by Jordan Holmes originally posted on pinkbike
Freeride Entertainment changed the way the world looked at Mountain Biking.
Where are you located?
I am a film and television producer based in Nelson BC.
I mainly produce high end action sports in many different environments all over the world.
Why do you feel Nelson is the best place for your business?
What draws you to producing videos?
I got into it through people that I knew when I was younger.
It is something that everyone wants to do, but few find they can sustain a career at it.
We made a hilarious ski vid that made us laugh our asses off.
That brought me to making MTB films.
Have you ever gone to school for filming, or editing?
I went to the best film school on the planet.
The School of Hard Knocks.
That is a little tricky.
We are talking about frame rates.
When we made NWD a lot of people accused us of using too much slow mo.
What video camera do you shoot with?
Any attachments or just plain?
Nowadays we are almost 100% RED Cine based.
No attachments outside the pro set up.
What was your first video camera?
My first camera was a Bolex EBM that I bought off my landlord.
He used to be a Green Peace warrior and used it chasing whaling ships all over the world.
It had a lot of salt water damage and ended up being problematic.
If you could shoot with any camera right now what would it be?
The Phantom Camera that shoots a million frames a second.
I would show those slow mo loving mountain bike film makers what time it really was.
The guys who are shooting them for me.
I feel that they are truly the best in the world.
Without them, Freeride would not exist.
What?s the most memorable shoot you have done to date?
I have been at the game for a long time.
In mountain biking it could have been in NWD 9 when Fabien dropped a gnarly line in Morocco.
It was the only time in the history of NWD that I was really scared.
The Rampage is always super intense on my brain as well.
Getting the shot
Who’s your favorite rider to shoot with?
We give a shot to only work with cool people.
I think one of the stand outs is Wayne Goss.
He is the king of making something out of nothing.
Here is a camel… Handplant it!
I would be wearing a helmet cam in Alaska.
Skiing for fun with my buddies and talking about how epic it was in the bar that night.
What is the theme song to your life?
What editing software do you use?
Mac Final Cut Pro Studio II.
It is the most user friendly.
Not really these days.
It is sensory overload and most of the film makers in action sports are too predictable.
I like what Frankowski and Gibb are doing in MTB.
They are trying something different.
Matchstick productions were my heroes when I first started and the true inspiration for us making NWD.
What those boys did for skiing we hope we did for MTB.
Made it cool again!
I really respect Steve Winter and Murray Wais.
They have stood the test of time and are still winning ski movie of the year awards every year.
They have been doing that for 20 years.
That is not easy!
They have been through a lot.
Describe the last scene you compiled?
Full car commercial style.
This kind of thing is super challenging.
The only problem is that we only had 48 hours to turn around an edit for the internet.
It kind of mimics NWD.
However we still killed it!
Typically we get what we get on action sports shoots.
I gave up on waiting around for 8 hours for the perfect light.
How do you choose the music to go along with your video, if any?
It used to be what I liked, but I have gave up on that game.
Too many cool kids these days rocking tracks I am not into.
Ever got flack from someone for music used?
Probably because of the music, but possibly because the opening was filmed in a strip club.
Music is a tough one.
What’s the longest video section you have had to edit together?
How long did it take you?
How long was the section or clip you produced?
Jeremy did a killer job with these.
I am proud of them to this day.
That was the longest we ever had to edit anything in the history of our company.
MTV played it and it actually put mountain biking on the map in the US.
So many people saw it and thought it was bad ass.
Through our whole careers that is something we strived for.
To get MTB seen and respected.
Especially from the BMX and freestyle moto cool kids.
What was it for?
Have you ever shot anything you wouldn?t show your mom?
How did this happen?
It was a skit for Disorderly Conduct that never made the cut.
We had all these weird skits that we shot and never used.
We bailed and went for the Jailbreak scene.
How do you think your influence has directed the biking community?
To always challenge itself and never let someone tell you it can’t be done!
It was always the same old story.
We could never make another movie that good… blah blah blah.
We came in on top and left that way!
I think it was a canvas for progression and pushing an entire sport’s boundaries.
After watching what Derek Frankowski and Ryan Gibb are doing there probably wasn’t one.
Maybe Bourdo’s Flatspin.
Still one of the breakthrough things to happen on a mountain bike.
What do you think is the best shot you have ever produced is?
The best shots only last for 1 day.
What it was yesterday will be changed by the time people read this.
Sex, drugs and rock & roll?
What else is there??
Visualize yourself as a rapper, any shout outs?
You would have to get some more bandwidth to thank all those people.
They know who they are.
