Wanna be a star? Bike riders/actors wanted for film shoot

On By AlastairIn Latest

CAN are running a Stop at Red campaign. Key ideas include:
Give respect, get respect

Stop at Red is a campaign to reduce crashes and improve the status of cycling in the eyes of the public and policy-makers, and to tackle the attitudes of those cyclists whose behaviour perpetuates the image of cyclists as irresponsible.
Controversial perhaps? That’s how CAN likes it.

Now I am looking for 6-9 volunteers to help make a short video.
Mike and Hilleke from Little Fighter Films are doing the camera stuff.

Star and supporting roles available.
I need 2-3 commuters, 2-3 recreational riders, and 2-3 roadies.

Can you help?

We plan to start shooting on Tue 12 July at 9am.
Our first location will be the corner of Taranaki and Cable St, beside Circa Theatre.
Then we’ll head to the lights at intersection of Cable and Chaffers Sts.
All going well, we’ll roll down to Thorndon Quay / Mulgrave St in the early afternoon.

We may do another shoot one Saturday morning.

Please let me know if you are available to help.
There may be home baking and refreshments.

Here’s the concept:

– A cyclist rides towards red light with the intention of riding through it. A graphic appears on the road in front of her/him which says “respect”. S/he proceeds to ride through it, which smashes the graphic like glass.

We’ll focus on the reactions from other cyclists.
The idea is that people care more about what their peers think of them, than what strangers or drivers think. So it’s the biking community taking responsibility.

I’d like to make several versions based on different types of cyclists: commuters, roadies, and recreational.

The last shot shows them stopping correctly and getting smiles and thumbs up.

We close with the message: Give respect to get respect: stop at red.

Interested? Contact  patrick@can.org.nz, 04 210 9467, 027 563 4733

2 thoughts on “Wanna be a star? Bike riders/actors wanted for film shoot”

  1. Lesley

    Hummmm, I’m not sure. It’s kindof like making a video critisising women who wear short skirts for encouraging sexual assaults.

    I think I’d be more enthusiastic about a campaign to get motorists to stop at red lights.

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    1. atom

      i share your enthusiasm.

      there are two different ways of going through a red light on a bicycle: like an idiot, and not like an idiot. while there’s no justification for going through a red light (especially across a pedestrian walkway) like an idiot, i think our efforts should be focused on “Idaho Stop” laws – so that cyclists can legally treat a stop sign like a give-way and treat red-lights like a stop sign.

      the “give respect” half of the problem isn’t going through red lights… it’s going through red lights like an idiot.

      “Cycling’s enemy is not the car; it is the idiot. And idiots travel by foot, car, and bicycle.” – Bike Snob NYC

      will this “respect” campaign have any influence on the idiots who ride bicycles? or will it widen the chasm between those who ride (and drive) with respect to other road users and those who don’t?

      i’d be more enthusiastic about making the law aligned with reality, rather than encouraging compliance with a law that’s made for motor vehicles and can sometimes be reasonably bent on a bicycle.

      that said… most of the times/places where i cycle, going through a red light would be just plain dumb. for that reason more than any other i often find myself waiting at red lights, often wishing there was a marking on the pavement showing where to trigger the sensor.

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