Trial Biking
Gaming meets reality as Fabio Wibmer blurs the lines in his new film Video Game. Find out all about it in this interview with the multi-talented Austrian bike trials superstar.
When it comes to creativity, Austrian trials bike ace Fabio Wibmer has no boundaries. The star of Home Office, Wibmer's Law, Fabiolous Escape and countless other jaw-dropping bike edits dropped a new film – Video Game – in November this year which again showcased his ability to innovate as a bike-riding athlete and how that action is seen on screen.
Inspired by a passion for video games, this new release sees Wibmer mix his unique riding style with elements from his favourite action-adventure video game, but here the action is all real-life filmed and not graphics.
Wibmer mimics the game in its feel, and he’s seen taking in several destinations around municipal locations, where the narrative of the storyline means he must use his bike and riding skills for the particular situation he’s in. This includes a scene where Wibmer flips off a huge cliff into the ocean! Wibmer’s film uses locations and destinations in and around the Côte d’Azur in the French Riviera.
Watch Video Game here, check out the wins and losses from the project in the player at the top of this page and then go behind the scenes below and find out how trial bike star Fabio Wimber and the team created the Video Game edit below:
Shot mainly in the third person, as most video games are, Video Game makes the viewer feel that they are controlling Wibmer and directing him to his next destination. To give the film that further gaming feel, the bike action is accompanied by an eclectic soundtrack, audio interactions, game-style transitions, loading bars and in-play menus to bring to life the feelings of being a character in a game.
"The scenes were much more complex than in my other videos," Wibmer said. "Helicopter, boat, the jump from the cliffs, the set-ups in the city, for example. Another challenge was connecting the differing scenes with each other to create a smooth rhythm and flow."
Wibmer used three different bikes in the shoot. Each were used in other parts of the film to showcase riding on different kinds of terrain. They were the Canyon Stitched CFR FW (a trials bike), the Canyon Spectral (an enduro bike) and the Canyon Torque (a freeride bike).
We sat down with Wibmer to chat about Video Game, the ideas behind the film and how the shoot went.
This new film, 'Video Game,' features an innovative and exciting cinematic approach – how did the gaming element come about?
What were the biggest challenges for you and your team?
Where do I start... I actually wanted to come back from an injury break with a slightly smaller project, but when I'm on the bike, I want to get the best out of it. So it turned out to be bigger and more complex than expected. From heli backflips to jumping over a cliff, everything's included. The artistic challenge was the implementation as a video, how the edit should look, how to work out the gaming feeling and let the viewer be part of the action from that perspective.
You prove that with your new project, you can switch between three bikes as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
Yeah, there were three completely different bikes that require different skill sets – that was crazy. It wasn't easy to switch to the different bike disciplines during the shoot. But my aim is to be at a high level in every discipline and to deliver that in the best possible way. From a sporting point of view, that was the biggest challenge in my videos so far.
What makes this project so unique?
On the one hand, certainly, the combination of riding three different types of bikes in a single film and the feeling and vibe conveyed by the video. On the other hand, it was the balance between real and unreal and the challenge of finding ways to implement my ideas, for which I also have to overcome myself. I'm sure that even people who don't have anything to do with biking and are more at home with gaming will have a lot of fun with this video and maybe try a trick or two with the bike themselves.
When you think back to the shoot – how did it feel?
The feeling when everything is wrapped up is simply indescribable – relief, pride, nervousness, pure emotion. And the coolest part is that I can share those emotions with my team. There were five of us, and we spent a lot of time together - that was really fun again because we hadn't had that for a long time due to my injury. But we're a well-rehearsed crew – we quickly got back into the groove and showed on the Côte d'Azur that we can really deliver even when it's 40 degrees in the shade.
.png)
