On the Making of Mr. Bones

Jan 22

A silent Mountain Bike film of Mr. Bones Trail at North Slopes in Capital Forest

Mr. Bones is a Silent Mountain Bike film of Mr. Bones trail in North Slopes in Capital Forest Washington. This was our very first attempt at a mountain bike YouTube video ever! Go Subscribe to our YouTube Channel as we start growing our content their! The intent was to create a fun short video for the viewer to get an idea of what to expect riding this trail in a more peaceful and quiet setting. We wanted to create something that would provide the sense of peace and happiness without the chaos of a normal mountain bike video. We also lack video making equipment for the most part, so we wanted to create something with the equipment we do have to “dip our toes in the water”. After going through this, I can confidently say we plan to make many more of these types of videos with the expectation that quality will greatly improve as we learn and grow in this field. This video type was influenced by Mahalo My Dude’s Silent Mountain Bike films. We are huge supports of their channel and decided we wanted to give this video type a shot!

Below is a breakdown of some of the things we felt we did right and mistakes we think we learned from. There are plenty more to list in each category, but we wanted to hit the highlights based on our expiernce! If interested in the gear we used, scroll to the bottom section titled “Gear”.

What we did Right:

First of all, we had a blast! We had so much fun messing around with the camera and playing while working. Simply can’t beat this!
We had ridden the trail a few times prior to filming this. We knew this would be a great trail to do this type of film on because of this. Some of the aspects we were looking for were a trail that was fast, had some neat features that were ridable by most any skill level, a trail with varying terrain type, and a trail that is maybe a lesser known about. There were plenty more parts that played into this, but these are the highlights.
We wanted to showcase the work of a Trail Organization we think is doing amazing things. In this case, that is Friends of Capitol Forest! please go check them out and support them!
Used what we had available. This ranges from camera gear to riding gear to editing process. The camera gear we use is primarily for still shots not videos. Where it is clearly more than capable of doing both, we lack any type of additional accessories such as a gimbal for instance. This meant we decided to not over complicate it. We planned going into it that we were going to set the camera on a tripod and have static shots for every shot. This made the planning rather easy. All we had to do was select the angle and location. For a first time video maker, this made the process a little less daunting.
We wanted us both to be in the video as the riders. We are a husband and wife who ride our bikes together all the time. We love this and wanted to show this! Martins Migration is at its core, sharing the adventures of the two of us together to inspire others to share experiences together they can cherish!
We gave it a shot! We had an idea and curiosity and decided to give the whole thing a try. We learned a lot about the process and that is the first step to improvement!

What we did Wrong:

We thought doing a shuttle run and filming this would be easier. Where this was certainly true, I think there is more relatability, and frankly a better story, in pedaling to the top. I think s shuttle run would be better served in an upbeat exciting video with a group of friends rather than the purpose we did.
Colors. Colors are so important in making the riders pop in the video. I think picking colors that would have popped such as red or royal blue would have been a better color choice than what we selected.
We filmed this on a rainy, dark, slightly dreary day. The idea was for this to be calming and peaceful and I think having waited for a dryer, sunnier day would have helped convey this message better from a cinematic standpoint.
Getting more shots at varying focal lengths. We shot a lot of pieces with a wide angle lens from ground level to chest height. I think if we would have incorporated some shots of us further off in the distance with the vastness of the mountains and trees being shown would have helped sell the serenity of the area.
On the same vein, getting more B- roll of the surrounding areas such as the rain falling into a puddle, wind blowing through the trees, or water rushing down waterfalls would have added a lot as well.
I think we could have picked a more peaceful song to play along with the video. playing something with some water trickling, birds chirping, or wind blowing in conjunction with the song would have added a nice ambience.

Gear Used for this Video:

Check out my Gear Page for a complete list of what I am using!

Camera Body- Sony a7rii

Lens(es)- Tamron 28-200 f/2.8-5.6 Di III RXD and Tamron 17-28 f/2.8 Di III RXD

Filters- Breakthrough Photography X2 CPL Circular Polarizer- 67mm

Tripod- Leofoto LS-284CEXX with LEOFOTO VH-30N Two-Way Panoramic Tele Lens Head

Bag- Shimoda Action X30

Editing Software- Microsoft Clip Champ (Would not recommend this)

Craig’s Bike- 2018 YT Jeffsey CF

Craig’s Gloves- HANDUP Gloves

Craig’s Shoes- Adidas FiveTen Trailcross LT

Claire’s Bike- 2023 Transition Sentinel