[Features]

MXGP Insider No.9: RV vs The World

9 years ago | Words: David Bulmer

Transmoto’s weekly web-exclusive column, the MXGP Insider, penned by David Bulmer, presented by KTM Australia. 

So on Thursday (probably American time), Monster Energy will release the first episode of their new series, “RV vs the World” which will be a little behind-the-scenes look at Villopoto’s attempt to win the 2015 FIM Motocross World Championship. Now the name certainly isn’t going to win any prizes for originality, but the content provided should get viewed by hundreds of thousands of people as they strive to see what he’s been going through these past few months.

Now rather than focus on the content of the videos, I’m actually going to write about a little bit of what goes into making these webisodes, because quite frankly, I’m not sure people truly appreciate the time, effort and resources that go into those five minutes.

The videographer making this series is Mikey Neale, who some of you may remember from those GP videos that MOTO Magazine (RIP) put out a few years ago and he has since become the go-to guy in the paddock for top quality video work. He’s also a good friend of mine.

First up, I’m going to let you into a little secret – not all motocross riders are easy to work with! Shocker! I’ve known people who have driven over 500 miles to go film riders, only for them to no-show due to them “not feeling it”, making the videographer turn around and head home. Hell, I’ve been on shoots myself where we wanted to start at 6am, for the “good light” only for them to rock up (walk from the front door to their bike) at 1pm. It can be an entirely frustrating experience and while the end product may look wonderful and rosy, the frustration behind the scenes can be a totally different kettle of fish.

By all accounts, RV has slowly warmed to the task of doing this and is being a bit more cooperative that in the first few weeks but no doubt you won’t be able to grasp this from the video, and that’s why these top video guys deserve all the money they get. In this day and age, it’s all too easy to go to a track and shoot decent quality footage from the sidelines, whack a tune over the top of it and voila, you have yourself a video. Even a helmet cam these days can sometimes get a million hits and they requires barely any editing at all. But when you want to really see the true rider, his story and what he’s thinking, as well as good riding footage, that’s when you hire the experts. Troy Adamitis did a great job with Supercross: Behind the Dream, and you only have to see this season’s episodes to realise how good he was at doing it. I fully expect Mikey’s efforts to be of the same calibre and I hope that these are videos which fans of other sports can get into, and see what it takes to become the best-of-the-best in motocross.

On a similar note (and excuse the shameless self-promotion), I was Executive Producer on the recently released War Machines movie by Vurbmoto (on iTunes here) and again got to experience a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff from all the GP rider segments in the films. Thankfully, Arnaud Tonus, Jeffrey Herlings and Tim Gajser were all excellent and extremely cooperative with our ideas and scheduling, but just remember when you’re watching this new RV series, that isn’t always the case.

Be the first to comment...

You might also like...

1 month ago

BAJA 1000: ‘BEYOND THE LINE’

‘Beyond the Line’: a cool, bite-sized insight to the iconic annual Baja 1000 race.

1 month ago

HOW-TO: REPLACE YOUR GRAPHICS – PROPERLY!

The six key steps involved in replacing your bike’s old, worn graphics.

1 month ago

GIFT A MATE – AMA SUPERMOTOCROSS VIDEO PASS

Buy your mate an exclusive ticket to watching AMA SX outside of the USA.

1 month ago

HOW-TO: CHAIN & SPROCKET REPLACEMENT

We walk you through the 10 key steps that’ll ensure your bike’s chain and sprocket are doing their job properly.

Royal Enfield

1 month ago

ROYAL ENFIELD’S HIMALAYAN 450 – FAQS ANSWERED

We answer your most FAQs about Royal Enfield’s landmark new Himalayan 450 adventure tourer.

2 months ago

HOW-TO: HANDLEBAR CONTROLS SET-UP

Eight simple steps to help you declutter, service and update your bike’s handlebar-mounted controls.

2 months ago

HOW-TO: FOOT-CONTROL SET-UP

Five simple steps to help you get your footpegs, rear brake pedal and gear-shift lever properly adjusted.

2 months ago

Harry Norton Takes the Helm at Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

Aussie Harry Norton has taken the step into the role as Team Manager of the Red Bull KTM race team.