We were invited to help create a series of coaching videos for BikeRadar.com. Something of a dream come true for us but the reality perhaps not as we expected!
[left]
Don’t get me wrong, having a crew of videographers following us around the woods with thousands of pounds worth of kit was pretty freaking cool. However, the pressure you feel staring down a lens while secondary cameras film the side of your head and other creative angles, is quite something else. Sam and I have never felt so highly scrutinised in word and action, all the time knowing that whatever is created over the days of filming will be put out to the trolls, that feed off of sites like YouTube. That said, the camera crew were amazingly patient, professional and reassuring whilst they filled SD cards with footage.
The riding was loads of fun and inspired us to get more creative with our ‘edits’ and invest in some camera kit ourselves. Some of the slow motion pictures I’m sure you’ll agree look pretty cool!
Cameras have no facial expressions or personality which is a struggle when trying to coach them! A little feedback from a client goes a long way in a coaching session. In this shoot we had to think of our target audience and put together a detailed yet succinct package of direct coaching instruction. This was probably the hardest coaching gig we’ve ever had although the content is stuff we teach regularly. The difficulty being the knowledge that the videos would land in the laps of so many different abilities. How do you prepare for a client you know nothing about!? The finished edits span a wide variety of skills and aim to cater for a range of learning types.
Cameras have no facial expressions or personality which is a struggle when trying to coach them!
Then there was the issue of remembering what the heck you were saying once the camera was rolling. The speaking clips you see in the videos below took a fair while to shoot! Haha!
The experience has given me a new respect for TV presenters and pundits who go at this stuff day in day out with the added pressure of people chatting in their ears to confuse things. It’s fair to say that we are much better skills coaches than we are TV personalities but we hope you enjoy what we’ve produced and can get plenty from it.
If you haven’t seen them already, please check out the videos linked below:
Massive thanks to Ben and his team for taking care of us and producing a great looking series.
[/left]
[right]
