Interview with the videographer Henrik Kaarsholm, who tells us the story of his work life and the Bullitt:
My girlfriend, who is a veterinarian, brought home a dog (Desi) from New York after an internship. I bought the Bullitt as I realised I if I had to bring Desi with me to work, she couldn’t run across the city every day with me. I work as a commercial photographer, and at the time had a studio in the opposite end of town. Once I got the bike (analog Bullitt, all black with Deore XT 11 speed) I realised that the cargo hold and the sturdy frame could be used for so much more than moving animals ;)
For some time I had been using a car-to-car rig I bought for a bunch of different jobs. The rig is basically a spring suspension arm, dampenden with oil dampners to which you ad a gyroscopic GPS based remote controlled head… in which you mount your camera. The whole rig is made for attachment to a car via 50mm aluminum scaffold pipe. For the geeks look up "Flowcine Black Arm" with "Tranquilizer" and a "DJI Ronin 2".
I had seen a couple of dudes in Sweden mount this setup to a snowmobile and quads. On one occasion I saw a Seattle based production company mounting the setup to an electric bike. It got me thinking if I could use my Bullitt to fit this rig. I started to rip the bike apart and found some areas to which the 50mm pipe could actually be fitted quite well. After a day in the workshop I had built out the Bullitt with a rig, ready to ride.
Unlike many of the other rigs, I built mine so that I could control the camera from the bike while riding. It sounds difficult, but it's actually quite easy and with the progression of autofocus in cinema cameras I could essentially shoot this rig without 1.st AC and camera operator.
I have since used the setup for a couple of music videos and a couple of commercials. As I am writing this I am prepping a shoot for a new bicyclist's App for the municipality of Copenhagen, that will tell which speed to be riding at in Copenhagen for you to hit all the green lights. This particular shoot will be done with a chest mounted camera, but also the Bullitt mounted camera.
We also shot the new Larry vs Harry header film for the new website with this setup. Given that all Bullitts are geometrically identical, somewhat, we could place the camera in the same position, 90" degrees to the side of the talent, and then by using frame markers on our monitors, we could make sure that the frame of the different bikes would be almost in the same position. In postproduction we could then easily stabilise the footage and by using a combination of "puppet tool" and "two point track" in After Effects we could make sure that for every cut, the bike frame would align.
What's very unique about the setup is, compared to electric quad bike's or gators or 6x6's, this setup is quite narrow allowing you to zip through traffic and overtake even on the bike path. The camera is always level and any vertical movement is taken out by the suspension arm. I have found that a major benefit of using a cargo bike versus a regular electrified bike, is that I can swing the suspension arm out to the side, allowing me to shoot backwards and forwards at the same time - To balance this, I just add weight to the opposite side of suspension arm - and since it’s a cargo bike with a low center of gravity it's very comfortable to ride, even when weighed down.
I have had the opportunity to use an eBullitt for a couple of shoots, and if you're looking into getting this setup I would really recommend that, as the motor really helps with keeping your speed - so you can focus on the picture etc.
My background in film is maybe a little different than most others. I started shooting 35mm on a camera my grandpa gave me, before leaving for a year long exchange program in Canada when I was 16. I quickly realised that when you know no-one, and you're in a new place, a camera is a great way to make new friends and to investigate and learn this new world you're in. I got hooked and started, like everybody else, to learn new techniques, buy new equipment, I even got a co-op at the local newspaper in town. At 21 I worked a year in Australia, and naturally brought a camera with me as well. At the age of 22 I applied for Med school and Veterinary Med school. I got into vet school and I did 3 years and got my bachelor degree, but couldn't see myself working as a vet. I should note here that both my parents are veterinarians. So I got out of uni for a year, went to the Danish west coast and in-listed in the Danish School of Fishery. While traveling in Australia I had a great experience working for 3 months for free, herding cattle on a farm 800km in land. So I thought, it must be possible to find a job as wild as cattle herding in the outback, but in Denmark.
I swapped university for 3 months in a school, with a bunch of guys that all smoked a pack of cigarettes before lunch, and half had to do piss-tests in the morning to prove they were clean. It was a massive contrast, coming from the sweet, high academic, café-life of inner Copenhagen. I really loved that contrast. At this time I had acquired a shoulder injury working as a surf lifeguard the summer prior, so lifting heavy boxes of fish in rough seas turned out to be a bad combination. I figured I still wanted to go sailing so I came up with an idea. The educational material used at the time on the fishery school was terrible, so I offered to go out on a few different boats and document the different ways of fishing in Denmark. I would get out sailing and I could help out on the ship as much as my shoulder would let me, and then film the rest. That's essentially how I started my business. Half fishing, half filming ;)
One thing led to another and suddenly I had to do a nationwide commercial for the school. After a month or two at sea I went back to Copenhagen to finish my veterinary degree (another 2 1/2 years). All at the same time knowing that I really wasn’t going to work as a vet. I just knew that it would be time and money wasted if I didn’t get that degree. It was some pretty hefty years with some gnarly exams in pharmacology, pathology, radiology, surgery and internal medicine on a plethora of animals - I wasn't liking school at all, but I was loving being a business owner. I started doing classic event work for Red Bull and similar organisations. I did a lot of freelancing as a "best boy", "grip" or "focus puller" for production companies around town, all whilst reading up on next day lectures at night. I spent 4 months in Greenland writing my thesis on ecotoxicology and the side effects of mining in Greenland. I defended my thesis and got my degree in 2018 and I was finally free. An overwhelming and immense feeling - I was free to do what I wanted after 6 years in university. I can tell you, trying to be a business owner whilst doing a uni degree is really exhausting.
I don't regret getting my degree, I am incredibly happy to have had the opportunity to learn so much. It's not a waste, as I make use of my degree in so many other ways than as a vet. I haven't really been doing anything related to veterinary science since, and I now work full time as a commercial photographer running my business - and I feel so honoured to have found a job that makes me happy every day.
