We Can Build on That

Borrowing heavily from Michael Corleone, "We can build on that." You will recall his retort to estranged wife, Kate, as she begrudgingly agreed to a temporary moratorium in their respective custody power plays with the kids. I always appreciated the tense subtlety in this dark negotiation, as Michael was, at the time, at the very top of his powerful cosa nostra game, but nothing without the image of being a successful family man. Such is life when one is the capo dei capi, head of the heads.

With this line of delicious dialogue in mind, I try it out of context. It has only been a couple of days since the big movie debut but the echo of scattered, light applause feels like morning drizzle on a fall morning. Or the coastal fog just about the burn off as we prep for a morning ride along 101. Lingering, not brilliant, but not bad either. Polite.

We can build on that.

As so we shall. Encouraged by the proof of concept experience, and bolstered by the initial agreement that a once a month 'movie ride', the third Thursday, would work, we head back to the proverbial drawing board and start from scratch on a new film. And for the sake of clarity, I use film and video interchangeably, purists please pardon.

I have two ideas that have been circling in a creative holding pattern for some time now. With all transparency since the Obama administration, or what we now refer to as the good old days. They are:

1) A history of the foreign ports of call from which I have had the pleasure of beginning a video trip. This would include Spain, France, UK, Australia, Mexico, Lanzarote, Alaska, Switzerland, Hawaii (why not) and Newfoundland. That is ten fairly exotic race locations and enough to compliment a brief introduction and dramatic conclusion. Using the sixty minute class format that would be, give or take, five minutes of footage from each stop. The 'hook' would be the airport, passport, baggage, transfer and sightseeing collage acting as connectors.

2) The Art of the Ride. A small group of cyclists stand in full kit, in front of an imposing piece of art. With tight camera behind them it may appear to the the Louve, Prado or MOMA. The art is a cyclist enlarged and 'shopped' to appear as an oil painting. As camera pushes slowly in on the artwork it dissolves into the actual rider depicted and active on a ride or in a race. The theme, as contrasted from the above outline, is purely local. It is all about our annual cycling event known as Chilly Hilly, of which I have at least six years of footage from which to cherry pick. I would also spend a full day shooting new media to incorporate into the project providing a fresh opportunity to contrast archival footage with contemporary. The 'museum' scene wold change every ten minutes, as like any art lover, variation is something sought out and appraised.

These two, spaced at 30 day intervals, would be a great start to the program. I have most of the media, a month is a decent amount of time for both a little production and a lot of post, and the logistical improvements are already in the works. I feel a challenge and see that path forward.

All this is not to say that the inaugural presentation was perfect. It wasn't. But the lessons learned, the comments collected and the opportunity to artistically grow are all in alignment and waiting for the good-to-go sign. We have permission to proceed.

And we can build on that.