Scottish Downhill Film: Gravitate – Part 1

Author: | 29 November 2010 | 17

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Stefan Morrocco has been filming mountain bike races in Scotland for a few years as a hobby and about a year ago decided to make a film in his spare time.

Stefan says: “I wanted to produce a film that demonstrated the diversity of people who race downhill mountain bikes by showing a cross-section of the racers in the Scottish Downhill Association race series.”

Part 1 includes Ian McIntosh-a masters rider, Darren Wilson-a junior rider, Bex Reilly-one of the top female riders in Scotland and Paul and Sara Rennie-a couple new to the racing scene.

If you like this and want to make a donation to help Steffan make more films next year then click donate


Gravitate – Part 1 >>

” The film is aimed at the mountain film festival market to appeal to people outside of the sport (doesn’t mean it shouldn’t appeal to those already in the sport!) to help encourage them into the sport by demonstrating that there is a real mix of age groups and ability levels and it is not purely a sport for the world cup elite and guys who can throw 360s off 80 foot drops.

The film shows six individuals and two teams that regularly race in the SDA series, showing them competing, riding their own trails and chatting about what got them into dh’ing, why they race and what they think about the Scottish race scene. Appearing in the film are:

Ian McIntosh, a masters rider;

Darren Wilson, a young junior rider who lives in a fairly remote part of Scotland but shows real commitment and dedication to get to the races;

Bex Reilly, one of the top female riders in Scotland;

Paul and Sara Rennie, a couple new to the racing scene;

Perth City Cycles (Fergus Lamb, Sam and Willem Herd, Ben Hall, to name but a few), a large team;

Highline Racing (Tom Lamb, James Shirley and Ronan Taylor), a small team;

Chris Hutchens, Transcend/ Orange elite rider; and

Joe Connell, a youth rider this year, but who has recently been signed to race for the Sunn WC team in 2011.

It was great to work with all the guys who appear in the film and I’m grateful that they never once complained about having to push back up and ride the section just one more time! This has been a great experience for me and a massive learning curve. I’m aware of some errors and some poor audio – I only got a good microphone half way through the year, and one of those furry microphone covers is on my Xmas wish list. The soundtrack is made up of Scottish Bands/ artists. The footage was filmed on a Sony Ex1 and Contour HD and edited in Premiere Pro. I’ve just got myself some books on After Effects and Photoshop for video, so expect better graphics next year!

The film was premiered on Friday night at the Dundee Mountain Film Festival and was received well, despite my nervous and rubbish intro! I’ve made the film free-to-view so that as wide an audience as possible can see it and hopefully attract more people into the sport. I’ve had to split the film into two parts to retain the quality and ensure it doesn’t exceed the file-size limit. I would encourage you to watch right to the end of Part 2 for a little added extra pump-track action.

If you liked it and want to make a donation to help me make more films next year then click donate

I have a few ideas for some short films, so keep an eye out for those!”

Stefan Morrocco

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17 Responses to “Scottish Downhill Film: Gravitate – Part 1”

  1. mate you need to be congratulated on a great effort – this is a really good watch and when I get paid I will certainly try to contribute even if its only £10 or so, i know thats not much but im short of a job but i appreciate this loads and in my time off i love watching online edits, film makers like yourself are helping the sport so much…. carry on

  2. it needs some music that doesn’t cause nausea

  3. Thanks Dirt dodger, really appreciate it. Part 2 will be along soon!

  4. Great job i want see more ! can’t wait part 2 !

  5. Part 2 tomorrow

  6. NICE MOVIE, but its hard to hear the interviews when the music is at the same level. Why do movie makers put the backing music at the same level as the interviewe?

  7. I’d have liked to have watched it but even when it was loaded it played back in such an annoying jerky manner I had to hit stop. Why are some files still doing this? The majority have stopped which is good.

  8. FFFRRRREEEEEEEEEEEDDDDOM

  9. Mon the Vibe!

  10. Thanks for that, really enjoyed it. Liked how you made it about the people and the variety of levels who take part. Only fade the music on the talkie bits for pt2 please.

    Right looking forward to next part!

  11. Unusual, the music fades when I play it. I dropped it by 12db for each talking section. I might have to check it out on different computer systems. It did do some unusual things when I played it on my work computer, which is about 5 years old. Glad you like the idea behind the film though.

  12. well gid

  13. [...] by showing a cross-section of the racers in the Scottish Downhill Association race series.”Part 1 is here if you missed it.Part 2 includes: Perth City Cycles (Fergus Lamb, Sam and Willem Herd, Ben Hall, to [...]

  14. Great film. Congratulations Stefan, quality bit of work. Plus good on you for taking this project on.
    Love the idea of the variety of riders and the riding sequences are superb. A big thanks to all those who took part…
    I really think this hits the mark regarding promoting MTB in the correct way with real people, not just “stars”. We need promotions such as this for our sport and to encourage investment.
    Maybe it can add momentum to an Inners chairlift….you never know.
    Back in 2001 me and a mate were in a bar in Tignes on a snowboarding holiday when on came an MTB video (to this day I have no idea what it was)…we were spellbound for 5 minutes and then both said at the same time…”I want some of that.” We came home, bought bikes and ride every chance we get..
    Film can make a difference.

  15. Thanks Gomez, I really appreciate your comments as that is exactly what I was hoping to achieve.

  16. Brilliant – when is part II coming out.
    I can’t make up my mind whether you are all mad Scots or simply fearless !!!

  17. Go on tha Big Mac!!!!!!

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