MTB Event on May 12th, Bedfordshire - opportunity for sports videographers

[Whackjob Jim]

Whackjob is a new company providing natural fibre, ethically sourced mountain bike clothing. (So now you know who we are and why I'm posting this!)

We're hosting an experiment. A mountain biking event that is intended to showcase the videographers rather than the riders. We provide the venue, the riders (some famous), the Whackjob Lounge (you have to see that - it's an Austin Powers lounge in an event shelter...) and shedloads of PR (we use the top guys in the industry). Anyone who wants to turn up, shoot and submit their mini-edit for inclusion in the collaborative result (with their branding in the vid and their own segment) gets all the exposure they can eat. It may also be the only time you get yourself on the vid itself, along with your branding, website, etc...

We're backing it because it'll be fun and help our own brand indirectly. And because we think it's a good idea that'll catch on. It's part of the Whackjob ethos of collaboration, innovation and generally trying anything that could be fun and work out well for all involved.

If you're keen to up your profile as a sports videographer, this may well be a very good opportunity. More details here: Whackjam at Whackjam at Chicksands - Tom Dowie

Please remember to get in touch via the website if you fancy coming along; we need to ensure we've catered for numbers, and also get some info from everyone so we can ensure every contributor gets appropriate 'billing'!

[Marc Peters]

Sounds perfect fun for a keen videographer, particularly to meet like minded people. But it's not really a way to get exposure (a bit like getting your picture shown on blue Peter probably won't lead to bigger things). More a way to learn from others, get a bit of a network going and get close to the action. What a great idea. I wish more events were so open to videographers. It can only be a good thing, and the organiser could find a few hidden gems.

[Whackjob Jim]

That's really good feedback - ta for that. It is a big experiment at this point, but with coverage from some of the industry big guys we're hoping it'll be genuinely useful stuff for all involved. Time will tell, but I've just been told by Wideopen Mag that we'll be on there. (The boss said "What a great idea - sh*t, I wish I'd thought of it!", which is encouraging!) We've also got some Steve Peat Syndicate riders turning up, so it's building nicely. Sharing a weekend with the British Downhill Series at Fort Bill isn't helping, though. We really need to get the word out to the amateur and semi-pro vidders somehow - it's perfect for them.

Any help spreading the word would be very much appreciated folks!

[vidmanners]

Nice idea for Organisers, but how do the near-pros benefit, I wonder?
Their footage will be ground up with shots that "look interesting" and might be low quality, maybe your DSLR will rub shoulders with a camera-phone.

Of course, it's a good Community Spirit idea, but it's too far for me.

[Whackjob Jim]

Thanks, vidmanners - again, this is really good feedback and helps us to ensure we've got all the bases covered from everyone's point of view. The honest answer to your main question about "what's in it for me?" is, to a point, "we don't know - it's an experiment". But there are very strong mitigations:
1. Each videographer is expected to submit their own sub-edit for inclusion; the lead editor doesn't get carte blanche on this.
2. Why on earth would we allow poor quality work in there? There is no way any poor quality footage is getting in; it would damage it for everyone. There will be helmet and chest-cam footage; that'll probably be the lowest-quality we'll see. This is going on some of the biggest websites in the industry - (including IMB and Wideopen) - and you only need to look at what they have on there already to see why we need to produce something pretty special.
3. Remember that the only benefit the organisers get is the same as the contributors: some exposure for their brand. One party cannot benefit without the other, so everyone has it in their interest to produce something of good quality that people will want to watch and will be impressed by.
4. Distance: yep, fair point - can't help you there!
Overall, try to remember that this isn't just some hobbyist stuff; we've got top industry people here, including the best PR firm out there, one of the biggest distributors, and riders from the likes of Steve Peat Syndicate coming big distances to join in. We ain't muckin' about!

Again - thanks for the feedback and critique - it is really helpful to have to reply to these things!