Fox Racing’s Ricki Bedenbaugh chooses Cartoni for new immersive web series

The series blends virtual reality with cinematic shots to give you an immersive and entertaining day in the life of mountain bike riding stars Kirt Voreis, Loic Bruni, Kaos Seagrave, and Mark Scott. The episodes take place from the forests of Scotland and Wales, to the downhill runs of Barcelona, to the high desert of California. “The concept for the video is that the viewer sees the rider’s point of view,” explains Bedenbaugh. “It’s kind of like virtual reality in that you see the rider’s point of view as he selects the Fox Racing gear he wants to wear and the trail he wants to ride. The purpose of the videos is to promote this new Fox Racing gear that is coming out.” The videos have done well. So far, the short, two-minute episodes have gained momentum with each release.

The first episode gained over twenty thousand views on Youtube alone and the second has garnered over a hundred thousand views in just a few weeks. For the fourth episode in the series, Bedenbaugh and the Fox Racing team traveled with professional mountain biker Mark Scott, a former World Cup downhiller, for a four-day shoot in Edinburgh, Arthur’s Seat and of course rides throughout Glenbenna. But for veteran action sports filmmaker Bedenbaugh, one of the biggest challenges can be the gear.

“When you watch a mountain bike video, you never really think about what the camera operator had to do to get those shots,” says Bedenbaugh. “And it’s a lot of work.” Bedenbaugh adds, “In skateboarding, you have to jump fences and deal with a lot of security guards, but in the mountain biking world, you literally have to climb up the mountain with all of your gear. So we will climb up to the very top of the trail, which can take an hour or more, and you set up shots as you hike back down the trail. The rider will hit the trick two or three times until we’ve got the shot.” To create the immersive, filmlike quality, Bedenbaugh used the RED Gemini, Canon lenses, Hawk-Woods Mini V-Lok batteries all supported by the lightweight Cartoni Focus 12 with SDS, Smart Deployment System, legs. The Cartoni Focus 12 supports camera packages of up to 26 pounds offering buttery smooth panning and tilting and the SDS legs set up & fold in an instant. The Focus 12 with SDS legs is the perfect support for camera operators on the go. “When you are shooting video, you really need to have sturdy sticks that you can trust, and my Cartoni is so reliable. It’s such a great tripod. That’s why I got the carbon-fiber sticks. I love how fast I can set the SDS legs up from being at a very low position to eye-level in an instant. I’m 1.9 meters tall, so that is saying something,” says Bedenbaugh. “My co-worker has a smaller set of sticks from a competitor, and when I picked those up, I didn’t feel that I could trust legs like that with my RED.”

Although lightweight, the tripod system is extremely rugged and durable enough to handle the mountainous terrain of Glenbenna and the occasional fall from heights. “I’ve definitely had instances where I’ve slipped. One time, we were on Vancouver Island, and I had my tripod on my shoulder with the camera attached and a backpack for my batteries. My foot slipped, and my tripod fell. I thought I lost everything, but my gear was fine.” Bedenbaugh completed his set up with Canon lenses and Hawk-Woods Mini V-Lok batteries. The rig was lightweight enough to allow Bedenbaugh to hike up the side of Glenbenna for the first day of shooting and Thornielee Forest the second day. “I’ve been using Cartoni for over eight years, and they continue to perform,” Bedenbaugh says. The fourth episode of Fox Racing’s ‘Made for Your Ride’ will be released in early June.