually have to *ride* to get to. Avoid "harley dealers" and Quaker Stake and Shakes. Deals Gap (both ends) is great, and people are very social. Wheels Through Time would be another great place. Maybe the privateer pits at some of the race tracks. Near here, there is this odd little location called "Rabbit Hash". Nothing remarkable except lots of bikes showing up there on sunny weekends... I bet there are more of these around, they may or may not be interesting. Depends on who you find and what they say. The bikes at Wheels Through Time are just amazing. I would love to hear an interview with somebody who owned one of those bikes "in the day". Have them talk about them while they sit on the bike they used to own and tell stories. Or maybe somebody that worked on them... perhaps a trip up to Milwaukee to meet with some retirees, or maybe some of the old Indian folks. | ||
| Henrik |
Paul; depending on how long you expect your movie to be, you could easily overlay story telling audio on riding video. I would make sure to match the pace of the riding - and maybe even the bike being ridden - to the "pace" of the story. I'm thinking, that if you spend some time at Wheels Through Time you'll come across plenty of old timers more than happy to chat and tell stories; Oldog and I did ... http://www.badweatherbikers.com/cgibin/discus/show .cgi?tpc=37&post=755677#POST755677 If you do go to Wheels Through Time, contact the owner for permission and possibly for some contacts. They're not shy about starting up the bikes and I've even seen a visitor take an old Panhead for a spin in the parking lot, so something might develop from there. Make sure you have your plan together before you call though - owner is a great guy but quick and seemingly with an attention span of a 2 year old Henrik | ||
| Darrell_ks |
Henrik said it. "Paul; depending on how long you expect your movie to be, you could easily overlay story telling audio on riding video. I would make sure to match the pace of the riding - and maybe even the bike being ridden - to the "pace" of the story." Thats what I was thinking by the time I read the second post. Jumping from the person telling the story to the road/bike they were on and back really punches up the effect of the story. Best of luck on the story. Remember to film 100 times more than you think you will use. | ||
| Sarodude |
If there are any Alton Brown fans here, he did a 4 part series called Feasting on Asphalt. It was supposed to be about road trips & food - on bikes. I think it wound up being more about people & experiences - which may have been the point all along. Anyway, I think it's sort of a nice model to look at and get ideas from. In case it's not clear from what I wrote above, I also think the movie shouldn't REALLY be about the perfect curve. It should be about the experiences trying to find it, the people trying to lead you to it, their stories, whatever misfortunes.... Are you looking to do something scripted or more pseudo-documentary? -Saro |
