Title: Earthed
Author: Alex Rankin
Running Time: 100min including bonus footage
Format: DVD
Action: World Cup DH and 4X action, BMX, mini bikes, trails and general riding
It’s likely many of you have already heard of Earthed. It has to be one the most anticipated MTB video releases to come around. About a year ago Alex Rankin (formally of Sprung) teamed up with Dirt Magazine to produce a ‘Dirt’ inspired film. After a good year of footage the result was Earthed. If your a fan of Dirt then you’ll love this video, it’s basically the magazine live on your TV screen.
Action
The video mainly revolves around the World Cup DH and 4X circuit with footage from Fort William, Mt Saint Anne, Grouse and Kaprun World Cups along with the World Champs in Switzerland. In between all of this is more riding from the world’s fastest riders such as Rennie, Hill, Minnaar, the Atherton Brothers and many others in various locations such as Whistler, Bromont, the list goes on… Then to add some spice and break up the racing the mini bikes make an appearance. If you thought that was all then there’s BMX and trails footage to top it all off.
Earthed kicks off with a small intro showing what’s in store for the next hour (yes it goes for more than 30 min!) and then gets straight into the racing with the Fort William World Cup. If you want to see the world’s fastest riders then this is the vid, the speed they can ride through some truly difficult sections is simply amazing.
One thing that has to be noted is the sheer number of Aussies in the video. It’s nearly at the point where every second shot is an Australian ripping up the track. Ok well maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration but there are still a lot of our riders showing the rest of the world how it’s done.
The way all the race footage was put together was incredible. Along with small interviews from the riders you really got to see more than just people riding very fast. It gave Earthed that extra feeling which made you appreciate these people so much more and in turn made it that much more enjoyable to watch.
Whistler’s renowned for it’s riding and along with a host of world class riders meant that it appeared numerous times throughout the video. Rennie had his own section there, so did the Global boys along with Minnaar and Strait, plus the Atherton brothers. All the riding was amazing and I know now that there is one place I have to go before I die. Oh and the best part about it, there wasn’t a single piece of north shore shown! If you’re a freeride fan then this video isn’t for you.
To break things up the mini bike racing was a nice addition. The guy racing the postie bike against all the other 50’s was hilarious.
There are also a few BMX sections. Now I don’t mind BMX and it was enjoyable to watch the first time but now it just seems boring. It doesn’t seem to have the excitement and action the mountain biking has. Maybe that’s just me though?
Camerawork / Cinematography
Alex doesn’t disappoint. I’m usually pretty picky when it comes to bike videos and often scrutinise their camera work. I didn’t have a problem with Earthed and was quite happy just to sit there and watch the riders do their thing.
One of the problems encountered filming any type of action sport is that it never looks as hard/technical as what it really is. Alex seemed to have no trouble capturing the difficulty of tracks on the video. I was pleased to see that some of the sections at the World Champs actually looked as rough as they were.
Many mountain bike films these days come across repetitive in sections. Earthed had no such trouble even with a running time of over 60 min. There were times through the film where you saw the same section of track more than once. However each time a different rider was shown and usually from a different angle. This allowed you to see how different riders take the same section without it becoming repetitive.
There’s no fancy camera work in Earthed but it certainly doesn’t detract from the film. There was obviously no need for it because the footage taken is exceptional.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack is very Sprung inspired. If you’ve seen any sprung videos then you’ll know what it’s going to sound like. If you haven’t well then you’ll just have to watch and find out.
Originality
It definitely isn’t a video that reminds you of something you’ve already seen. It does have Sprung influences which can be picked up such as the music and camera work but there’s no way that you’ll think it’s the next Spung vid.
Like I’ve said previously it’s Dirt magazine in film. It takes all the style and influences of the magazine to produce one killer bike video.
Overall
This has to be one of my favourite videos of all time. The riders, footage and locations are simply superb. Featuring the fastest riders on the planet riding some of the best locations on the planet. What could be better?
It is a very DH oriented film with no freeriding whatsoever. However it does break things up with the mini-bikes, BMX and dirt jump scenes. The music is very personal preference. I don’t like it but we’re not watching Earthed for the music anyway.
If you’re a fan of racing and everything that goes along with it then this is your video. Want to see Greg Minnaar win the World Championships and see Nathan Rennie take the overall World Cup title at a race in atrocious conditions? Then you’ll want Earthed.
9 out of 10
Ordering Information:
Earthed will be available through our good freinds Black Phoenix Films or any good bike shop.
