34
MOUNTAINLIFE
SUMMER2016
Aftermonthsof scouting,planningand constructing theproject,
the final shoot tookabout tendays to film.Once it hit the Internet,
however, thenumbersbegan rolling inwithdizzyingmomentum.
“Itwas really fun towatch it for the first fewdays,”Wittenburg
says.“Weknew it hadpotential, but didn’t know if theaudience
would reallygrabon to it or think itwas too slow.”
Itwasn’t.TheSemenuk
OneShot
went viral inpandemic
proportions.“Itwas really fun towatch, you could tell right away,
evenon the first day, that the viewswere stackingupquickly.
And itwas really cool to seewhere it got pickedup,”he says,
noting that
OneShot
and
unReal
becamea catalyst forAnthill
acquiringanumber of new commercial contracts.
“Wewouldget peopleand companies fromoutside the sport,
or different adagencies comingup tous saying, ‘Oh, youguys
shootmountainbiking?Have you seen that shot of that guy, and
he rides down that trail?’ Itwas cool to say, ‘Yeah, thatwas us.’”
Semenukwas also surprised thevideo tookoff in suchahuge
way.“It’snot something you canever expect,”he says,“togo
viral.But it’s cool it got somany viewsoutsideof the sport. I’m
just stoked that peoplewere into it; it’s agreat thing formeand
for theguys atAnthill. I’malways looking forward tonew things.”
And so isWittenburg, ever quick todismiss anynotion that
One
Shot
isAnthill’sopus.“A lot of times, releasing films can feel like
releasinganalbum,and then the segments are like the songs,”he
explains.“Somepeople really remember certain segments froma
moviewemade ten years ago; some thingswill just resonate.And
thisonedefinitelyhas that ‘hit’ phenomenon to it.”
“But I always think that our bestwork is still aheadof us,”he
adds.“Therearemany,many years beforewe retire, that’s for
sure.We’renot
OneShot
wonders.”
One shot,many hands ondeck. STERLING LORENCE
