OverDrive Media Group

It is with great regret that we have had to cancel all our summer mountain biking video projects for 2011, after uncontrollable circumstances forced us to leave Switzerland earlier than planned which left us with almost no video footage whatsoever for this season. OverDrive has been growing ever since it was first created in June 2009, with an ever-increasing amount of viewers and projects up until this point. 2011 has been the year in which this has changed, and our reputation of delivering high-quality action sports videos consistently has now been compromised. The lack of updates and new site material in the last couple of months has been due to the fact that OverDrive's creator has had to prioritize university applications and school work, and we estimate that things will be back to normal next February.

Our remaining planned projects for 2011 include a short event coverage video of the Polygon Urban Downill race in Singapore, part of the increasingly popular Mettle Games series inaugurated in 2010. Time permitting, we may also have the opportunity to cover the skateboarding and wakeboarding events from the same series, but schedules have not yet been finalised by the organisers at this point. Our other planned project for the remaining part of 2011 is a ski / snowboard-based video shot over a week in Verbier, Switzerland in December, which may be produced as part of our 'Athlete Profile' series. We are still currently looking for athletes to feature in this video and will post regular updates closer to the production stage on the OverDrive blog.

Finally, I would like to thank our viewers, who have tremedously helped OverDrive over the last 2 years by providing feedback on our projects, helping us to come up with ideas for new ones, and continuously encouraging us to improve the quality of our work.

Felix van Oost

We've spent the past few weeks travelling around Europe, taking a short holiday break and shooting stock footage in Italy, France, and Switzerland. For the past few days we've been on location in Verbier, Switzerland for the shooting of our mountain biking projects for this year, but recently, due to factors beyond our control, our plans have been forced to change and we will not be able to spend as much time in Verbier as we expected. Unfortunately, this will have an unavoidable impact on the shooting schedulesof our 2011 mountain biking projects, one or more of which may have to becancelled as a result. We will continue to post updates regarding the status of our projects on this site as soon as possible.

Our website has recently seen a number of small tweaks and improvements, including a new Stills page for our still images with a cool full-screen slideshow feature, the addition of a live Twitter feed on the sidebar, and a number of small page tweaks to ensure the site loads faster than ever before. In addition, we are now testing a new mobile site, which can be accessed from any smartphone and is tailored for viewing on smaller screens. If you have any suggestions or problems with the site, please use the form on the Contact page to ensure we can continue to improve viewer's browsing experience on OverDriveMediaGroup.com.

Over the past few days, we've also been testing a new Cable Cam design - a lighter, stronger, and smaller design to the one we first began using in 2008 for the shooting of 2WO FO4R ZER0. In addition, the newer design is much easier to set up in-the-field and is considerably smoother than the original design. A short yet humorous video of one of our cameras smashing into a wooden fence during the first test of a rough mockup of the new Cable Cam design can be seen on Vimeo, PinkBike, Facebook, or YouTube.

We've spent the past few days scouting the Verbier BikePark for new angles and points of interest for our summer projects, and we took this opportunity to take a few HDR photos of some of the new trails along the mountain for 2011. The full-size images can be seen on our recently added Stills page, or alternatively over on PinkBike or our Facebook page.

OverDrive Media Group is now on Livestream! We've added a live video player on both our website here and on our Facebook page, which will be used to broadcast live behind-the-scenes material as well as live event coverage in the future, from anywhere in the world. From events and film premieres to the latest news in European mountain biking, we have plans to broadcast as much as possible live for our viewers to enjoy!

Schedules and reminders for live broadcasts will be posted on the site, our Facebook page, and on our Twitter in advance. Got an idea for something from the world of mountain biking / action sports in general you'd like to see broadcast live? - Tell us about it on Facebook or Twitter!

Not much has been happening at OverDrive over the past few months due to our commitments with school and university work. Nonetheless, we have some pretty awesome projects planned for Summer 2011, including various new concepts for mountain biking videos (to be announced), and we'll also be travelling around collecting stock footage throughout Europe.

We'll be posting updates and live behind-the-scenes photos and videos on a regular basis throughout our time in Europe, so please stay tuned and become a fan of our Facebook page for the latest from OverDrive!

The 2010 Demo Reel featuring our best footage from the past two seasons, with shots from our various mountain biking projects as well as some teaser skiing and wakeboarding footage for 2011, is now available online on the following websites:

Vimeo

PinkBike

YouTube

Alternatively you can watch the video on our Projects page. We encourage any feedback and support!

"In addition to producing our own videos and films covering various action sports, also produce event coverage and corporate videos within Europe and Asia. We offer a number of cost-effective solutions to cater to all your needs, and we are devoted to making your ideas reality. Having a direct involvement in the sports ourselves, we understand best how to target the young generation of progressive athletes - those who constantly push and shape the boundaries and will be at the forefront of these ever-evolving action sports tomorrow."

We've just released our Video Production Price List for 2011 here for the production of event coverage videos and promotional content for potential clients. All inquiries can be sent through our Contact page for a response within 24 hours.

We just arrived in Switzerland last night after a 12-hour flight from Singapore, ready to finish planning and start shooting our 2010 winter projects. Our main independent winter video this year will be an Athlete Profile featuring a local freeskier on some of the best slopes in the Alps, which will be produced over the coming weeks and released mid-January 2011. We will also be collecting more sick footage for our 2010 Demo Reel, and final negotiations are taking place for the production of a promotional video for a local sports shop in Verbier.

We'll be posting periodical updates and behind-the-scense photos and videos on the progress of our 2010 winter projects on our Facebook page, and we will also be announcing the details of our Advertisment & Sponsorship packages for 2011 as well as our 2010 Annual Report shortly.

We're currently hard at work shooting and asembling our 2010 Demo Reel, featuring our best footage from 2010 and previous years. This years' reel will including mountain biking, skiing, wakeboarding, karting, and some awesome location and scenery shots from around the world. The reel will be released early January, but watch out for previews and screenshots until then!

First Hand, our latest short mountain biking video, was today featured as Video Of The Day on the largest biking website in the world, PinkBike. The video currently has had over 15,000 views and 330 favourites, and our website traffic has dramatically increased. Thank you to all those who have given us positive feedback, and we can't wait to start our Q4 2010 and 2011 season projects!

First Hand on PinkBike

First Hand, a video depicting a typical day in the Alps for Felix van Oost and produced entirely by Felix in Verbier, Switzerland, is now available online on the following websites:

Vimeo

PinkBike

YouTube

Alternatively you can watch the video on our Projects page. We encourage any feedback and support!

Our first Athlete Profile, featuring Alain Bruchez, a 14-year-old downhill mountain biker from Verbier, Switzerland, is now available online on the following websites:

Vimeo

PinkBike

YouTube

Alternatively you can watch the video on our Projects page. We encourage any feedback and support!

GAMMA, the codename for one of our mountain biking projects shot this summer in Switzerland, has finally been given its official name. The project that was formerly known as Project GAMMA is now the first in a series of short 'Athlete Profiles' by OverDrive Media Group, following young athletes and covering various action sports. Our first Athlete Profile features Alain Bruchez, a 14-year-old downhill mountain biker from Verbier, Switzerland.

Our Athlete Profile for Alain Bruchez will be available to watch online very shortly, so check back for the latest news!

We've finally fnished shooting for our two mountain biking-themed short videos in Verbier, Switzerland for the 2010 season - First Hand and Project GAMMA. We've collected over 30GB of raw footage over the last three weeks, including scenic clips from over 8 different cities. Editing for Project GAMMA will begin in a few days and is set for release shortly, whilst First Hand will be edited and released late August - early September. Both projects will be released to the web on PinkBike, Vimeo, YouTube, and on the OverDrive site.

Over the past few days we've been hard at work producing Project GAMMA with young local rider Alain Bruchez on the beautiful plateu of Verbier in South-West Switzerland. Our first and second shoots for the 4-minute project were completed on Thursday and Saturday respectively, and the third and final shoot is planned for Monday July 19th. Project GAMMA will be released in mid-August shortly before the release of our second mountain biking-themed project for 2010, named First Hand. Below are a few screenshots from the first shoot taked directly from the raw camera files.

We just wrapped up our first day of shooting in Verbier, but the weather doesn't seem to want to cooperate (set to improve over the weekend however). Shooting for First Hand is in progress, and the final preperations are being made for Project GAMMA, which will begin shooting in 2 weeks.

We're also promoting our 2010 advertising package to local businesses between shoots, and our OverDrive Crew shirts are on the way which will be a cool and inexpensive way to generate some brand recognition whilst we work around the village and on the mountain.

Attached is a screenshot of one of our clips from today for you viewing pleasure.

OverDrive Media Group celebrated its 1st anniversary on the 12th June this year, and we decided it was the right time to restructure OverDrive slightly and redefine our goals. Among the changes include a minor website overhaul, the purchase of a new camera, our new environmental policy, and a new set of targets and focus in the industry.

Redefined Industry Focus & Targets

We decided to redesign our industry focus and update our targets for the coming season, which will see OverDrive moving in a slightly different direction. Instead of focusing specificially on mountain biking cinematography, we've decided to target the action sport industry as a whole, although our main focus will remain on mountain biking with the addition of skiing / snowboarding and wakeboarding.

The largest change to OverDrive this season is the launch of our corporate / commercial sector. We will be available for paid corporate and commercial shoots for businesses in Europe and Asia starting from August 2010, for the production of  advertisements, event documentaries, and other relevant media.

Minor Website Overhaul

Some minor changes to our website have been made, including retouches to the Projects page, a collection of new rotating backgrounds, new profile pages, and an updated Production Equipment section. In addition, from now on our blog entries will be much more media-rich with the addition of pictures and video, and we will be sharing more information during the shooting of our projects.

Environmental Policy

Mountain biking, skiing, wakeboarding, and so many other sports are dependant on a clean and safe environment, and as a company based on documenting these sports the care of the environment is of particular importance to us. For the 2010 season, we've decided to plege to do our part to minimise our impact on the environment, starting with small things such as making sure we leave no trash behind after a shoot and travelling to locations in the cleanest way possible. Over time, our goal is to become an entirely carbon neutral organisation.

New Camera Purchase

The recent purchase of our new camera, a Sony HXR-NX5P, gives us more creative freedom during the shooting process and enables us to use multiple cameras for more complex shoots. The addition of the NX5 to our arsenal enables us to better convey our ideas by reducing the technical limitations of our equipment, which ultimately translates to more creative and entertaining videos.

We're confident that these changes for the 2010 season will see OverDrive progressing to new heights, and we hope you're all looking forward to another year of entertaining video content from us!

We've been planning for our 2010 summer projects over the last month, which together will make up the bulk of our shooting for this year. Project GAMMA will be the main project for 2010, and will showcase some of Verbier's young up-and-coming riders as well as the riding and scenery that the village has to offer. Project GAMMA will be released around August, following production mid-July.

In addition, we will be releasing The Melting Point, a short video based on a mix between two sports in early August, and depending on our shooting schedule for paid projects, Felix may be producing another self-filmed video for release in September.

Our final project for the year will be our 2010 Demo Reel, featuring all the best shots from the 2010 and 2009 seasons. This year's Demo Reel will be released in October.

We're almost done shooting for the first half of The Melting Point in Verbier, Switzerland - announced today as the official name for Project BETA. The name itself is a good indicator as to which two sports will be featured in the video, which will be released mid-August after filming of the second segment. We'll be releasing a few screenshots closer to the release date, and more information about our summer 2010 projects will be released shorly.

We're just finishing the plans for Project BETA, a short video to be shot in Verbier, Switzerland this year. We will be heading off to Verbier in late March to shoot part of the video, and the remaining pieces will be shot in July, ready for final release early August. Project BETA will involve a mix between two different action sports and will be self-filmed by Felix.

Project ALPHA, originally intended to showcase the riding in Singapore, has currently been cancelled due to trail issues. There is no scheduled replacement as of yet to be released at the same time as ALPHA, but we may have the opporutnity to work on another project during the summer in a new location. Leading up to the release of Project BETA, which is still many months away, we will be working on building the OverDrive brand and further planning and improve our existing planned projects for the season.