Repurposed
“To be honest, we weren't too sure if we were going to be able to use it in the edit. Just after we had finished shooting, Chris turned to me and said 'he doesn't want to really be in the film!' Then after we finished the interview with him, I kind of realized the film had to be about him. So finally Chris agreed to be the catalyst for the narrative.”
“The whole story evolves around his love for gravel riding and his relationship with the scale of British Columbia and all the forestry trails. As we were shooting, I became more interested in his personal connection with gravel riding, and the hold this sport seemed to have over him.”
“At the start of the edit, we really focus on Chris and his personal thoughts. I have to admit that I was feeling the script was a bit thin at this time. While I was shooting this piece, I was still trying to resolve whether I was a director or cinematographer and what direction I should take with my career in filmmaking. In the end, I just decided to be both!”
“The original plan was to also interview members of the local Squamish tribe, who are an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. My initial thinking was to do a film that explored the idea of the land, forestry and then over-lay that with gravel riding. The risk with this direction was that many people here, have this really polarized view on the subject of forestry.”
“We also had funding for this film from three brands in the gravel riding industry. These brands would literally get hundreds of pitches a month from filmmakers. They connected with my idea of the duality of the forest logging roads being repurposed for gravel riding, and then what that means for the sport of riding in British Columbia. And so in the end, I kept thinking - what would open people's minds to riding bikes in this part of the world? So the final direction was to share with them, something of the gravel riding community and this new industry that is growing around these old logging roads.”
“So the arc of this story started to shift from the forestry industry to growing the gravel riding industry. Once that decision was made, the edit started to evolve all by itself. We start with Chris in this super high energy moment, that then transitions to him riding his favorite trails. 'Up hill and then down dale' sort of thing, a blend of peaceful movements, all the while he shares his self-reflections on the repurposing of these forestry trails. I really like this approach to the start of the film.”
“And so from focusing on one person's perspective and experiences, we then introduce his riding buddy, who talks about how dangerous it is riding in the city. His buddy then smiles this massive grin to show his front tooth has been reconstructed from a bike accident! It was that perfect 'joker-type' moment that immediately changes the pace of the edit.”
“And from this seemingly slow build that focuses on one rider, we then expand to two. And from two, we expand to six, and then to an entire community of riders. From gravel shops to books, the film quickly explores the entire world of gravel riding that has since sprung up where there was once only logging for export construction. So what was once a fringe sport, now becomes more mainstream as more forestry roads become available for riding. So the whole film became this fun story about social renewal of the forests in Squamish.”
“I studied Sociology in University, so these sorts of dualist concepts of two completely different isolated industries sharing the same natural resource, really interest me. I was hoping that anyone seeing this film would pick up on these subtle points as well. I think they did, because as soon as the film was released, I got a lot of feedback from people who said what they loved about the film. They thought it was this light little short film that got you thinking 'Hey, I would love to ride my bike over there for some fun'. And then, the very subtle way we dealt with the repurposing of the forests for riding, also seemed to resonate really well.”
“At the film festivals it was shown at, it was one of the favorites which was a great surprised to me. I think people could see themselves in this film, even if they weren't bike riders. The landscape is so beautiful, it has its own mesmerising effect over you, so that really didn't surprise me that people like the cinematography. As a director, I wanted this film to inspire people to just ride a bike and enjoy the scenery.”
“Originally I wanted to have a sound track from an Aussie surf rock band, called the Skegs just to help pace the edit. But in the end, the licensing costs was way too expensive, so I had a music composer do an original piece for me. So I think the film really does have a fun to it. And a really great vibe!”