I've been given the all clear from Ben to post my feedback for the sponsored videos. As you probably know the videos were judged on creativity, style and video production and although we were only supposed to give a score out of 10 for each of the three categories I thought I'd add a quick paragraph for each one to explain why I judged them the way I did (I also think this qualitative approach to judging works better than the scores, some videos like Ross' one for example I felt deserved a much higher score but I couldn't justify it having been bound by the three categories if that makes sense) Oh and these are purely my initial thoughts after seeing each video, if I wrote more about one than another it's simply because I was just getting lazy so please don't take any of this personally!
Anyway, here it is:
(I put the videos in my own little groups to make it easier to compare them so the order is different to what is on the blog)
– One of my favourite videos for a number of reasons. First of all, the video production is spot on, great filming and really clean editing. The riding is pretty much exactly what I think street trials should be – smooth, technical lines that flow nicely. Ross rides street trials without the stereotypical BMX inspired moves – just solid, creative and a lot of the times ballsy lines! Awesome style and definitely the sort of video you'd want to watch before you go out riding!
Ben Travis – One of the best tripod only videos I've seen in a while, the camera always seemed to be in the right spot! Would have been cool to see some panning/zooming maybe to make the footage that little bit more fluid but that's just me being picky. The video had a pretty light hearted feel to it although there were some pretty serious lines throughout. Another example of a smooth and solid style that's a pleasure to watch!
– It's easy to misinterpret being creative as having to do weird tricks and over editing your video. In my eyes, it's more to do with finding ways to ride things that don't normally get ridden, for example - a tank... This was a seriously cool video, at the start I thought the song may be a bit too fast paced but Leon pulled it off perfect! Creative use of some awesome spots and “obstacles” and a great mix of street and trials riding, only thing I could say is the video production was not quite up to the standard of some of the other videos. But hey, he rode a tank instead so I'll let him off!
– More “trialsy” street trials, this time the riding was a bit more chilled out than in the previous videos although it was really flowy! I felt like I was watching a Chris Akrigg video at times, it was full of simple but creative and good looking lines. Although most spots were what you'd expect from a typical trials video there were some cool parts like the mini trampoline or the skatepark clips. Video production was very similar to Ross' video – simple, clean and highly professional!
– Definitely one that stood out! The “artistic” approach with it being a dream worked really well as did the random man with the trumpet, the tune suited the riding surprisingly well! It was definitely a pretty bold move to do something different but it worked great. I also liked how you saw the minimum of each trick, it really did feel like a dream! Awesome video even though it was a little short!
Neil & Ian – Another one that was way outside the box. Really fun to watch, the doubles lines were rad! Comic book idea was rad as well! The riding spoke for itself, a great mix of two different styles, both great to watch. Clearly a video with a lot of thought put into it, a great concept that stood out from the rest of the videos!
Aran – Another awesome example of how you can make trials more fluid and “streety” without turning it into BMX. Tonnes of awesome lines, often in places most people would just ride past and ignore. Catchy tune and clean editing too!
In my eyes, Rob is in a league of his own, taking his riding in a new direction. It's easy to disregard it as “basically BMX” but if you look closer he's actually at the other extreme of street trials, combining some back wheel moves with simple and stylish street riding. This is a great example of how versatile a street trials bike can be. Filming the entire video in a skatepark was a bold move but I really enjoyed it, Rob found some awesome lines and the video production was top notch!
– Once again, really high quality video production with great use of slow mos that fit in with the song really well. The riding was smooth and flowy, the scenery was great and there was a good variety of spots. Leo's got a big bag of tricks and he uses them very creatively to make the most of whatever he's riding. Really enjoyable to watch but it would have been good to see him pull that last 5!
– Fabio's riding is very similar to Leo's, another rider with a great bag of tricks. Personally though, I felt the level of riding in this video was overshadowed by the fact it felt like a danny mac tribute video of some sort... Inspiration from other riders is great, imitation however doesn't work as well... Wasn't a fan of the number of clips that weren't pulled that made it into the video too. Pretty negative comments here - Fabio is a great rider but it'd be good to see him develop his own style.
– I really enjoyed the light hearted approach to riding from Sean, having fun on his bike rather than trying to learn the latest trick or get an extra inch on his side hop. Arguably the most creative use of a trials bike out of all the entries and another rider who's taking street trials in a new direction.
– I can honestly say I had no idea what to expect next the first time I watched the video. The variety of Tony's riding was rad! Highly original rider doing his own thing, riding whatever he wants. Another great example of a trials bike being used in creative, new ways.
– Safe to say that no one has put this much effort into their video! The song, the lines and the random “kluge” type bits were awesome. This video epitomises what the comp is all about!
Erik – Some nice and clean tgs here with a good bit of “rolling” trials mixed in. High quality video though it seemed like the camera was too close most of times, it would have been good to see more of each shot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl92ViicRuk – This one brings me back to the point I made about Leon's video, creativity is not just about the riding, a lot of the times it's more to do with what you ride. In this case, an awesome backyard set up used to it's full potential! Really techy riding and a great set up!
