Mutiny Bikes name is well known to most BMXers and as well as having an awesome team of riders and the highest quality products they also have made some of the finest BMX videos ever to grace your screen! From 2001's American Scream, all the way to their latest film Lets Get Mystical, Mutiny have consistently made videos with the highest quality riding and production. We took a minute to catch up with Mutiny to talk about their past films and future projects.
Your team is spread across the globe, how do you go about filming your non US riders?
For the last 2 DVD's Joe Simon handled 95% of all the filming, we just wanted to put out something that was consistent in every way. It is hard having the team spread out but when we chose the team I was not going to base the "pro" team on geography. I think a lot of guys get over looked just because of where they are from. It's not the most cost effective way of doing things but we are doing it our way. We are also incredibly fortunate to have a lot of friends who film; Joe Cox, Charlie Jobling, Gav Repton and this year Rich Wilson have all been helping out with web content for the non US guys.
How much time do you typically spend on a Mutiny production?
Until it's done, obviously a DVD is a long process for everyone involved but I think the finished product always reflects that. For all our web content this year we are focusing on showcasing sessions with the team and each project is shot in a very short space of time, just documenting what happens when the team are out riding.
A lot of recent films have had numerous trailers and promos but Mutiny's film Lets Get Mystical was barely publicised before release, why was that?
We just did the polar opposite to what we did with SOBP, it's always good to change things up.
What was the hardest part of making LGM?
We are a small company, our budget is tight so every day we were making the video it's costing money for a product that is not even going to cover the costs of making it. We just wanted to make something that reflected what BMX is to us. It was very much a passion project.
Did you have any major problems/obstacles making LGM?
I mean, there is always going to be problems, there are so many factors you are working with. Off the top of my head I'm going to say Randy's dam hand. It's always is broken! hahahaha.
You had A LOT of equipment filming LGM how much harder did that make it to film in public places?
Joe knows what he is doing and with the help from the team we just shared carry everything around. No biggie, all working towards the same goal.
Mutiny has more than a few full length films behind them, spanning more than ten years, do you have a favourite?
I'm going to pick 2;
Subversion; Everything about that video brings back fond memories for me. It was when Steve Inge still owned Mutiny.
Let's Get Mystical; To date I think this is the most complete video Mutiny has released. Team, riding, music, concept, cinematography and art direction it just all works so well together.
Have you noticed a huge difference in sales since Mutiny's early films?
It's so hard to draw a fair comparison, of course the numbers are not the same. They are a lot lower, but you did not have the internet culture then and had to wait for months to see footage from a contest or if someone had done something insane.
Do you think there is anyway of reversing that trend?
BMX seems to be growing, so I'm sure the numbers can grow. It's up to the brands out there to make sure they are putting out something worth buying. Web edits do make it hard but I think we can use this to push the quality of DVD's.
In recent years there has been a fair amount of comments made about BMX films not being up to the standard of skateboarding films (for example), do you think that is true or that a comparison can even be made?
No. Does the Lakai video look as good as Avatar? I don't think it's a very good comparison, skateboarding is so much bigger than BMX. We don't have anywhere near the same sort of resources.
Do you have any new films planned for the future you can talk about?
For the foreseeable future we are going to work on web features, maybe at the end of the year we will put them all out on a DVD for cheap. As far as full length, there is nothing on my dry erase board.
Whats your favourite NON Mutiny BMX film?
Roadfools 1, That video still holds up now, it's that perfect balance of riding and entertainment. I just love the chemistry among everyone on that trip and I'm sure a big part of that is why the riding was so progressive for the time.
Mutiny Bikes Videography
