SUMMER2016
MOUNTAINLIFE
33
Even if youhaveonly a cursory interest inmountainbiking (or
say, the Internet), there’s aprettygood chance you’reoneof the
60-plusmillionpeoplewho’ve viewed
OneShot
, the seminal
video section fromBrandonSemenuk, filmedentirely inone take
as part of thebest-selling feature film
unReal
by Squamish’s
Anthill Films.
“Itwas an ideawe’vehad formaybe sixor seven years,”says
Anthill’sDarcyWittenburg, bothproducer of
unReal
and truck
operator of the shoot.“It cameaboutwhenwewere just driving
aroundBCas a crew.Certain landscapes here, especially in
the interior, you can look into the forest and just picturea trail
runningalongside the road.We just had the idea, ‘Man, itwould
be cool to shoot awhole segment inone shot.’”
The ideawas easier said thandone. Following Semenuk
for nearly fourminutes as he carves upa rollinghillside (in
California, not BC)was filmedusing themost advancedgyro-
stabilized camera system in theworld, theGSSC520,mounted
toa truckdrivinga custom-road, built next toa custom trail
that took threeweeks to create.Diggers and support staff aside,
theone-shot required two cameraoperators, a spotter, adriver
and theworld’s best freerider all working inperfect harmony.
But itworked.
“Themost gratifyingmomentwaswhenBrandon came into the
car,”saysWittenburg.“Itwas likeOK, let’s just containourselves
andwatch it.Andhewatched it andwas just really stoked. It
was like, ‘OK, yeah,we’redone. Let’s gohome.’”
GO SEETHEDOCTOR, YOU’REVIRAL
By BrianPeech
UP
FRONT
Usually youget one shot to avoidgoing viral but Brandon Semenuk does things his ownway. STERLING LORENCE
ANTHILLFILMS&BRANDONSEMENUKTALKONE-SHOTSUCCESS
