Break the Cycle film » Behind the Scenes

Final Group Shoot

admin — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 22:24:34 +0000

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It finally arrived – Break the Cycle’s final shoot, and we definitely finished off the shooting in style. Andy and I met up with all the Break The Cycle riders (minus two) this morning bright and early at Moneyscalp forest, Co. Down. It was an amazing day, one of the best we have had for a while with sunny blue skies. We were really lucky to have zip line extraordinaire Shane McCauley to come and set up a zip line for us! It took a little longer to set up than he had hoped, Moneyscalp forest is pretty dense and it was hard finding a spot where Andy would stay clear of nearby trees, but he managed and it turned out really good, the fastest and longest one Andy had experienced yet!

After the riders had a quick warm up , we started filming as Shane got to work with the zip line. Was a strange but cool day having Irelands top riders all together but not competing against each other, I think everyone enjoyed the experience of riding together and checking out each others lines and riding styles! Was very chilled out and funny when the riders started trying to overtake each other, there were a few funny falls! After the zip we had a few interviews to finish off then called it a day. A few of the riders took the opportunity to spend another few hours out on their bikes together while they were all in the same part of the country and had the chance.

So with shooting finished Andy is now getting stuck into the editing. We have had requests from people in Canada, America and UK for screening evenings, and are currently checking out some film festivals also. Subscribe to the site to be the first to hear of screening event details and World Wide dvd release dates. I am currently trying to organise a launch party in Belfast which should be pretty big with some of the bands involved playing. Details will be posted here when I have them, don’t miss out!

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Meave Baxter Shoot 2

admin — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 00:13:20 +0000

Yesterday Andy and I headed to Ravensdale, Co Down where we filmed Masters World silver medallist Meave Baxter for her second Break The Cycle shoot. She has got a very cool house where she is lucky enough to have a mountain bike trail which practically leads straight down to her back door, very lucky lady!

We started off at the big mast above Ravensdale Forest, the views were unreal, it was pretty hazy at first but it wasn’t long before the sun came out and the hours just seemed to fly by as we filmed some pretty sick riding by Meave. I even had a go on Meave’s bike (my first ever go on a downhill bike) which I totally loved, as you can probably see from the photograph below!

After scaring a few sheep and coming across a random plastic chair halfway up the mountain we headed back down to Meave’s house were we all stuffed ourselves with some lovely sandwhiches made by Meave then headed to a Forest just outside Newry, Co Down to meet up with Liam, Meave’s brother for a cross country section. The forest looked amazing, the sun was just setting and the bluebells were in full bloom, the footage looks pretty cool!

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Andy and I got back to Belfast quite late in the evening and are now getting ready for the final group shoot today! Should be a good one!

Fireman ‘Glyn O’Brien’ Shoot

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:24:03 +0000

With filming for Break The Cycle almost finished, and the editing process already begun, we still have a couple of exciting shoots to go. Yesterday was no exception as Andy and I were lucky enough to get an insight into the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service. We headed to Armagh Fire Station, County Armagh, where fireman and Break The Cycle rider Glyn O’brien is stationed. It was a really fun afternoon as we were given the grand tour of the newly built fire station and then got to film Glyn and a few other fireman going through some of their drills, check out the photos below.

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Coming up next is the final group shoot where we are getting all the riders together for some serious riding and some craic of course!

Reid & Crockard MX Madness

admin — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 23:14:26 +0000

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After having to put this shoot off a few times due to snow we decided we couldn’t wait any longer and met up with Irish pro Ben Reid and his rather high profile MotoX training partner Gordon Crockard for a session somewhere close to Londonderry this afternoon.

When we arrived on location we were all pretty surprised at how much snow there was still lying, it was about a foot deep and unfortunately unrideable, didn’t stop them having a go but we soon realised if we were going to get any decent footage we would have to go elsewhere and fast, before we lost the daylight!

A few phone calls were made and we headed to another location close by. The track was in much better condition, still not great but we got some pretty good shots just as the sun was going down.

Music Credits: Lily-Jean Lonely, Hell Fire Club

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Tom & Greg at Comshingaun

admin — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 10:50:05 +0000

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Andy and I headed to Waterford on Friday for our second shoot with Tom Power and Greg O’Keefe. We arrived at Tom’s place in the evening and realised that it was Greg’s birthday. There was no major celebrating done that night though, we chilled out for a bit and planned out the next days shoot then everyone headed to bed for an early night.

Saturday morning we were up at the crack of dawn, packed up the cars after a quick breakfast then drove for about half an hour to the Comshingaun in the Comeragh Mountains, the location of our shoot. It is an absolutely stunning place, and we couldn’t have hoped for better weather, it was a cold crisp morning with sunny blue skies and there was snow on the top of the mountain.

We trekked for a good hour or so before we reached the peak where we started shooting. The views were amazing, check out the photos below. We filmed for about 5 hours until we lost the sunlight behind the mountain then headed back to Tom’s camper van for a cup of tea to warm us up, and a look over the footage. Tom and Greg did pretty well pushing their bikes up the mountain time and time again, Greg was worried he wouldn’t be able to dance that night as his legs were getting sore!!

Next up: Filming is a bit behind schedule because of the bad weather. We also planned to do a session with Belfast rider Ewan Doherty this weekend but he is out with a broken hand. Hope he gets better soon. Another day with Colin Ross this week should finish his section, then Irish Pro Ben Ried, and a few other final days out should have filming wrapped up towards the end of February.

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Glyn O’Brien Shoot

admin — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 01:48:16 +0000

Just before Christmas we headed to Rostrevor where we spent two days filming Glyn O’Brien at Kilbroney Forest for his part in Break the Cycle. One of the things that really stood out on this time is just how dark in general it is at this time of the year which makes it particularly hard to shoot in a forest setting, and full day shoots are definitely out!

We made the most of our time though. Shane McAuley came down to set up a few zip lines again. We had Glyn hitting a super smooth step down and attacking a couple of flat out corners for that. The shots turned out quite well. By the time we were finished with the zip line it was starting to get dark so we packed up and headed back to Glyns house in Newry.

We stayed over at Glyn’s that night and got some interviews and footage from around his house. The next day Glyn, Big Ray (the headcam guy), and myself headed hiked up the hills above Rostrevor as far as we could go to capture some more action. The views were pretty amazing, and we were lucky to get clear skies. It was so open up there and definitely worth the trip up. Ray helped us out with head cam shots with the new HD camcorder we recently purchased gaffer taped to his helmet!

After that we then headed back to Kilbroney forest. Kilbroney has been home to the Irish Downhill Championships for a few years now and has a couple of amazing trails. The light was a bit better this time so we worked flat out to get in as much footage as possible.

Check out the clip from Glyns interview and some shots above Rostrevor. Fuzz also got a few behind the scenes clips together from day 1 of shooting. A big thanks to Shane for setting up the zip line and Ray for helping with the headcam.

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Recce with Ben Reid

admin — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 19:14:55 +0000

Top Irish rider Ben Reid and myself got up at the crack of dawn to go and scope out some locations along the coast for the film. We just about made it there! One of the main roads on the way had not been gritted with salt so was covered in black ice. Is was pretty scary because you could not tell there was ice there at all. That road was about 3 miles long and in that space three cars had gone off the road and got smashed up the same morning.

When we did eventually get to our location things were looking pretty good. The scenery was amazing and there was loads of scope for some sick lines on the bike. There was potential for some fast flowy sections, big step downs, and flat out corners. After a few hours getting some lines ready for the shoot we called it a day and headed into Ballycastle for a chippy. Not many pics this time but check them out below!

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Colin Ross Interview Shoot

Fuzz — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:37:46 +0000

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Andy and I spent the afternoon today with current Irish Downhill Champion Colin Ross at his parents house. We have already got most of the action shots for Colin so we were there mostly to capture some of his lifestyle. We headed out to a spot of wasteland behind the house where Colin has built a track with some small jumps. We got him riding them on his mini bike and then on his hard tail too. Andy and I both had a go on his mini bike, was good fun. I didn’t attempt any of the jumps though!

Next we headed to a reservoir just opposite his house where he would normally do a cross country run. We got him to ride across the edge of the dam for some fun, he had been eying it up for ages but needed a little push to actually do it.

We headed back to the house where we had some fun watching Rosco ride the smallest motorbike I have ever seen, was pretty funny. Finished off with some interviews and some shots of his family. Check out the pics below.

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Ben Reid Shoot

Fuzz — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:43:24 +0000

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We met up with Irish Pro Ben Reid and his Mechanic Alister Beckett, to get a few riding and interview clips for the teaser trailer of the film. We got a good few shots of Bens team wagon ‘the Thunder Truck’ at his house, and checked out some of the mad contraptions he has made like his petrol powered bmx and gopeds.

We then headed down the road to the Lead Mines where Ben usually does one of his cross country training rides. The sun was starting to set as we were up there, and there is limited potential as far as trails go, but we got some ok photos and footage that we can hopefully use for the teaser.

It will be a while before we shoot Bens proper downhill section as he waits to hear what his new sponsors will be for the 2009 race season, but we plan to push the limits with him and come up with a few cool ideas.

The teaser is due to online in around 2-3 weeks so keep checking back here or register to be emailed with new content as it comes in.

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Meave Baxter Shoot

Andy — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 00:39:23 +0000

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Sharon and I drove down to film Masters Downhill World Championship Silver Medalist Meave Baxter. Meave is lucky enough to have grown up close to loads of amazing trails in Rostrevor, near Newry. She took us to one of her favourite places to ride nearby in Yellow Water forest.

The trail there ran down beside a river and looked really fun to ride. It was really flowy singletrack, and opened up more towards the top of the mountain with some stunning views.

Like all of the other riders, Meave was totally wrecked by the end of the shoot. We got her to do each section a few times to get the best angles.

After shooting we headed back to her parents house for some interview fun. This is the part that every rider hates but Meave got through it pretty well even though her wild cat and dog were there to interrupt. Check out the pics and video clip for a sneak peak of action from the day.

On the way home we called in to catch up with Glyn O’Brien and check out his new house that he built himself. When I first heard he was going to do this I didn’t know what to expect but when we arrived and went inside the place was pretty cool. Things are still in progress but he has loads of cool features like an outdoor stone fire built into a wall, a Jacuzzi bath, and tons of room for all of his bikes.

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Coming up next:
Irish Pro Ben Reid