Here’s a nice short film of Central London as you seldom see it – not a car in sight as club cyclists take part in a group ride. The clue lies in the title, 5.45 Rouleur – the time each day when Regent’s Park Rouleurs meet up for their weekday morning ride.
The film, made by Gorilla Face Productions and voiced over by a monologue of one of the rider’s thoughts, lasts just four minutes and has been submitted to the Sundance London short film competition (vote for it using the links to the right of this page).
5.45 Rouleur from Gorilla Face on Vimeo.
The film acts as a prelude to a longer documentary on the club, which meets up to ride around Regent’s Park each day, whatever the weather, and further afield at weekends.
Gorilla Face Productions says it is a new company with “a passion for shooting cycling and other action sports.”
It adds that its “ stylistic approach to capturing cycling is best described as an attempt to retain the traditional romance and cinematic beauty of the sport, whilst exploring new and innovative ways of filming that best encapsulate the experience of riding a bike.
53 thoughts on “Video: 5.45 Rouleur – riding in London as you seldom see it”
There is a 5:45 in the
There is a 5:45 in the Morning! :O
Reminds me of that Brad Pitt perfume advert: Pretension.
bikeboy76 wrote:Reminds me of
Yeah, I didn’t need to see much of that to know I don’t want to see the documentary.
If you’ve never tried riding through the city in the small hours you should. Ride through London early on a Sunday morning in the middle of summer, and it’s literally like 28 Days Later (that’s how they filmed it).
We (Central London CTC) see
We (Central London CTC) see these guys sometimes, but seldom mob-handed—our sessions are in the evenings and for the breakfast social on Saturday morning. They should have a matchup with London Dynamo who also fancy themselves as the Masters of the Circle. Then we would find out who attacks while they breathe…
someone has been watching too
someone has been watching too many Rapha videos.
YAWN………….!
Great to
YAWN………….!
Great to see another bunch of London cyclists up their own ars*.
A voice for priesthood!
At 1:42 has the film been
At 1:42 has the film been flipped? Or does the bike use a left-sided crank and chainrings??
Certainly has.. but the
Certainly has.. but the question is why?
Perfectly nice video,
Perfectly nice video, horrible voiceover.
Pretentious.
Laps of Regents
Pretentious.
Laps of Regents Parks time after time?
Stretching the romance of
Stretching the romance of cycling a bit too far for me that one.
As said one too many Rapha films consumed…nothing unique about what they’re doing…they appear to be asking us to be in awe in some way?…
It rubs me up the wrong way
It rubs me up the wrong way worse than a pair of second-hand Aldi bib shorts when people write things like 5.45 instead of 5:45.
ha ha, Seriously? Never
ha ha, Seriously? Never given it a thought. Waste of a an extra ‘.’
how about 0545 24 hour clock, ok or is that a big sniff on the aldi bibs?
Must’ve been going backwards.
Must’ve been going backwards.
School of velominati and
School of velominati and rapha.
Yes cycling is fantastic but we are just folk in lycra going up and down hills for fun, not some elite mystical covenant shrouded in mystical ways.
Fair play, they are up at 5.45 but only because they have no choice. Peace and quiet or death by truck, your choice.
I was up at 3.45 trying to get my 5month old son to sleep, I should stick on a rapha jersey, film it in slow mo black and white and make it look cool.
Up at 05:45….just back from
Up at 05:45….just back from 2 months working in Tel Aviv…up at 05:30 to go to work (for 08:00) Sun-Thurs…and more often than not ‘just coming in at 05:45’ Fri/Sat…..mmmmhhh BEER! =))
Nothing pleases me more than
Nothing pleases me more than smashing it past the carbon riding rapha crew in the morning on the single speed steelie with full backpack. Simple pleasures and all that…
geargrinderbeard
Let’s have a race, mate 😀
I’ll wear as much Rapha as I can fit on me.
I made this film with a few
I made this film with a few of my friends at Gorilla Face. It’s intended as a dramatic short for the Sundance London comp and the v/o was required to add a narrative and meet the competition criteria (fully take your points about the v/o, trust me it was de-Raphad a few times before the final cut..).
Shearer27 – yep, flipped it to fill a hole in the edit. Film aimed at some of the non-cyclists out there so thought we’d get away with it. Good spot..
Thanks for your comments
thehat wrote:I made this film
All credit to you. Hope you had fun making it.
Don’t worry about the negative comments, think of it this way: someone makes a film about the sport / hobby they enjoy. They share it. Others complain / moan. Its called the Internet!
Thanks for clearing that
Thanks for clearing that up!
I like the edit and look forward to seeing the full film.
I work in TV, editing
I work in TV, editing documentaries. I also cycle round Regents Park.
The film is nicely put together: can’t fault the production values but, as many people have pointed out, the voiceover drags it down.
Are the words taken verbatim from interviews with the guys? If so, why not just use the audio from the actual interviews?
Scripted voiceover of this kind is a bit suspect in something purporting to be a documentary.
Learning what motivates the cyclists is perfectly valid – but if this has been scripted then you’re putting words into their mouths.
Shoot (or record) some actual interviews and use these as the basis for the voiceover track. Then it’s a documentary – not just a promo.
e2_irish_guy wrote:I work in
I’m a DoP and part-time BBC camera op (and occasional RP cyclist). You can’t fault the production value for docco style work but I feel it falls a bit short for the type of short film that was aimed for here.
I agree that using interview for the VO would have been a much stronger and I actually think that intercutting interview footage would have made it a more complete film.
@jasecd
I agree. I gather
@jasecd
I agree. I gather this is a promo for a longer doc which I’d be interested to see.
It would certainly carry more weight as a documentary if it incorporated actual first-person interview footage.
That would elevate it above and beyond being just a slick promo. It’s something I would watch (I’m interested to know more about these guys)
Unfortunately, this version is something I struggled to engage with.
It wouldn’t need to be 05:45
It wouldn’t need to be 05:45 if the Crown Estates Paving Commission didn’t let motor traffic into the park earlier than they are supposed to.
Or if ….. http://www.trafficfreeregentspark.org.uk
Just another faux Rapha
Just another faux Rapha advert. So derivative it’s untrue. And please find someone with less of a monotone drawl to deliver the final cut of the voiceover.
PS: And yes, incredulous non-London folk – Regent’s Park loop actually is a pretty good place to ride bikes by urban standards. Relatively traffic-free even during the daytime, only a few lights to worry about, passable road surface. Just have to look out for tourists milling around outside the zoo!
No sure I care for the film,
No sure I care for the film, but getting up to ride every day at 5.45/5:45am/0545 is strong.
I feel inspired and maybe I will get up a little early tomorrow and join in and dominate on my way to work on the steel single speed, with laptop and d-lock on board….
Dreadful
Dreadful
Mike_B wrote:Dreadful
There
There speaks a man who has never made a film. Bit harsh.
I’ve made lots of films and
I’ve made lots of films and I’m a proffesional photographer. Bit harsh maybe but this genre of film needs to stop, it’s had its day.
^ that’s a reply to another
^ that’s a reply to another comment above
thehat wrote:I made this film
From a film-making perspective it’s a bit compromised. Visually there’s lot’s of noisy footage in the dark, OOF shots and occasional inconsistent white balance. You can see the lost resolution on cropped/stabilised shots. Added to this are lot’s of shots out of sequence to fit the narration as well. I’m guessing you had a single morning for this and shooting on the move is pretty damn difficult, especially with a DSLR. All of this is forgivable to my mind and a lot of the audience won’t pick up on it – you will see the blacks fall apart on the big screen though.
What I struggle with most however is the VO – the content is subjective but the delivery is pretty wooden and the quality is really quite poor. I hate to be so damning but it detracts from the whole thing for me.
Despite all that, well done for getting out there and doing it. You’ve probably opened yourself up to a lot of scrutiny by entering in the Sundance competition but you should be congratulated for completing it. As someone much smarter than me once said “Just completing a film is an achievement in itself.”.
I liked it
I liked it 🙂
I quite liked the visuals,
I quite liked the visuals, there are some nice shots, but i agree about the voiceover, its a little, well dull. I remember at school being told that when reading something out loud, try not to sound like you’re reading. I think he missed that day in school. I think it is because there is no emotion, no feeling or real emphasis, it sounds as if the person reading is just reading a bunch of unrelated words that have then been put together to form sentences in the edit, a bit like Siri.
I quite liked it! And if
I quite liked it! And if nothing else, there’s the achievement of completing the film and submitting it while all the internet warriors moan about it. If it’s that poor, lets see your Oscar winning efforts!
They’re up at 6am doing something they love, making a bit of a film about it while it seems all the moaners and detractors on here were all in bed.
And unlike plenty of clubs/riders I’ve seen, these guys actually look the part – smart kit, good technique. Yes it’s a bit Rapha-esque but they do say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Honestly, the negativity on here gets worse by the day. 🙁
crazy-legs wrote:
Honestly,
I really see where you are coming from.
Sadly, it seems rather common on road forums for some reason.
Wow, lots of London-haters in
Wow, lots of London-haters in tonight. Tough crowd.
I like the film; it’s nice to see people I recognise from training zooming around a beautiful place where I do most of my riding too, and having an great time before 8 hours of work. Good for them.
Nice video, hats off to them
Nice video, hats off to them for getting out of bed to do it!
Agree the voiceover lets it down though. Partly because it’s trying too hard content-wise and just sounds a bit naff, even if you sort of identify with what he’s talking about, and partly because of the wooden delivery.
Reminded me of this
Reminded me of this http://vimeo.com/59996430…but this is better!
If someone wants to film a
If someone wants to film a tongue in cheek Richmond Park edition with me in my horrific high viz trying not to frighten the deer then I’ll see you normal time just after 7. I will try not to look too tired or bored
Nice enough, maybe just a bit
Nice enough, maybe just a bit this?
http://road.cc/content/blog/110894-just-ride
Add a Fiesta, a couple of
Add a Fiesta, a couple of scouters and a sick parrot and it’s an Oscar winner!
Personally I liked the film
Personally I liked the film just for being an honest dipiction of a group of riders pushing it. The fact that they are in London, or wear Rapha does not matter, Its what they do, (and thinking about it) which we all do that matters. If you don’t ride then what are you doing on the site.
Hope you Rouleurs stop at the lights though…..
They were filming a load of
They were filming a load of this stuff on a Saturday morning about 9am holding everybody up by riding slowly behind a car with camera dude in it.
The shots of everyone overtaking them seem to have been lost in the edit.
dubtap wrote:They were
Gas
Also, a note to RPR solo
Also, a note to RPR solo riders in the park that RLJing in club kit is kind of silly
Sunglasses in the dark. Cool!
Sunglasses in the dark. Cool!
Always wondered how often you
Always wondered how often you get caught by the traffic lights on the south side.
I agree with SD. Don’t worry about the Grumpies. Doing something creative is always preferable to creatively criticising those that do.
Hah! You’ll be lucky to see
Hah! You’ll be lucky to see an RPR jersey in the park as late as 9am.
Recommend you watch that
Recommend you watch that ‘Boy’ film that won the BA prize at London 2012 if you want to see how to do a short film about cycling that feels fresh rather than derivative…
Admittedly not everyone has the budget to hire Tim Spall but still: http://www.selectism.com/2012/04/11/watch-boy-london-olympics-short-film/
V/O a bit wooden… I know
V/O a bit wooden… I know get someone in with a proper london accent like Dick Van Dyke to do it. =))
If Rapha did films they
If Rapha did films they would…
How does that commercial go?
My early rides begin leaving at 04.20, meet up at 05.00 and then open the hurt locker for an hour before my solitary 5-mile ride home…I think there could be a movie in there!
I like the vid, and think
I like the vid, and think their club kit looks cool. Ooh, controversial.
No issues with the quality of
No issues with the quality of the film.. And yes, they look pretty smart.. But I think what irks a little is the ‘wannabe pro’ vibe it gives off.
I also find it a bit self-important and vain, I wouldn’t for one minute think that anyone would want to watch a film of me cycling, even if I did wear Rapha and ride in London’s parks first thing in the morning..
In fact, especially if I did!..