The future of unicycling videos ...

Videos
1

Just thinking a bit…

In unicycling videos a can see nearly the same developement as in MTB videos. Sure, with a certain delay of time, but that’s getting less. I remember the end of the 90s when I was mountainbiking and the first mountainbike films were available. Most of the videos a friend ordered from the states bacause at that time they weren’t all available in germany. We sat in front of the TV watching theese incredible film over and over again … wow that was so amazing. We watched every New World Disorder DVD (that’s where I first saw Kris Holm) and every single episode of DropIn and how they were all namend. The trails got steeper, faster, harder, the drops and jumps got higher and higher … spectacular and one film overtrumped the other. First it was all about mountainbiking, every single scene with a spectacular ride or stunt, no second without a bike. But movies changed since then … and got a new kind of quality. The filming improved and storytelling became important. While first only some mountainbike freaks watched theese videos they now became interesting for a wider audience.

Unicycling videos make a comparable developement. Just when I thik which great Muni films I saw within the last year … really great footage. And all that despite most of the films are “only” made by private individuals at home without any professional film teams or other “hollywood equipment”. At this point I’d just like to thank all of you taking your camera with you on your rides and making theese great videos!

But where could the developement go to? What I would really like to see would be a unicycle version on the film Life Cycles which is by far the best mountainbike or even sports film I’ve ever seen. An in only about 50% of the scenes there is bike riding … the rest is really great nature shots, little details and philosophy … a true piece of art!

Just watch the trailer in HD at http://vimeo.com/14600175
Or the whole film in bad quality at http://vimeo.com/62949254

2

Regarding unicycle video, are we going to be leaders or followers?

Followers: Spend half the video interviewing riders discussing how they ‘felt’ performing a particular trick, allowing the audience to connect with the riders on an emotional level.

Leaders: depict unicyclists as the marginalized loners they really are.

Followers: Use a Hollywood soundtrack, with epic orchestral cues for the nature shots, and quirky, upbeat pop music for the montage, 2/3 of the way through the film.

Leaders: Use revolutionary music with lyrics which actually mean something.

Followers: Film in far away, yet-to-be-spoiled, exotic locations. Burn a lot of carbon getting there and back. Include shots of natives looking admiringly at you.

Leaders: Go to the “other side of the railroad tracks”. Expose urban decay, homelessness, post-industrial decay. Make sure the riders are up-to-date on their tetanus shots.

Followers: Get a corporate sponsor. Use lots of product placement.

Leaders: Take the bus. Fill your water bottle from the municipal water supply.

Followers: Use video technology to show how awesome you are, shrouding your tricks in mystery and seeming non-attainability.

Leaders: Use video technology to pull away the shroud, educating the audience about the techniques used to perform tricks.

Followers: Use an exaggerated fish-eye lens which makes even the smallest jumps seem monstrous.

Leaders: Include more out-takes, making it seem more ‘real’.

3

i wonder how two hypothetical films, each based on your ad-hoc criteria, would influence both the type and size of their respective audiences. which would be more entertaining / informative / watchable, etc.?
i suppose that prior to deciding which type of film you want to make (assuming, of course, that your categories are meaningful), you might want to decide who it is you want to reach.
…just wondering.

4

I saw an interview with Kris Holm. He said that unicycling would never be popular because it was too hard. Mountain biking is, to some extent, accessible to anyone whom can already ride a bike, which is why Joe Public may relate to a MTB video more than he can relate to a unicycle video. MTB videos may have helped to stimulate mountain biking in general, but correlation does not imply causation.

To relate unicycle to another niche activity, consider classical music. There is a small segment of the population which likes classical music. Orchestras spend some of their budgets on outreach and education, with the goal of maintaining or building their audiences. Sometimes the orchestras “dumb down” their programming to appeal to a wider audience. A colleague of mine argued that, instead of wooing the 97% of the public whom don’t like classical music, orchestras should instead focus on meeting the needs of the 3% whom ‘do’ like it. In my personal experience talking to lovers of classical music, most of them played an instrument as a kid.

My apologies for possibly thread-jacking a perfectly good starting post. I think that technology has closed the gap between amateur and professional videography, which is why there are so many awesome unicycle videos already out there, imo. For sure, my own modest unicycling skills are not ready, nor may they ever be ready, for prime time.

5

Kinda too late now but I think this discussion should be in the main forum so it can get more attention.

6

Re “leaders”, I would like to see a lot more videos like this

7

Sorry, no humor is allowed in unicycle videos. The public already thinks we’re clowns, and the only way to fight against this perception is to be SERIOUS. Anyone posting videos of unicyclists juggling will be banned for life.

8

That was a great! The best part was hearing my 9 year old say about half way thru “I like his Blunt Slide”.

9

I`m with you Eric aus Chemnitz!

I`ve just posted a video… http://youtu.be/U0cQhycCxGU and

Even if there isnt a real plot, Ive tried to create one, to make it more interesting

I haven`t chosen the hardest sections, but the most spectacular or the one with less shaking and so on

I`m quite agree elpuebloUNIdo, but in this video I broke the rule at 3.15…
Was it a mistake? What do you think about?

Nic

10

Quite a nice one! It tells something, and thats what I like about it.

11

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!

I met a couple guys in the park near my house the other day. They were flying a small, helicopter-like drone, on which was attached a camera. They stopped me. One of the guys had apparently learned to ride uni, and he tried mounting and riding a few feet. The seat was too high for him, and I forgot to bring my 5mm hex wrench with me. Anyhow, the guys run a small company doing aerial photography, mostly real-estate stuff. They gave me their card and asked me if I might consider being filmed on the uni (it was already getting dark at that point, and they were packing up).

We briefly discussed how many unicycle videos fail to capture the steepness of hills, whether ridden up or down. A drone-mounted video camera, flying parallel to the elevation of the rider, rising or falling gradually in the air during the ascent or descent of the rider, might capture, more effectively, the steepness of hills.

I suppose that drone photography is going to be part of the “future of unicycle video”. As the price drops and the technology shrinks, I think we are going to see more drone videos. Max Schulze has a very nice video using a drone.

It is hard for me to reconcile the utility of drone photography for unicycle videos…with the fact that drones, with the help of my tax-dollars, are terrorizing people around the globe. The use of drone technology, even for innocuous, peaceful purposes, such as unicycle video, increases the profits of companies which design drones for non-peaceful purposes.

12

The other alternative to get a video shot that follow the uni rider down while being parallel (to keep the steepness in) would be a zipline camera setup (like unigeezer uses).

This way, you get the benefits without the “fund-the-evil” drawback :wink:

13

I guess we should stop buying 4x4 vehicles or GPS units, and stop using planes too :wink:

There is some technology that is obviously designed with warfare/non-peaceful purposes in mind. I feel great knowing people are happy to take said technology and use it for awesome things!

14

Wouldn’t there need to be other techniques employed to make the hills look steep?

20% feels very steep, but in reality doesn’t look that steep.