Queensland Cycling Strategy Video Suite Production Diary

September 25, 2020

Photo of a man riding a bike along a beach with water and trees in the background.

Just a day in the life for Jeff

Throughout 2019 we produced a video and photography package as part of the updates to the recently released Queensland Cycling Strategy, Action Plan and State of Cycling Report, and this is how we did it!

Pre-production

Photo of a man with a camera taking photos of a woman on a bike, on a bike path with grass, trees and a bridge in the background. — Paul had no problems getting big smiles out of Lucy

While we’ve been known to take a snap or two, for a project of this scale we couldn’t resist popping next door and asking one of Australia’s best photographers, Paul Smith, to join us. Working closely together, Casey and Paul made a plan to shoot video and photos at the same time to maximise our output and make sure we had a consistent visual style.

During pre-production Casey was busy writing scripts, booking in crew, organising filming permits, and lining up photogenetic bike riders. On any given shoot day we could be capturing content for several videos, so it was crucial for her to create shot lists and schedules so that we could easily keep track.

Day 1

Sunshine Beach State School – Noosa, and Mayes Canal Bridge – Mooloolaba

We started our day bright and early at Sunshine Beach State School with a few local families and some very cute students. It was important to show kids riding safely, so regular helmet checks were a must. It was also important to the kids to stop every now and again for snacks, so we brought that vibe with us throughout the rest of the shoot.

Left: Photo of five Sunshine Beach State School children on bikes. Right: Photo of two Sunshine Beach State school children on a pedestrian crossing with bikes, with trees and a building in the background. — Chloe beaming out a megawatt smile, Chloe and Archer headed Paul’s way with a bunch of grown-ups just outside of frame on the lookout for traffic

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Then it was on to the Mayes Canal bridge in Mooloolaba where we discovered that 14-year-old Harvey had actually outgrown his bike! Thankfully we had come prepared with spares, so Harvey got to zip around on an electric bike while his mum Tash rode her commuter bike. We were particularly keen to check out the digital bike counter, which displays how many pedestrians and cyclists are using the bridge, information about the cycle path, and the local weather forecast.

Left: Photo of five people on the Mayes Canal bridge with bikes and camera equipment, with water, buildings and trees in the background. Right: Photo of two young people on bikes looking at the digital bike counter and buildings in the background. — Paul, Tasha, Casey, Arie, Harvey after a successful shoot, Harvey and Tasha with the weather report fresh off the digital bike counter.

Day 2

Brisbane Valley Rail Trail – Moore, Coominya, and Yarraman

The target of our efforts this day was the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail – which is 162km long, so we needed to divide and conquer. Casey and Steve headed to the Lockyer Creek Bridge at Coominya to meet drone operator Adrian who made the most of the picturesque location. Steve quickly got used to cycling back and forth over this impressive piece of infrastructure.

Photo of Lockyer Creek Bridge — Can you spot Steve on theLockyer Creek Bridge?

Meanwhile, Paul, Sam, and camera operator Ari were making a pit stop in the agricultural area of Moore – and Sam even made a new friend!

Photo of a man on a bike taking a photo of a cow, with trees in the background. — Luckily the crew didn’t need tomoo-ve out of the way!

After lunch, the gang got back together again to demonstrate how cycling tourism can support local businesses, and to show off the beginning of the BVRT in Yarraman.

Top: Photo of 2 men from behind with bikes looking at a map. Bottom left: Photo of 2 men sitting at an outdoor table drinking coffee. Bottom right: Photo of a colourful sign with images and text — Elaborately planned photo shoot,or Steve and Sam’s annual boys trip?

Day 3

Veloway 1 - Greenslopes

With a few dark clouds hovering ominously ahead, this day’s home base was Ekibin Park in Greenslopes, Brisbane. This was the perfect spot to shoot recently completed stages of the Veloway 1 separated cycleway, public transport facilities, and bike paths. We were joined by camera operator Adam so we were firing on all cylinders with enough cyclists and crew so that we could film vision and drone footage, and take stills at the same time. We didn’t let a few rain showers stop us from getting all the shots we needed of Lucy and Derek commuting to work, Stacey going for a leisurely ride, and Brenton and Hunter having some quality family time.

Left: Photo of a man with a camera taking photos of 2 children with bikes. There is grass in the background. Centre: Man with camera equipment filming people riding their bikes. Right: Man with a camera taking close up photos of another man on a bike. — Paul snapping Brenton and Hunter,Adam shooting Lucy and Derek in the distance, Paul going in for Derek’s closeups

Day 4

Kippa Ring Rail Station, Fortitude Valley, and Riverwalk - Brisbane

Our day started at Kippa Ring Rail Station, where Mel got to test out their new bike lockers and see how bike riding can integrate with other forms of transport.

From there, we met back up with Derek to shoot the rest of his commuting story, shooting him arriving at his carpentry job in Fortitude Valley.

We all got to know Queensland’s bicycle road rules very well – here’s Derek demonstrating a perfect right hand turn signal.

Then we headed to the nearby Brisbane Riverwalk to capture some gorgeous sunset shots of Dave, Harry, and Izzy.

Left: Three young people standing with bikes and the Brisbane River and buildings in the background. Right: Photo of two men with camera equipment and building in the background — Harry, Izzy, and Dave looking incredible, while Adam and Paul show the less glamourous side

Day 5

Douglas Mountain Bike Park – Townsville and Mission Beach

Things got extreme as we rounded up some of Townsville’s keenest mountain bikers to show off the facilities at Douglas Park – as well as a few who still have a bit to learn.

Left: Photo of children and adults on mountain bikes with rocks in the foreground and trees in the background. Right: Photo of a child riding a bike and a man holding a baby. — Townsville’s mountain biking culture is alive and well – and growing!

Paul and camera operator Jimmy were in heaven, with some extreme stunts and big personalities to capture.

Photo of a boy on a mountain bike riding over a bike jump. — Kane copping some sweet air

Heading north, we couldn’t resist stopping off at Mission Beach and busting out the fat wheels to get some incredible shots of Jeff riding along this scenic beach.

Day 6

Palm Cove, Redlynch, and the Esplanade – Cairns

Our day kicked off on the idyllic Palm Cove Esplanade, which really packs a punch for a small bit of coastline. Camera operator Phil made the most of it by shooting with a drone to reveal the forested mountains peeking out from just behind the beach where Jeff, Sam, and Terry were riding.

Photo of a woman riding a bike on a bike path with the ocean and trees in the background. — Samantha out enjoying the tropical winter sun

In classic North Queensland fashion, the weather was looking a little dicey, so we decided to change our schedule and headed to a spot on the Redlynch to Freshwater shared path where we could shoot Lyndell riding through the rainforest next to a creek, and get the drone in the air again to capture the proximity to untouched rainforest.

Photo of a woman riding a bike through rainforest with water in the distance. — We were pumped to find this hidden gem for Lyndell to explore

Thankfully this time the rain stayed away so we were able to finish up in one of Queensland’s most iconic attractions, the Cairns Esplanade. Jeff and Lyndell were in their element, spending as much time catching up and making plans for their next ride as they did posing for photos.

Photo of a man and a woman from behind standing with bikes looking out over the Cairns Esplanade with mountains in the background. — With a view like that, Jeff and Lyndell were very happy to be patient with the crew

It took a couple of extra photoshoots to capture absolutely everything we needed to create the Queensland State of Cycling Report, so all up this project took two stills photographers, one drone operator, five camera operators, four production assistants, and 51 cyclists and pedestrians. We couldn’t be happier with the results, and we were even able to use the raw material to create a series of animations to complement the report on social media.