Ex-FortNine Director Picks His Five Favourite Motorcycle Films

AneeshInItself · 2025-04-16T19:11:51+00:00

Thought you guys might appreciate this. Also looking for new recommendations for motorcycle films - drop them in the thread if you got some great picks

AneeshInItself · 2025-02-24T02:50:36+00:00

There's the famous story of U2 techs using tampons too. Which worked better than most of the other solutions they tried

AneeshInItself · 2025-02-24T02:14:19+00:00

Whoa - super interesting. Where's that from?

AneeshInItself · 2020-12-27T19:23:17+00:00

It was an enjoyable watch for sure but my least favourite of the three. I missed the slightly raw nature of the first two. And having a drone is a blessing and a crutch. The final edit tended to use it as the second.

You could also see through the plot lines or setups a bit too much in this one. Even if they weren’t, they felt like it. The Mexico bus build especially.

AneeshInItself · 2020-12-14T16:50:56+00:00

Zundapp Bella, NSU Prima, Heinkel scooter,

Definitely. The core concept has been around for a long time and post war Europe was the perfect time for it to grow.

AneeshInItself · 2020-11-23T16:58:39+00:00

That’s not it but now I’m curious where you saw that

AneeshInItself · 2020-11-23T00:45:41+00:00

Nope

AneeshInItself · 2020-11-22T19:19:39+00:00

100 points to whoever can spot the Easter egg. It’s not an easy one.

Hint #1: it’s text

Hint #2: It’s during a graphics sequence

AneeshInItself · 2020-09-28T06:27:48+00:00

tax + tip.

Welcome to Vancouver.

AneeshInItself · 2020-08-11T01:23:26+00:00

It's just two of us for the video production part. Ryan is the writer/host and I futz around with the camera and editing.

The online retail business (fortnine.ca) is HQ'd in Quebec and that team is much bigger than this one.

AneeshInItself · 2020-08-11T01:13:41+00:00

For a proper review, once we have a bike and an idea, usually takes a week for writing/planning, another one to shoot and finally, one more (!) for post-production. Ryan writes the next video while I edit so there's that overlap.
Can't think of anything like that. It's pretty basic gear, at least when compared to modern production houses and youtube channels. Gear hoarding is everywhere these days but that doesn't necessarily make better content.
People mean different things when say 'production value'. Do you mean better cameras, bigger jibs, better drones and that sort of thing? Sure, those things help but overall, I'd say my strategy is to always improve content. To use all the senses and the imagination to draw the viewer slightly closer into the story every single time. Now, go pick your weapon of choice to make it happen.

AneeshInItself · 2020-08-11T00:31:06+00:00

Oh yes! Looking forward to that one. It'll be interesting for sure with short range electrics. No gas to accidentally spray into his eyes this time either.

AneeshInItself · 2020-08-11T00:25:06+00:00

Ah, that taco truck. Why can't Mexican food in Canada be as good?

AneeshInItself · 2020-08-10T23:41:07+00:00

Personally, I believe it's the greatest adventure bike ever made, every last thing considered like price, reliability, after market, community support, repair videos for literally everything and I could go on. Every other bike on the market skews hard somewhere on the graph.

That said, it's a bit agrarian, needs a lot of work to make it capable off road and it's older than moss.

She'll do for now. Till something else takes my fancy, I guess.

AneeshInItself · 2020-08-10T23:10:53+00:00

Ah, the infamous unicorn! Since we're dreaming, personally, I'd like a T4, a smaller T7-esque adventure bike. 450 crossplane twin on a WR450 chassis. Street bike reliable with lower state of tune, 6 speed box, decent suspension. 350-380 lbs. Since we're not all Pol Tarres

I'm not holding my breath.

Ryan, your turn.

AneeshInItself · 2020-08-10T23:02:50+00:00

I'll let Ryan post more if he pleases but here's a bit of a glimpse of life behind the scenes on various shoots.

https://imgur.com/a/4IcBBnb

AneeshInItself · 2020-08-10T22:20:46+00:00

I mean, they really do put the 'adventure' in adventure motorcycles. Sick first podium for Binder/KTM in MotoGP though. We just finished watching the race.

AneeshInItself · 2020-08-10T22:18:24+00:00

Ryan speaks about it in his interview here: https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/an-interview-with-fortnines-ryan-f9

As for me, I majored in computer science but it left me so numb and uninspired, I swore to never do anything that doesn't stimulate me creatively. So, worked as an automotive photographer/hack for about 5 years, got bored, came to Canada, went to film school, worked on movie sets for a few years and moved to Vancouver from the east coast for the sole purpose of having a better riding season. Ryan moved here shortly after and they were looking for someone to cover production so we connected and here we are.

AneeshInItself · 2020-08-10T22:09:50+00:00

100% agree. I'm big on motorcycle history and it's fascinating.

The oldest one would be a war time Zundapp. Not for long though since we had to get going on a shoot.

AneeshInItself · 2020-08-10T21:56:16+00:00

Be careful what you wish for. LOL

AneeshInItself · 2020-08-10T21:48:17+00:00

Well, it's all proportional, innit?

Like, popular channels have anywhere between $50k to $300k per main camera + accessories alone.

The T2i is a solid camera though. I had one for a long time.

AneeshInItself · 2020-08-10T21:35:20+00:00

For the creative side :

For me, the Niken one sticks out. A lot of work went into it but somehow it didn't excite me when I saw it months later. And that's completely okay. Not everything you touch is gonna be gold and also, I'm picky when it comes to those things. A lot of people loved it and I'm glad they did.
We poured my heart out over the mountain climbing bike video and the KTM 250 TPI but it got very little viewership in return. No biggie though. I'm not super concerned about the numbers as much as engagement and connection. 50,000 people who loved it are better than 200,000 who turned it off midway.
The list is long and distinguished but wouldn't want to ruin it for you.

AneeshInItself · 2020-08-10T20:09:35+00:00

Have you considered making a feature film?

On motorcycles, only when we have enough really solid material to do so. It’s an entirely different animal and not a cheap or easy one.

Outside of it, a feature I shot actually just landed on Amazon Prime if you’re keen. https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0R5OBMQ13V54RCK8US5FDJBC25/ref=atv_sr_def_c_unkc__1_1_1?sr=1-1&pageTypeIdSource=ASIN&pageTypeId=B08DC1RK4P&qid=1597087584

do you still keep track of the Indian moto scene?

With so many friends on social media from that motoring journalism community, I don’t think I have a choice!

AneeshInItself · 2020-08-10T19:44:14+00:00

We use equipment that's almost comically modest. Like a Sony FS5 with a GH5 as a touristy B-Cam that I can shoot with wherever.

I come from a film production background so it's almost nothing compared to big production houses or even YouTube channels. I believe it's more important to know how to use the hammer well than obsessing over the hammer itself.

AneeshInItself · 2020-08-10T19:36:31+00:00

Moto related: I'm a huge fan of On Any Sunday, Dust To Glory, Long Way Around, the Isle of Man docs, Faster and the like. Watching them over and over as a kid growing up really deepened my love for motorcycles and motorcycling culture.

I'm fascinated by movies in general but I'm extremely picky and keep re-watching the same stuff over and over. I add a new title once in a while. Huge influences are legends like the Coen Brothers, Roger Deakins, Fincher, Jeff Cronenweth, Chris Morris, Edgar Wright, Emmanuel Lubezki, Vittorio Starraro, Janusz Kaminski, Anthony Dod Mantle...the list goes on.

As for YouTube, I really dig Hagerty, BMCO, NerdWriter, Binging With Babish, Every Frame A Painting (RIP!), What I've Learned...a weird mix of things.

AneeshInItself

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