PART ONE of "The Greatest Road in CA" now online

[svb]

I am pleased to announce that the film my friends and I made challenging Top Gear's dismissal of North America in their search for the greatest driving road in the world is near completion and thus, we have decided to provide the first 15 minutes for your viewing pleasure.

Our search for the greatest driving road became more than just driving a bunch of roads all over California; we also tackled a series of challenges along the way and chose to use cheap cars (our budget was $5k each) to make it more interesting and fun.

In the end, our adventure became like a full-on Top Gear special and includes three challenges, a number of different roads, and plenty of mishaps along the way. This is our first effort so it may be a bit rough, and admittedly it's no Top Gear UK, but hopefully you will enjoy it!

We've made the clip of the first 15 minutes available on our site here:

http://greatestroadinca.blogspot.com/


There is a previous thread on these forums that contains the trailers and news on the project leading up to this release here:

http://forums.finalgear.com/top-gear...wn-film-30086/

We are very excited about this first release and would welcome any and all thoughts/comments/questions!

[Smurfen]

awsome, gonna watch it now

wouldnt use blip.tv since it seems to make ur vid choppy as it does with my videos when i upload there.. looks like blip half's ur fps..

[Deadkennedys]

that was great! good job! the bimmer (I wonder why...) the Fiat...hate the Neon =D

u know what would be hilarious? if your Fan broke while taping (well it wouldnt be funny that the fan broke..but it would be a comedic part)

oh, and is that the shift knob off an E9? if so...thats awesome!..did you all keep the cars you purchased? and if so, how do you like DDing your bimmer? mine


but yeah good job! cant wait to see the end!!

[svb]

Originally Posted by Smurfen

wouldnt use blip.tv since it seems to make ur vid choppy as it does with my videos when i upload there.. looks like blip half's ur fps..

Thanks for the heads-up; we're working on it. For now we switched to a quicktime version.

[fbc]

The trailers were very promising - and this delivers. Excellent work guys - TGAus could learn a thing or two from this. Really looking forward to the next part.

[Labcoatguy]

Brilliant! Moar!

No real suggestions.

[Corvu]

Brilliant work. I have always though California was a rubbish place, but now I'm inclined to visit.

[svb]

Originally Posted by Deadkennedys

oh, and is that the shift knob off an E9?

Huh? Where do you get that from? No, its got the leather E36 knob, which, yes, did keep coming off during the production. I had it figured out just fine but my co-presenters and our racing driver were hopeless with it.

Originally Posted by Deadkennedys

but yeah good job! cant wait to see the end!!

Thanks!! We can't wait to have the whole thing complete and available!

[ldhenson]

The photography and editing are very nice, and you all look like you're having fun with it!

[kuno]

Great work guys. I enjoyed it more than TGAus. And a bit more polish and you'd be better than TGAus in most everything.

[melbournian]

You guys did a great job! I really enjoyed it. Love the Fiat and Beemer. It's really well shot and edited and you guys look like you're having a great time. Looking forward to seeing the next part.

[Dicey]

Great job guys. I always wished I could do something like this and you guys go and fulfill my dream for me. Great production values for the equipment you were using, and as others have said, better than TGaus in several ways. Keep it up and I look forward to parts 2 and beyond.

[metallix]

Very impressive, a lot more entertaining than TGA lets put it that way!

It's amazing to see how much effort you have put into it, good luck with the rest of the production!

[Steve Levin]

Absolutely brilliant! Compared to the yardstick of Top Gear Australia, which was a "new take" on the show but had monster backing...you guys have done 95% of that on what -- 5% of the budget?

I look forward to seeing the challenges!

Steve

[Labcoatguy]

This project got me interested in looking for Fiat Spiders...and because I'm in Boston, that would be a terrible idea. Still, there's this little beauty: http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/cto/906626551.html $5k, has a sound system, and argh no.

[cjarnesen]

Originally Posted by Labcoatguy

This project got me interested in looking for Fiat Spiders...and because I'm in Boston, that would be a terrible idea. Still, there's this little beauty: http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/cto/906626551.html $5k, has a sound system, and argh no.

I will say they are fun little cars to drive. I was busy shooting during the whole trip, so I didn't get a chance to drive any of the cars. But when we hit the dirt before the rally Brandon gave me a chance to play in his Spider. I had an absolute blast. It drove really well for how small and old it was. I also took it up a few of the turns going up the hill and let the rear hang out, A LOT. Its an easy, fun car to drive.

I really appreciate the support from everyone. It was a blast to make the film. I didn't get to do a lot of driving, but I lived vicariously through the camera lens. We'll get the other parts out as soon as we can, we want to get it done as much as all of you, I assure you of that.

-CJ (Cinematographer for the project)

[Heathrow]

Thanks for posting again, after the quality of the trailer a few weeks back I expected you would succeed, as you have, with the film.

You guys are great on camera, I liked the dialog too, the map graphics and the look of the whole thing.

The TG style gags, such as the FIAT’s oil filler cover for example, were both funny and a nice nod to the original.

The audio on the FIAT’s in-car is great, all squeaks and rattles, road noise – sounds like crap, as it should be for a 70’s Italian car. (aka “personality”)

Try showing it to someone who has never heard of Top Gear and see what they make of the film. The different perspective might give you something we cant here.

Don’t be afraid to use silence, especially on the beauty shots (a crib from the Stelvio Pass), but make sure overall on the piece that you tell the story of
“How we found the best …etc”

PS Nice Bimmer
<==============

[gaasc]

so i want MOAR it's amazing top gear would've done it better but not by much BTW did you kept the cars

[Donington]

That was brilliant! I noticed the Phantom that passed by the Fiat was in fact purple. Nice.

[Ottobon]

Originally Posted by Labcoatguy

This project got me interested in looking for Fiat Spiders...and because I'm in Boston, that would be a terrible idea. Still, there's this little beauty: http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/cto/906626551.html $5k, has a sound system, and argh no.

only if you have room and time to work on a car that may not always wake up in the morning.