im not any pro, but if your shooting while riding a bike your going to want some way to stabilize the camera else it will look really amature. steadycam's will be your friend, though i cant attest to how easy it will be to ride a bike with one of them on. Maybe you can rig up a custom one to the bike using a lever type setup where the mount is positioned at the fulcrum.

This site shows alot of great tutorials that expound upon the steadycam principle

http://www.homebuiltstabilizers.com/greytipsDIY.htm

How the hell did you manage to film while riding a bike anyways? I bet alot of professional cameramen couldnt pull that stunt off.

Hi,

We aren't doing much on-bike shooting - the real story is what happens with the people and environment around us. We're wild camping most nights, have only paid for a hostel/motel/campsite on 4 occasions in the last 15 weeks! (Having said that I did manage a 15-minute alpine downhill at about 50kph whilst shooting... not an experience I hope to repeat!)

What I'm really looking for is shooting advice for a reality tv style documentary. It's a long term project. We aren't trained cinematographers or directors or anything like that, though. We want to supply the producers and editors with the best footage that they need to tell the story with.

Tom Allen
Ride Earth

"Ride Earth" is the mission of Tom Allen and Andrew Welch to circumnavigate the globe by mountain-bike...

* Visit us online at www.ride-earth.org.uk
* Donate easily and securely at www.justgiving.com/rideearth

Well no one can convey how to film without being in person and even then that takes years, so i dont know what you are expecting. The best thing you can do is use what you know from watching documentaries. Take michael moore's work, you may not agree with what he has to say but you cant deny he's an excellent documentary filmmaker. Or even SuperSize me. The main elements they all had was that they interviewed people, presented data and edited it in a fluid entertaining fashion. Since your not editing then film whatever applies to the point of your experiment.

I would suggest that a car be driving along side of you to film you riding. Also your going to need 3+ cameras with one of them on most of the time. If you only film when your stopped then it wont seem much like a bike riding expedition. Your also going to need sound, meaning you should have collar mics and a wireless pack that will radio back to the crew car.

Theres alot of prep that goes into fillmmaking, you cant just decide all of a sudden that you want to make one. Your production company should have filled you in of what it expects of you and setup all the people and equipment that you will need to make it happen. Maybe you should talk to them first before proceeding, they should be able to help, and if not, i would find a new production company.

Having seen the clips you linked to it seems you have top quality,
pro graphics, a camera person with you and excellent editors. I'm
editing a similar project right now. A hiker walking across America - solo.

Since you don't have the money to use a "reality TV style" crew
you have to be creative. Sometimes going over your path a couple
of times to get the footage you need. But my advice is to listen
to the editors. You are sending them footage often, right? So
they know what's missing or what can be done way better than
anyone here. I have done two of these types of documentaries and I
have worked as a camera op on several reality TV shows and I
can't think of any advice for your project. I just don't know it
well enough.

How often are you in touch with the editor?

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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)