Video: 5.45 Rouleur - riding in London as you seldom see it

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 their club kit looks cool. Ooh, controversial.

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!..

V/O a bit wooden... I know get someone in with a proper london accent like Dick Van Dyke to do it.

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/

Hah! You'll be lucky to see an RPR jersey in the park as late as 9am.

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.

Sunglasses in the dark. Cool!

Also, a note to RPR solo riders in the park that RLJing in club kit is kind of silly

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.

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.....

Add a Fiesta, a couple of scouters and a sick parrot and it's an Oscar winner!

Nice enough, maybe just a bit this?
http://road.cc/content/blog/110894-just-ride

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

Reminded me of this http://vimeo.com/59996430...but this is better!

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 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.

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.

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 liked it

Dreadful

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....

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!

thehat wrote:

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..).

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.".

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