In the era of maximum DVD promotion (see: Fit’s 30 web video strong Youtube series), Mutiny took a completely different approach by keeping almost completely silent about their latest video, Let’s Get Mystical up until approximately a month before it’s release (when they released this very memorable trailer). DVD’s are all about promotion these days (since most companies sure as hell aren’t making a profit on them anymore), so why would Mutiny give up on the opportunity for loads of free press in the months leading up to this DVD’s release? They certainly didn’t take that route with the release of their last DVD, Stoked On Being Pumped… you can ask the guy from Tony Hawk’s Boom Boom Room Bikes who had to scrape dozens of SOBP stickers off their bikes at Interbike ’07 about that. But as it turns out, Mutiny didn’t take the beaten path in many ways for the release of this video, and it paid off.
I suppose to give a full review of Let’s Get Mystical, I should first go into detail about what I thought of Mutiny’s second most recent video, Stoked On Being Pumped. The video just didn’t make any sense to me. The team’s stand out riders like Morgan Wade, Randy Taylor and Niki Croft were all relegated to a single mix section while Cole Todorovich had an incredibly mediocre full section. Neil Harrington had a section that started out great, and then ended about 60 seconds after it started. There was an unforgivably boring slow-mo montage that consisted mostly of time lapse footage and birds, with the highlight being someone dropping their bike into a fountain. The video’s vibe was rushed and self absorbed, placing videography and artsyness above the actual riding, or the need to make a coherent, watchable DVD. And while there some moments, and the video was without question leaps and bounds above every other BMX video of the time production wise, overall the video was a letdown to me and most people I spoke to about it.
How does Let’s Get Mystical compare? The first thing that you should know is that LGM has no rider parts. Instead it’s split up into sections based on different trips that the team went on, from the north west, to England, to Pennsylvania, climaxing with an epic multi-song Texas section where much of the most impressive riding in the video goes down (logically so, since most of the team resides there). When I first heard about this idea, I was both impressed and slightly apprehensive. Often videos fall into the cookie cutter mold of “intro/8 rider sections/funny credits section”, and while eschewing that altogether and still creating an entertaining, progressive video is an admirable goal, it also seems drastically more difficult than going with the old formula. How did it turn out?
In my opinion, Mutiny took a risk and it definitely paid off. All the trip sections are excellent and none need to fall back on any tired video cliches to hold themselves together. Then just as you start to note that the video is moving at a slightly slow pace, they switch things up in the Chicago section with a bold song choice that luckily works perfectly. While the middle of SOBP plodded along slowly, seemingly without much thought being given to the viewer’s attention span, LGM seems like the sections and songs were laid out to intentionally keep you captivated, and the video is that much better as a result.
It probably goes without saying that LGM is just as stunning visually as SOBP was, but it’s actually dramatically better in my opinion. While most of the filming in SOBP was spot on, some of the angles seemed a little haphazard. In LGM I got the feel that every angle was picked much more deliberately and it’s pretty clear that Joe feels more comfortable than ever behind the lens.
Team wise, Mutiny has seen some changes which affect the feel of the video. Cole is nowhere to be found, and Niki Croft and Morgan Wade are only seen in the first section of the video. It’s hard not to think that the video would have been better had Niki not left the team (he absolutely kills it in the first section), but the addition of Josh Bedford and George Boyd (who has the last clip in the video and it is mind blowing) fill that void nicely. Hanson Little and Brandon Hoerres, who had only a few clips each in SOBP have much more footage and most of it is really good. Randy Taylor has some really good stuff, although most of it isn’t as crazy as his Props bio, but that’s just nitpicking. Justin Simpson had the best part in SOBP and delivers on a similar level in LGM.
Companies have clearly realized the importance of DVD’s over web content over the past couple years, but many still seem to content to put out amazing riding in videos chock full of bro-cam and filmed with a half dozen different types of cameras (no shots, but Sunday and Primo are both guilty of this). SOBP was important in the progression of BMX videos in general because it showed how much more powerful a DVD can be when the videographer puts in as much effort as the riders. Let’s Get Mystical finishes what SOBP started and brings it to it’s logical conclusion, with the riding matching up with the quality of the video. The fact that they were able to do so while also presenting the riding in an innovative, creative package is even more impressive. I’m not sure if LGM necessarily has the re-watchability of recent, more banger-oriented classics like Insight and End Search but it certainly stands out amongst the crowd and I have a hard time believing anyone would regret purchasing it.
Previously: George Boyd on Mutiny Pro Edit| George Boyd On Empire.| ODSY Vision Travel Log: New Mexico