Riders Ready, Watch The Gate
For the last few years I have been part of the team at Red Bull Hardline, marketed as the world’s toughest downhill mountain bike race. The invitation only event takes place annually at the southern edge of Snowdonia National Park, and is unique among downhill races for the size of the features on the course. 90 foot gap jumps and drops over mountain tracks are routine here, and for the right kind of rider there is no better challenge.
The TV coverage is a feat of engineering, and cameras cover the entire course from top to bottom as a full spec live OB airing on Red Bull TV. For the past few years I have worked at the start line as camera one. I am a passionate mountain biker myself, and with good knowledge of how the sport works and many of the riders involved I am able to communicate going’s on to the director back in the gallery, and liaise between the TV team and race organisers at the top of the hill. It is a hybrid of camera operating and floor managing in a sense.
After that, standing 8 foot up sharing the start ramp with each rider as they wait in the gate, pulling out from a headshot with a graphic into a wide that pivots to follow them out of the gate, and finishing with a beautiful wide shot is the easy bit!
https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/live/red-bull-hardline-2024-uk
