The Tipping Point, Reviewed


For the last several years, a lot of people have been bagging Clay’s
videos for being too long, too serious, too whatever. I can guarantee
that all of those player haters have no idea what actually goes into
the production of one of Clay’s movies. Yeah, so they have been a
little long for a few years but I’ve written that off as being a jaded
insider, bored with stories I was there for or already heard. When you
set out to cover a mountain bike race season you can easily forget how
ridiculously long and drawn out the whole experience can be for the
racers, let alone how exhausting and draining that whole season can be
for viewers to take in over one sitting. And yeah, First was a little
serious in the way it was written and narrated but it had plenty of
playful moments too. Clay knew he was no Larry Longo going into the
sound booth (coat closet? I’ve done worse Clay!) to record that sound
track.



Clay Porter, the shirtless wonder behind The Tipping Point.

Clay Porter, the shirtless wonder behind The Tipping Point.



So what of the past? Clay has the internet; he can hear the murmurs
and occasional harping cries of the haters. He had his work cut out for
him this year to really deliver on those claims of this one being “way
different, much more documentary in format, more focused on specific
content, etc” and he did exactly what he said he was going to do.


If you compare Clay to the racers that he covers, the Spectacles and
the ‘opsises were his amateur stint. He moved up to World Cup level
with Between the Tape as his rookie year. He got a little more refined
with First and stepped onto the podium with a few sections, most
notably the Athertons’ night shooting section. So he’s got a couple
years under his belt at this highest level. The Tipping Point is Clay’s
breakout season that I think will lead to him being on top of the game
for many years to come. His filmmaking has matured like many of the
comfortable World Cup racers in the video. He is more consistent in his
shots and clip selection, more focused on content, and has finally
taken the necessary steps to make a real documentary.




Exclusive Aaron Gwin edit from The Tipping Point for Littermag.com


Clay has got the jib shots and cable cam dialed for this project.
His race coverage is more consistent than ever, seemingly always
finding the right place to be to get the shots that make the story
work. He has moved on from recycling banger shots and repeating spots
having learned about the diminishing returns on those shots while
trimming much of the fat from the whole video in the process. It is
clear that Clay is willing to kill his babies by leaving a shot on the
virtual cutting room floor that doesn’t work, no matter how awesome the
action is. He’s also trimmed the fat in the construction of the
documentary format. There is no superfluous voice over like in his
recent works. The viewer is given credit for knowing what they are
looking at while enough attention is given to shot order and
supplemental titles to carry along any viewer not already intimately
familiar with the events of the season.  The story of the season is
told through the key players and without gratuitous helpings of shiny
action over cheese ball music that leaves most action sports videos a
few boobs shy of a tawdry, low budget porn flick.



Viewers glued to the screen at the Denver premiere of The Tipping Point. Matti Lehikoinen's section is a moving one.

Viewers glued to the screen at the Denver premiere of The Tipping Point. Matti Lehikoinen's section is a moving one.



The Tipping Point is still long at about 80 minutes but the
narrative structure of the most tightly contested World Cup season
makes the time flow by smoothly. Only key players and stories from the
season are covered in the movie bringing a greater significance to
everything that makes it on screen. The soundtrack of any bike video is
going to draw some heat from some curmudgeons and while I may not have
picked the same soundtrack, I didn’t find any of it to detract from the
movie. The songs were at worst easily ignorable and at best did their
job of supporting the mood and general atmosphere of the video clips.
Clay employs a standard documentary convention of repeating audio cues
through out the movie for emphasis on key moments, and while some
people might not like the xylophone that gets used, it does work
thematically.


Above any improvements over prior projects, Clay is finally able to
crack the protective social armor of the top racers in the world. He
has spent enough time in their environment to know how they tick, what
questions to ask, and how to get some emotional appeal out of them
without pissing them off with what he says. Seeing Sam Hill get choked
up about World Champs and calling out Greg Minnaar on his dry spell
were particular treats. These guys, while freakishly fast on the bike,
are still human and getting to see that side of them in the video was
more impressive and fresh to me than pretty much any of the action.



Click to Purchase The Tipping Point

Click to Purchase The Tipping Point



So what didn’t I like? The packaging was something I have been
looking forward to since the Sea Otter premier. The booklet was full of
great photos, especially the portraits from the pits. But I wanted
more. This is nit-picky, I know. But I really did want a thicker
booklet, maybe even full-grown book status. It really supplements the
story in the video nicely and I wish there was more to it. But these
are tough times; we are in a recession and all. At least the packaging
is made of recycled material. I also was hoping for more dvd bonus
material- like any. The trailer is included which is nice but I know
Clay has got to be sitting on gobs of left over clips. I would love to
see no-music, rough edit sequences of left over clips from the guys in
eighth through twentieth place. The real die-hard fans would have loved
to see that kind of nearly raw footage of familiar racers that just
happened to not be key players of the 2008 season. I am itching for
left over interview clips. The fumbled words, the jokes, and the little
insights that would have been interesting to hear but were left out due
to a lack of a home in the actual video would have been really nice to
see in the extras. I would love to hear what else Barel had to say. And
come on, who wouldn’t want to see the rest of what Palmer had to say
for that sit down session?


Overall, this is not only Clay’s best work but it is by far the most
accessible and honest portrayal of downhill racing that has been
released by anyone to date. Clay has really stepped up his game, found
his style, and told a good story. This video is a must own for any
racer’s library.


www.thetippingpointfilm.com


Purchase The Tipping Point from The Fix Bikes


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