VALUE OF VIDEO

How often do you find your self scrolling through photo libraries and thinking wow so much time has passed since this moment, were the fuck did the time go? but on the other hand, it’s awesome to have that particular moment captured for us to look back on and trigger past memories. Taking a little time to stroll down memory lane. This is one of the defining factors as to why I love documenting our scene so much and why I’ve been doing it for over a decade. Earlier this summer the GoodCleanFun crew celebrated a year since our last project was released ‘Born & Bred’, and we were thinking wow a year already! add the 3 it took to film and that feeling of fuck… time flies starts being echoed in our heads. 

Then I started thinking about the first DVD we created ‘Legacy’, thats where I started tripping out a little. Released in 2007, ‘Legacy’ is 12 years old! so I naturally had to grab my copy, sit down with a brew and watch it. As the sections went on, memories of different missions started flooding in, and I thought to myself how lucky I was to have such a memory documented and there for us to go back to when ever we wanted. Naturally I started to go through the entire collection of Dvd’s we’ve made as a crew throughout the years, and figured I’d share some of my favourite moments leading up to our latest.

Legacy was the first dvd I produced in 2006 and just like every creative project I embark on, its sole purpose was to share local talent and inspire the rest of the community. Creativity, or rather the making of things (as I like to call it) is something I’ve been attracted to from a very young age. I have always been very easily consumed and deeply curious by the intricacies and thought processes behind the making of band album covers, the power of photography and murals by street artists. I constantly found myself questioning how certain results were achieved, and how can I apply those techniques to a subject that appeals to me.

So… armed with my first ever video camera, a Sony Handy Cam and software I had no idea how to use, I started calling up my friends and hitting up various spots around the island filming gathering footage for the final dvd. From the get go I didn’t want to rush the process, but I also didn’t want it to have an open date, I find dead lines are a good thing to have as they push you to have to finish a project within a time frame. So after 9months of filming and about 3-4 editing Legacy was finished coinciding with the launch of a new social media platform which would change the way we would view content for ever, Youtube. Seeing it was still in its infancy and to be completely honest I had no fucking clue what this Youtube was I didn’t give it too much importance, instead I focused on finishing the project and how to output to Dvd. The only content online you could find to do with Legacy was the trailer, until NOW!

The energy on the premier night was buzzing, the entire community, friends and family all crowded into our favourite hang out bar and proceeded to go absolutely mental for the next 45mins, cheering and shouting at what we’ve accomplished as a group. I remember my stomach churning with nerves right before we hit play, worried that I hadn’t done our scene justice. Anyone that knows me knows that I live and breathe BMX, and that I cannot stand it being misrepresented. The purpose of this project was to create something, share it and hopefully inspire – and looking back at the dvd and the photos of the night I can proudly say we did that! That night we planted a seed, set a bar for our selves which over the course of the next decade we set out to raise over and over to see what was possible and how to present it in our own way.

Naturally our second production had to outdo what we had already created! So for Behind Bars, Dave and myself planned a 2 week road trip, where we hired a camper van and drove across Germany and Holland in search for street spots, bowls and parks. This would be my first time filming abroad, living in a camper and being on the road for a solid two weeks. With the majority of the rest of the crews footage being in Malta we also made it a point not to film in the same places. With Malta being so small its easy to think there are none, but with a little bit of creative thinking and this desire to want to create we didn’t have any problem finding new things to ride.

Over time, I’d pour more and more of myself into each project. ‘Behind Bar’s’ editing process was relatively smoother than all the rest as I had Ozzy Dave help me with the cutting and music selection. The first and only time I had someone sit with me for the majority of the creative process. With StickingToOurRoots I was awake for 36hours straight trying to figure out why Premeire pro was crashing when compiling to dvd (Day before the premier) GCF 1 had multiple camera issues and the occasional program glitch. These are all little anecdotes that together with the actual riding missions & dealing with injuries form part of this creative process.

Our culture over the last few years has seen a fair few dramatic changes when it comes to media. What I thought was yet another gimmick (Youtube) has grown into a behemoth of daily content. The number of  likes, shares and engagement has become a sense of validation – the more the better for sure. But it feels like we’re living in fast forward, as if quantity has become more important than quality, and churning out posts on the daily is the only way you’ll win the respect of your viewers. How many of you feel a sense of urgency because you haven’t posted anything to your social media account in a couple of days? Don’t get me wrong there is a sense of gratification in seeing those view numbers & likes going up, your feed filling up with friends sharing your videos and comments flooding in. But is this now solely why we engage in creation, to get our daily fix of validation? There are many positives to the ways the internet has brought us together, allowed us to interact with our favourite pros, stay in touch with friends overseas, but at the same time it has created too much of a high demand that has in a way de-valued the creative process behind making full length videos (amongst a long list of other things).

Being a BMX nerd myself I was always on the look out for the next video release from my favourite brand. Usually I’d learn about this from magazine interviews or the holy grail of BMX videos PROPS. Props was a Bi-monthly video magazine that used to feature up and coming riders, interviews with PRO’s, event videos & scene reports. It was the be all and end all for BMX fanatics. I’d hate to think what BMX would have been like without the experiencing the excitement of watching the latest Props Issue or Road Fools. The excitement of waiting for the next big release would leave me buzzing for weeks or months, and when I would get my hands on a copy I’d wear the fucking thing out watching it and rewinding it daily. These full length videos created an aura, a vibe which would then inspire me to want to create myself.

When we first made Legacy 12 years ago I knew making videos, documenting our scene was going  to be something I would be doing for decades to come, but I had no idea the impact each video would have on those who’ve been part of the video or who remember watching it for the first time. 

Whether you’re alone, or a BMX night with your buddies, these moments captured give us something to look back on with fondness. Created out of love not likes, something that encapsulates a time period. Born & Bred was our 6th full length, and with every project completed I’m always left wondering how the hell are we going to out do our last project. But thats the beauty of BMX, it is up to us and only us to shape how our own interpretation of BMX, and after you’ve taken some time to sit down and appreciate what you’ve worked on you’ll release that what you have in front of you is way more important than the next viral video.

As you can see from Legacy to Born & Bred a lot has changed, not only in the tricks and the equipment used to film these videos but also how they are presented and viewed. Production value is important, but what’s really important is the pleasure we get from our two wheels, the good times shared and the fact that with or with out the internet, we choose to do what do for ourselves with the hope that it inspires others the same way Props, Anthem & Little Devil inspired me.