Micro-Documentary on Street Biker

ssvet

ssvet

Active member
Hey guys,

Recently wrapped up a project with a buddy of mine on a street biker named Leeky...from Queens, NY. The guy is legendary in the biker culture. It's also pretty crazy the things these guys do, truly the definition of 'immortals'. We shot two days with him, from out back a van and from the side, at speeds of up to 60 mph. Quite the adrenaline rush. Shot on Fs7s and L-Series zooms. Can't get over how great these cameras are, especially in this kind of an environment.

Curious to your thoughts on the piece.

https://vimeo.com/315287735
 
ssvet said:
Hey guys,

Recently wrapped up a project with a buddy of mine on a street biker named Leeky...from Queens, NY. The guy is legendary in the biker culture. It's also pretty crazy the things these guys do, truly the definition of 'immortals'. We shot two days with him, from out back a van and from the side, at speeds of up to 60 mph. Quite the adrenaline rush. Shot on Fs7s and L-Series zooms. Can't get over how great these cameras are, especially in this kind of an environment.

Curious to your thoughts on the piece.

https://vimeo.com/315287735
Click to expand...

Great footage, nicely shot. Are you going to make this into a longer, more in-depth piece?
 
as a local new yorker who rides a motorcycle, the subject of this short piece is exactly the kind of guy who gives motorcycle riders a bad name.

i won't say anything about the quality of the film.

and good for you to have shot a piece and put it out there.

but i have trouble with the subject matter.

glorifying this cra-cra reckless behavior is a big NG for me.

ymmv.

rob
smalltalk productions/nyc
 
With rob here, also a motorcycle rider (GXR-6, R6, and now a Street Triple). So not a cruiser-guy. And even so, the content here is controversial and I personally find the viewpoint of narrator to be the epitome of egotistical behavior stemming from a worldview that isolates and elevates the desire of a sub-culture over a healthy respect and integration for the community around it. Glorifying reckless behavior and making cops the bad guys for enforcing laws is what this piece runs the risk of doing, and I sense it in the crafting. Not a fan because it helps propagate and justify this kind of behavior.

Now that said (and this goes together as a both/and): I think what would be a really fascinating documentary is to fully embrace the world view of the people here like you did. Because as much as I disagree, one of the beautiful things film can do is capture the thought process and perspective of people. That is of high value. Agree or disagree, this is how people think and view. For these riders it is an expression of freedom, joy, and passion. They probably already feel isolated from a larger society and they may have very good reasons to. Etc.

So, a powerful documentary would flip flop back and forth between this perspective, and the perspective of cops and citizens. Interviews with police and everyday people that frame their perspective in an equally beautiful, poignant way (not as less then, or joy-killers, etc.).

Truly neutral. Just a perspective piece. Back and forth. Take no sides. Frame everyone's perspective in the best possible, emotionally compelling light. It would be a cool way to give everyone a voice and maybe build some bridges between both sides so they could see the humanity and perspective of people they disagree with.

No doubt I'd still land on the side of the cops/citizens, but I think there are too many documentaries that take an angle at the expense of communicating true perspective. I imagine most "documentaries" would either glorify these riders (as this short trailer seems to do), or to condem and shame them. Few would be brave enough to truly show the world through two differing set of eyes, with no agenda other than perspective, and without trying to force an angle or narrator's biased perspective into the mix.

Now THAT would be cool.
 
filmguy123 said:
With rob here, also a motorcycle rider (GXR-6, R6, and now a Street Triple). So not a cruiser-guy. And even so, the content here is controversial and I personally find the viewpoint of narrator to be the epitome of egotistical behavior stemming from a worldview that isolates and elevates the desire of a sub-culture over a healthy respect and integration for the community around it. Glorifying reckless behavior and making cops the bad guys for enforcing laws is what this piece runs the risk of doing, and I sense it in the crafting. Not a fan because it helps propagate and justify this kind of behavior.

Now that said (and this goes together as a both/and): I think what would be a really fascinating documentary is to fully embrace the world view of the people here like you did. Because as much as I disagree, one of the beautiful things film can do is capture the thought process and perspective of people. That is of high value. Agree or disagree, this is how people think and view. For these riders it is an expression of freedom, joy, and passion. They probably already feel isolated from a larger society and they may have very good reasons to. Etc.

So, a powerful documentary would flip flop back and forth between this perspective, and the perspective of cops and citizens. Interviews with police and everyday people that frame their perspective in an equally beautiful, poignant way (not as less then, or joy-killers, etc.).

Truly neutral. Just a perspective piece. Back and forth. Take no sides. Frame everyone's perspective in the best possible, emotionally compelling light. It would be a cool way to give everyone a voice and maybe build some bridges between both sides so they could see the humanity and perspective of people they disagree with.

No doubt I'd still land on the side of the cops/citizens, but I think there are too many documentaries that take an angle at the expense of communicating true perspective. I imagine most "documentaries" would either glorify these riders (as this short trailer seems to do), or to condem and shame them. Few would be brave enough to truly show the world through two differing set of eyes, with no agenda other than perspective, and without trying to force an angle or narrator's biased perspective into the mix.

Now THAT would be cool.
Click to expand...

Good take on this. Documentaries, by default, almost always present a slanted viewpoint, because we are all humans and not Vulcans or computers but the best documentaries are usually the ones that deeply and effectively SHOW the different POVs, not necessarily align with them. This subject matter would be a perfect candidate for that approach. I produced a documentary
back in 2004 about a similar lifestyle sport where some members of the group did perform illegal activities in their cars on the streets. Same thing, our film showed it, talked about it but also talked about how doing this sport on a racetrack or closed circuit was better and safer and how people in the community who break the law make it worse for everyone in the community.
 
I'd go along with filmguy123 and puredrifting on this. I am an avid biker, and I just picked up a second bike, a little Benelli for stunt bike purposes (and for racing on a go-kart track) so I well understand the desire to do stoppies, wheelies, and all sorts of stunting, as well as flat-out racing. I'm doing a track day on Saturday, but that's the point -- I'm doing it on the track. Where racing belongs, and where it's safe (or at least not a threat to the public). Stunt shows can be awesome, and are usually done on private property, at a bike dealer, at a motorsports park, etc.

But doing it on public streets, in traffic -- that's lawless criminal behavior. That's why there are reckless driving laws. That's why the cops get involved. And that's why people generally get strong negative feelings about bikers who do that kind of thing.

So there are definite differing perspectives you can offer here, and if you're doing a longer piece, they should be explored.

Right now what you have is remarkably good for the incredibly brief runtime, but it only shows one perspective and as such it comes across more as a commercial or promotional piece than it does a documentary piece.
 
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