Bike
MTB
Chase the line as mountain bikers take flight in Land Escape
It's all about location and seamless flow for Carson Storch, Brendan Howey, Bas Van Steenbergen, and Vincent Tupin in Canadian filmmaker Rupert Walker's new film. Watch it right here.
Rupert Walker has an established reputation as one of the best action sports filmers in the world. His edits with Brandon Semenuk, either through RAW 100 clips or their Revel Co work, are eagerly awaited with relish by mountain bike fans, as they regularly push the creative boundaries of their respective talents.
Storch on the charge
© Peter Jamison
For his new project, Land Escape, the Walker took a fresh approach, filming parts with four different riders – Carson Storch, Brendan Howey, Bas Van Steenbergen and Vincent Tupin – in four very different locations.
Rupert Walker and Carson Storch on location during filming of Land Escape
© Peter Jamison
The overall aim was to put together a film where the action flowed together seamlessly from one location to another – quite the challenge when the terrains chosen are completely different to each other, and Walker also had to factor in the unique riding styles of each rider.
Watch the video in the player above, and then read on for our interview with Rupert Walker about the project.
Smile for the camera, Carson
© Peter Jamison
What was the inspiration behind the shoot?
The inspiration behind Land Escape was to pick four unique riders, put them all in different locations, and let the different styles of riding and locations blend together to compliment each other.
Tell us about the four locations. Where are they, what's special about them, how did you find them, and why were they chosen?
The first location we shot at was Big White Bike Park in British Columbia, Canada, with Bas Van Steenbergen. Bas is super fast, and has his own unique racer style on a bike. He rips bike parks up, and this location was an obvious fit for his section.
The next location was Oregon, with Carson Storch. Carson is local to the area and showed me the best features to shoot. The Oregon landscape we worked in tailored perfectly to Carson's controlled freeride style by using the natural terrain.
Carson Storch climbing up for another run
© Peter Jamison
All the way to the top
© Peter Jamison
Storch heading for the moon
© Peter Jamison
Over the waves of earth
© Peter Jamison
I shot Brendan Howey in Green River, Utah. He'd previously built a bunch of features for a photoshoot there, so we visited them again. Howey has effortless style, and the flowey lines in the Green River landscape really showcased this.
Vinny T's section was filmed near his home in France. We got lucky with the weather and had a dense fog for our entire shoot. We were so stoked to see the fog roll through. This was the first time Vinny and I had worked together, and it was an amazing experience. His speed and style was so fun to document. The way he attacks a trail is like no other.
Were the riders in choosing the locations, and what made you go with these guys?
I chose these four riders because I think they all have their own insanely unique style. Each rider has refined their signature style, and I've been a fan of these guys for so long that I couldn't wait to combine them all in one video.
Heading into the magnificent Utah landscape for the Howey section
© Berkley Vopnfjörð
The Utah rocks of Green River
© Berkley Vopnfjörð
Follow me, Brendan
© Berkley Vopnfjörð
Howey with a whipped money shot
© Berkley Vopnfjörð
Which was your favourite shooting location?
My favourite location was with Vinny T in France. The forest we filmed in was flourishing with orange leaves, and we had fog the whole time. I love shooting in fog, as it offers such a cool ambience that really adds drama to the shots.
What was your favourite moment from the shoot?
During the shoot with Vinny T, he crashed really hard. It was bad, and he had to be air lifted out by a search and rescue team. Luckily, he was okay, but it could have been much worse. My favourite part of the shoot was getting the news that he had no serious injuries, and that he'd make a full recovery.
If you go down to the woods today... you may see Vinny T
© Maxime Rambaud
Vincent and Rupert discuss the shoot
© Maxime Rambaud
Setting off into the gloom
© Maxime Rambaud
Enter Vinny T
© Maxime Rambaud
What did you want to achieve with Land Escape?
I wanted to make something different than I normally do. I really enjoyed the multi-rider format for this video. Combining four riders into the structure of this edit, I think, added a lot of power to the piece. The goal was to make a video that visually told a cool story and showed the amazing talent of the athletes.
