FATBMX Your Online BMX News Resource Since 1998

Every weekend you can choose between multiple jams, races and contests. It's insane the number of BMX events that are happening. Good to see people get off their ass to put on a good time for the fellow riders. Got something cooking? Send us your flyer and we'll post it up. Or better, submit your event to the FATBMX event calendar. That way it will show up on the only up to date BMX calendar on the web. Support the events, show up, help out. Make our sport better, be positive, have fun. Lending a hand is free. Smiles are 'gratis' too.

Pick your event(s) and enjoy being a BMX-er. Double check with the local organiser before you make the trip. Things tend to change. Submit your event today. Put it on the FATBMX event calendar. Put some effort in to promote your event other than making a Facebook invitation to invite your friends.

This is a BMX calender that people will be checking next week as well. 

BdJ

Saturday results Pro Open. Bluegrass National #2

1 JUSTIN POSEY, MARION UNIVERSITY, WINSTON-SALEM, NC
2 TYLER WHITFIELD, THRODWN, ROCKFORD, IL
3 VICTOR BEHM, MAYSLANDING, NJ
4 OLIJUWON DAVIS, SPEEDPEDDLERS, ST CHARLES, IL
5 ELLIOT MCGRATH, STAATS-CIARI, NEW HOPE, MN
6 CAMERON MOORE, HARO/PROMAX, CHAPEL HILL, NC
7 JEREMY SMITH, DAYTON, OH

I had 72 hours before departing back to Pittsburgh from a shoot in Ohio. With no concept or plan, Chris Myhren and I spontaneously decided to embark on the journey of creating a mini-doc. Our only problem besides my limited time was the lack of a mini-doc subject. At 9pm Sunday evening through a mutual friend and 3-way phone call we met Tommy Zula. Our first conversation with Tommy was a whirlwind. He was driving back to Ohio from a BMX competition in New York and his ETA was 3am. So after chatting with him and figuring out he had an awesome story worth telling, we asked him if he could shoot at 6am… and I’m pretty sure he responded “dood totally!” Our call ended at 10pm and that’s when pre-production started.

Chris and I both wanted to create a BMX film that was not your stereotypical “trick” video that have become ubiquitous online. The bike was not only a physical transportation device but also a mental and emotional one, which Tommy used to escape the rough part of town and his difficult home life. Tommy’s personality and passion, not his latest BMX tricks, was our focus for the film. Prepping late into the night/morning, we figured out a structure for the film but knew it was all dependent upon Tommy’s interview. We wanted to film at sunrise/sunset with Tommy both days, which meant we were shooting non-stop (35 hours in 2 days). To best utilize our only light source (the sun), we shot all of our exteriors either early in the morning or late in the afternoon around sunset. I wish I could tell all the stories and moments that happened along the way filming for those 2 days in Ohio but unfortunately there is a character limit to video descriptions.

Once we were done shooting and had the edit locked we tackled sound design and then grading the film. As crazy as it may sound or not sound, the opening sound effects of the bike were straight out of camera. The internal microphone on the Weapon did a great job capturing the sounds of the bike as I followed Tommy throughout the streets. However, the rest of our bike sound effects were reordered by our friend Joe with a Sennheiser MKH416 through a Zoom H4N sporadically throughout the second day. In post it was a matter of layering sound effects and adding some ambience/wooshes/impacts when necessary.

The grade was done within Premiere 2017 using Lumetri. Honestly, I was not the biggest fan of how Lumetri handled the RED footage, but I very well may not have been doing something correctly. For some odd reason when I adjusted the RGB curve or other settings it would drastically affect the look of the footage. We never did find a solution other than doing minuscule adjustments at a time. We graded the film using a Lutify.me LUT called Magnetite as a starting point for the look we wanted to achieve. The trick with using most LUTs is to dial them way back until they are only around 20-40% opacity/strength. For the most part those LUTs in particular are very strong and unless that is the specific look you are going for it’s almost always necessary to dial them back. From there we just adjusted the levels in Lumetri to our taste.

The entire film (besides the drone shots) was shot on my RED Weapon at 6K in a variety of frame rates at a 2:41 aspect ratio. For the handheld footage we shot normal speed but for most of the MoVi shots we filmed at 72 or 100 frames per second. There were some instances when we shot 3K/4K to achieve even higher frame rates. I’m a huge fan how 72 frames per second looks with a 180 degree shutter. Balancing the MoVi M15 with the Weapon was very easy using my Leica R lenses and thin Switronix 75w batts. The Leica R lenses gave us a very creamy yet distinct look with each lens’ unique bookeh and flaring. To keep a 180 degree shutter we used a Tiffen Vari-ND filter to maintain exposure. Our friend Brian used an Inspire 1 and DJI Phantom 3 for the drone shots.

Overall, I cannot thank everyone else who had a role in the making of this mini-doc. We honestly could not have done it without the incredibly generous time and input everyone gave us in the process. Finally, thank you Tommy for inspiring us by your story to devote even more time to our passions in life. Until next time!

Pro Open:

1 NIC LONG, HARO Bikes, LAKESIDE, CA
2 TYLER BROWN, 316 RACING/DK BICYCLES, CHULA VISTA, CA
3 JAYCE CUNNING, TANAWHA, QLD
4 JORDAN MIRANDA, BAKERSFIELD, CA
5 COREY SALAS, SIMI VALLEY, CA
6 ERIC MULLER, EUGENE, OR
7 JACOB PEEBLES, JET RACING/SSQUARED/FLY, CHICO, CA
8 LAYNE GAINER, MESA, AZ

46 & Over Intermediate

1 CHRIS MOELLER, SAN CLEMENTA, CA
2 RANDY LAWRENCE, FOX, VANS, BELL, MENIFEE, CA
3 BILLY WARDYNSKI, ICEE/ANDERSON, OAKLEY, CA
4 MAX WOODS, DYERSBURG, TN
5 KEN BARRIER, AZ BICYCLE WERX/FALL RISK RACING, LAVEEN, AZ

Elite Men:
1 Matthew JUSTER AUS 27 60 60
2 Bradley GAME AUS 22 45 45
3 Tristyn KRONK AUS 21 40 40
4 Michael BIAS NZL 23 35 35
5 Bodi TURNER AUS 23 30 30
6 Joshua MCLEAN AUS 19 25 25
7 Thomas SIINMAA AUS 27 20 20
8 Kai SAKAKIBARA AUS 21 15 15

Name: Alfredo Campo
Number in Rio: 593
Country: Ecuador
Result: Last

When was the point for you that you thought you had a good chance of going to the 2016 Olympics in Rio?
Alfredo Campo: It was always a dream of mine! Midway 2015 after Pan-Am games I tought I had a good shot of making it!

Can you explain what kind of sacrifices you have to make as a professional BMX racer to be on top of your game all the time?
Alfredo Campo: Leaving home being 16 years old was for sure one of the hardest things, but I love challenges that's why bmx has been so unique for me, not having a solid national team and having to do things by my own like making a financial plan is also a tough piece of the puzzle

How important has your coach been on your road to Rio?
Alfredo Campo: Main key, a mentor, a journey I will never forget alongside Anders Grounsund

Name: Niek Kimmann
Country: The Netherlands
Number in Rio: 313
Result: 7th

How did Rio turn out for you as an Olympic rookie looking back at the race now?
Niek Kimmann: The level of the top guys in BMX is so high that I knew I could easily go out in the semi with some bad luck, or maybe even medal if everything fell in the right place.

Name: Kyle Dodd
Number in Rio: 216
Country: South Africa
Result: If I'm not mistaken I finished 18th

"The important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part; the important thing in Life is not triumph, but the struggle; the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."

A compilation of trips and stuff I filmed over the last year. Enjoy!

Classic game of bike with wade! Takes forever, someone crashes and a whole lotta banter.