Decade Ago

Of course the whole film just captures the MTB scene at that time but from 5 mins 40 in, in Wales (with that Garbage - Milk remix I've never found since) 12 mins 20 in up in Newbury and shot at night, and then 27 mins 48 when the Marty(i)n's just steal the show in the States I remember sitting at home with mates being blown away. Every time I watch Chainspotting it just takes me straight back to no mortgage, no job, no worries, just summers riding trials with mates. Perfect.

6 years later and the search is still going on. Somebody somewhere must know!

Thats a bummer.

I built my new 24" Echo this evening and I would like to change the bolts that hold the front wheel to a quick release. I'd like to match the look of the bike with the metallic orange parts and I'm trying to find a quick release to fit the bill. Do Echo manufacture these at all, has anyone found any in the past?

True but when you're on rails or doing large gaps you want confidence that your rear wheel won't slip forward sending you off the back.

Mine was anti-clockwise, will it make that much difference?

I'll give you the long version because I can't work out whats going on.... I bought an Inspired Element complete bike, changed a few things and was happy with the set up. The rear brake wasn't quite there so I fitted an Avid Ultimate (I prefer the feel of V's) with used coust pads from my old bike. The brakes were better but not great so I decided to grind my rear rim, first time I'd ever done it but I was pretty happy with the job. The grid was pretty harsh and deep, braking performance went through the floor! Oddly when i rolled the bike backwards it was perfect, alot of bite and it made that chirp that we all look for with a good grind. I decided to regrind the rim and fit some TNN pads, I used a stone cutting disc this time and the grind was alot lighter. I fitted the new pads and went for a ride, it was better than before but no where near as good as when the rim is rotating the other way! It makes that perfect chirp sound and has sooo much bite and hold in reverse. It makes no sense at all to me, can a grind be directional?! Help! This is costing me a fortune!

Haha! Hmmm yea....To be honest there are ALOT of German cars I'd happily own. I think I just got a bit carried away with buying Honda's.

In order (I think)... 1989 Honda CR-X Si 1989 Honda Accord 1990 Honda CR-X 16v 1990 Honda CR-X SiR 1991 Honda CR-X SiR 1989 Honda Prelude 1988 Honda Ballade 1990 Honda Shuttle GL 1998 Honda Integra Type R 1991 Honda Civic GL 1990 Honda CR-X Si 2005 Honda S2000... Excuse the shitty compact camera picture.

I'm give up. Here's a Zonda.

I'm not sure if you guys know what filler is then. It's nothing like that at all, the Queen is a person, so it would be disrespectful to say that it would be her last few years. Though if she was ill and you were watching the BBC News then it would be the top story! This is Top Gear, globally the car industry is very unwell. Motorsport has taken a huge hit, teams pulling out etc... Factories closing down and running on skeleton staff numbers, car sales on the forecourt at a massive low. Companies will not put money into rare supercars right now. There's no doubt there will still be super cars made but what about all the ones that were going to be manufactured and now are not. Honda for instance have pulled there concept super cars for the forseable future. If there hadn't been the global economic problem then they wouldn't just be designing and building these cars they'd also still be in F1! Even the car used in the finale of TG isn't safe, I was chatting to the head designer of the DBS last month he said off the that Aston have of course been experiencing problems. This is from carkeys.co.uk...written just 6 months ago, since then I myself have been there to film on skeleton staff numbers... and also, a little more recently... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventr...ire/8144379.stm Does this seem like the optimum climate to be manufacturing gas guzzling super cars?! It's not about the few that will be built, its about the many more super cars drawn up that are now being scrapped.

So let me get this straight....They get a very rare car from Aston, take it and Clarkson to remote parts of the country, shut off roads, organise a helicopter with a giro cam, employ some of the best freelance camera operators to shoot it, organise a heavy CSO sequence more than once which would include renting a studio to light the car and cloth, plus rigging a remote camera inside the car, pay some of the best freelance editors to cut it and mix down the sound with music, effects, and Clarksons VO, then pay more freelance editors to treat it and grade it and touch it up in post.......for four minutes of filler. Oh yea, the producers and director would sat around with Aston exec's saying....'Yea we don't know what to do with the end of Top Gear for the last show of the season, can we borrow your car, we'll spend a massive budget and put in a massive amount of organisation just to fill out the last four minutes.' LMFAO. Whether the message didn't work for you or you didn't like the edit is one thing, but to say it was just filler is laughable.

Exactly. That's not what it was about, if you wanted to see it on the track then the ending did pass you by completely.

It was a chance to enjoy the sight and sound of a stunningly well built car. One that as Clarkson quite rightly says 'will soon be consigned to the history books'. Why wouldn't any motorcar enthusiast enjoy watching five minutes of an Aston being driven round some stunning scenery?! That's what Top Gear does best, they know it because they ended the series with five minutes of it, to be honest I'd have prefered an hour of just that.

The end of Top Gear was a triumph! No crappy jokes or explosions, just awesome shots, a great edit, and Clarkson being serious for once. Spot on.

Ah good stuff! The Oz Poker series sounds like a great project to be involved in! I've seen Jonny's stuff, he's a very talented chap! I'm sure it won't take long for him to get a more permanent place in the industry. His recent Lotus work has been awesome to see! Bol Maaaaaaing - Get yourself an SLR right away, start shooting and creating your own style. rocktrials - That is very very true. I learn't by shooting B&W film first then colour, then digital, always processing and printing the films myself. There's no doubt in my mind that the digital age has produced a very bad habit of people just reeling off shots to get the right one. When you can't see the shot you've just taken and you only get a proper look when you go back and process the film and print contact sheets you have new respect for taking the shots and getting it right. Nothing annoys me more than slap handed, take as many as you can, photography. Learn the long way, it will make you better in the future.

The BBC job is mainly in the Oxford broadcast patch, if there's a story linking to another region then we'll go there. F1 is all over the place, so far I've done Malaysia, Monte Carlo twice and Silverstone twice and few jobs for them elsewhere in the UK. It was a quiet season for me last year but it's picking up a bit more now. Hungarian next for me. No idea personally, I'm not planning on having a family anytime soon. I know regional cameramen who are fine with their families but anyone who travels overseas to shoot find's it puts a strain on family life. Just keep shooting and reading. You must have a natural passion for it because you'll probably do a fair bit of free work before you start trying to make a career. The more you shoot and learn the better you'll become...Companies love to have multi-skilled people. Learn to edit, learn to record sound and deal with sound equipment as a whole. Read up on different types of cameras and shooting techniques, it will all make you more employable in the long run.

I assisted and operated the Red cameras I can't say specifically in what though because it's information I can't divulge (sp?). It was a commercial though. As I said before, my day job is a staff Cameraman for the BBC. I work for BBC Oxford full time. I don't know the industry over in NZ, I've heard it can be old fashioned in places but still a great place to be an operator. In the UK I'd say it helps alot more if you have a qualification in something lens related or at least have a very strong knowledge. Good luck! Just work hard for it!

I'm guessing he's talking about the Red camera? The easiest way to learn more about it is to have a read.. More info here. It's quite a bit of kit!

Within the film and TV industry it's a hell of a lot of graft. Years of making tea, then being an apprentice, then a camera assistant, then focus puller, then camera operator, then working your way up to Director of Photography. I've worked fricking hard (and still am) to just operate camera's. I've assisted over seas on some large commercials and worked with the Da Vinci Code/Troy DoP. He tells me the same story as every other one.....LOTS of hard work and passion for film. I swear the guy knew how to operate every film camera available! I also worked closely with Nicola Basso and Patrick Van Weeren during the same shoot, they said exactly the same thing. It's all a huge learning process to get into film. TV is a much quicker turn around, I work for BBC News as a cameraman for my bread and butter but do ENG camera for Formula One Management on the side. I didn't go through the process of assisting, focus pulling etc... TV Companies don't want to spend money on your training only to have you assist other operators, they want you in and operating quickly. Time is money as they say! This can be good and bad, people who have a shallow knowledge before they entered the industry tend to fall on their arse. Luckily for me I'd studied photography for five years and worked as a photographer before joining the BBC. The transition to Sony broadcast camera kit was not a difficult one. In three years of camera operation I've seen some great things and filmed in some cool locations (mostly F1 tracks), I've learnt to use some incredibly complicated equipment in some very extreme environments. Google 'The Red Camera' and you'll see what i mean. The point is this, if you want to work in film....be prepared to work and be someones bitch for alooooong time. The rewards are worth it though, seeing your name on the big screen as the DoP must be an amazing feeling. If you want to work in TV, then it's still alot of hard work and networking but it's faster to climb the ranks. Saying that, the industry is strangled at the moment, freelancers are falling down left right and centre. It's not a good time to want a career in TV/Film. If anyone wants any help or to know more feel free to give me a shout!

Max you utter berk, I can't believe you text me at midnight to say you cracked your frame! Tits Indeed. Tits McGee.

Hats of to you Danny, you truly are taking the sport to another level. That has to be the most incredible riding video I have ever seen, your talent can't be pigeon-holed, its just fluid, and relentless. Well done Sir!

Wasn't Mike Graves on this at some point as well?

Absolutely, Danny Mac is a revolution in riding. No doubt. On the other riders and their fame and riders doing tricks before etc etc...I wouldn't know! I'm totally ignorant to BMX and always have been. When I used to ride there was alot of fights between BMX and Trials riders and this produced and non interest in each others sport. I know for sure BMXers didn't give two sh**ts what we were doing and the feeling was mutual. I ate, slept, breathed and pooped trials riding for the best years of my life but I've never heard of Cranmer or any other BMX riders (apart from the 'A list' of riders...Hoffman etc). I think that this gives me a slightly different view on the whole scene now. Fame isn't an issue with me and I'm purely looking at riding talent alone. I wouldn't know who's been on what Mag covers or who's famous for what tricks but that's the beauty of it. It doesn't matter because it people riding hard and pushing the boundaries. I'm just over the moon people are blurring the Trials/BMX boundaries, getting on and making some amazing riding videos. I've ranted on for long enough now...

Evangelist?