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Behind the scenes of Danny MacAskill's Home of Trails video
Danny MacAskill, Claudio Caluori and Director Stu Thompson spill some of the secrets from filming and hair-raising facts.
In their latest edit “Home of Trails”, Danny MacAskill and Claudio Caluori shred through all five destinations of Graubünden in Switzerland. But the work that went into creating this fun-loving and action-packed piece took months of preparation and a ten-day shoot across Switzerland. The only thing that needed no planning was the cheeky commentary by local hero Claudio Caluori.
Shooting “Home of Trails” was a challenge for both man and machine, but it was a hell of a lot of fun as well. Director Stu Thomson from Cut Media, Danny MacAskill and Claudio Caluori shared with us some of the stories from behind the scenes of the shoot.
84 meters
After the location check, Danny decided it would be a good idea to ride a line on the Landwasser Bridge crossing the Zügenschlucht, a deep gorge leading to a river 84 meters below the rickety wall. Understandably the whole team was a little nervous facing this one.
I always want to get these shots in the bag as quickly as possible and get him off there
“I had hit my head shortly before and was a still a little dizzy, so I was preoccupied with trying to ride in a straight line on the bridge”, laughs Claudio. “I could tell the whole camera team was nervous, but Danny was as chilled and relaxed as ever and it seemed as though it was an every-day thing for him.”
Stu adds, “The bridge was a location that had jumped out as a great spot from the start. With the huge gorge and train line running alongside, it captured a lot about the area that we wanted to show off. When it comes to riding, it’s always Danny’s call though. I get far more nervous than Danny on those types of lines… Danny is super confident with these things. He wants to do it and says that he has ridden along walls like that his whole life and that the size of the drop makes little difference, as it’s just as easy to do for him. I fully trust Danny as a mate and as a rider. That said, I always want to get these shots in the bag as quickly as possible and get him off there.”
Riding through Scuol Samnaun Val Müstair
© Martin Bissig
Only 25 attempts to land the hardest trick
Danny describes the “front flip to flat” off the wooden roof in Val Müstair as being one of the most difficult tricks he has ever done on a mountain bike. And still, the 32-year-old Scot stood the landing cleanly on his 25th attempt.
I was absolutely buzzing on landing one of the biggest tricks I’ve ever done on a bike!
“Myself and Stu spent a week scouting all over Graubünden looking for locations for the film,” Danny tells us, “On the last day we visited a nice wee place called Val Müstair. After riding some amazing local trails, we had a look around the village and a sloped wooden roof caught my eye. It was basically a perfect ramp.
"Originally, I thought about a wall ride on the building next to it, but in my wildest dreams I also thought a front flip might be possible off the thing; a trick I hadn’t yet done on my mountain bike.
During the shoot I tried it onto mats first to see if it was even possible to get the rotation. After a few goes the mats were removed and the cameras were in place. To add even more pressure, I had biking legend Claudio following me in. I took a couple of run-ups to gauge my speed. Then I just went for it! Amazingly myself and my bike rolled away in one piece. I was absolutely buzzing on landing one of the biggest tricks I’ve ever done on a bike!“
14 stitches
Davos Klosters is breathtaking
© Martin Bissig
While the crew was waiting for the weather to clear at the top of the Weissfluhjoch in Davos, Danny and Claudio decided to get a few photos done. Claudio fell, cut his cheek and had to get 14 stitches. “We had been waiting for the sun to appear all morning. There was only a small spot on the mountain, which was reached by the sun. I made my way over, but I was a little too slow, so my front tyre got caught between two rocks and I flew over the bars. In hospital the doctors tried to mummify my head. I told them that they didn’t need to bother with all the bandages. Being a former professional rider, you just know you have to suck it up sometimes and carry on.”
40 hours of footage
Cut Media collected 40 hours of footage during the ten-day shoot in order to create the five-minute edit. “It’s generally not too difficult to bring it down to around ten minutes of the best clips and lines,” says Stu, “but once you’ve reached that point you need to get brutal for the edit.
I’ve always been a believer in only having the clips that showcase the riding, character and story in the best way. Sometimes you have to sacrifice your favourite shots and that’s not easy. At Cut Media we’re lucky enough to have an amazing team of creatives and filmmakers nowadays, so it’s very much a team process. It’s come a long way from shooting and cutting myself! Our studio is definitely a super collaborative place with all the team being able to add their input.”
3,022 meters above sea level
Soaking in the view
© Martin Bissig
Danny and Claudio had to stay overnight at the summit of Piz Nair, so they could film the opening scene with a stunning sunrise. “We stayed in some amazing hotels on the trip, but the highlight had to be in the lift station at the top of Piz Nair. Looking over St. Moritz, the glaciers and surrounding mountains, it was almost surreal! We stayed in the top station, so we could be up at sunrise and it was pretty awesome to be standing there beside the Ibex the next morning, taking in the views and more importantly scoping out the trails we would be riding later that day! It’s times like that I think to myself‚ I really do have a dream job”, Danny explains.
6 flat tyres thanks to one trail
During the shoot on the Green Valley Trail in Flims, Claudio had to deal with six flat tires, hinting at how close to the limit he rode. “My mechanics must have thought I would be riding uphill all day and mounted the lightest tires to my bike. They didn’t cope with all the action when riding with Danny. I was surprised to see how hard Danny was pushing it, so I had to go all in as well”, says Claudio, grinning. “Once we had changed to a heavier casing, it was all fine though!"
For more information about the trails Danny and Claudio hit, head to www.homeoftrails.com
Like what Cut Media did with Home of Trails? Then watch Matt Jones: Frames of Mind
