Pinch-Point Documentary Film: Motorists & Cyclists in Cambridge

Twitter: / bradleystearn
Facebook: / pinchpointfilm
PayPal Donations: bit.ly/18IryOA
A documentary film by Bradley Stearn about motorists and cyclists in Cambridge.
Film festivals -
Official Selection - South Texas Underground Film Festival 2013
Official Selection - 15 Short Film Festival - Winterfest 2014
Official Selection - International Streaming Festival 2013
Official Selection - interPLAY Film Festival 2013
Credits -
Directed, Filmed and Edited by Bradley Stearn
Interviewees -
Dr Michael Cahn - Co-ordinator Cambridge Cycing Campaign
Anne M Garvey
Lee Tomkies
Aaron Blowers - Project Officer (Cycling) Cambridgeshire County Council
Original soundtrack by Michell Bragança - / michellbraganca
Project Tutor - Chris Childs (Long Road Sixth Form College)
Thanks to -
Cambridge News: www.cambridge-n....
Richard Taylor
Roger Bowen driving instructor
Cambridge 105
Subtitles -
English captions by Bradley Stearn
Spanish translations by Linda Toledo - [e-mail]
For behind the scenes photos like the official Facebook page: / pinchpointfilm
Equipment used for this documentary -
Canon 600D / T3i DSLR
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II for interviews
Canon EF-S EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 for b-roll
GoPro HD Hero
Tascam DR-07 II portable audio recorder
Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9.0
I started pre-production on this film before BBC announced the release date of their documentary film 'War on Britain's Roads'. Obviously BBC beat me to it and finished their film first. Personally I didn't like the BBCs film, it just caused more controversy on the topic.

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Hi Daniel thank you for watching, I really appreciate that you have shared it. I am overwhelmed with the response my film has received :)

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Hi Ian, thank you for watching my film, glad you liked it. I guess you could apply what is said to other towns.

[@danmcmahon11]

Bradley, I found your doc through the comments section on Indy Mogul. As an aspiring documentarian and film lover I'd like to say a couple things; I am from New Hampshire which is a very rural area in the States and I found myself invested and caring about this issue which doesn't affect my day to day life by any means, and that is the sign of an effective short documentary so cheers!

[@williumbill]

This is great, both professional and informative. I like the way the way the participants come across - rational and calm.

[@gpat64]

Thanks for this. As a cyclist and a motorist though I have to say that 90% of the cyclists I see pay no attention to road rules at all, and drivers almost invariably go out of their way to avoid causing them trouble. The best way to reduce cycle accidents is for my fellow cyclists to learn to obey road rules and cycle responsibly.

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Hi William, thank you for watching my film, please pass it on to anyone who may be interested in watching it too :)

[@wimpydragon]

Great little piece, have shared it wherever I can. (Cyclist & driver up in the wilds of Leeds)

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Really happy that you enjoyed the video :)

[@adysayswakeupffs]

This is a very informative video that should be watched by motorists and cyclists alike. I covers a variety of road use topics but my favourite topic covered is why cyclists feel it necessary to 'take the lane' or adopt the 'Primary Riding Position' in order to remain safe. If someone behind you is sounding their horn at you, at least they know you're there. Great vid, thank you, Bradley. :)

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Just want to say thank you for the great comments and support, I wasn't expecting the film to be viewed over 1000 times in under 24 hours of being online. I appreciate it every time someone watches, likes, comments and shares the film. Just want to say if you like the soundtrack, check the link to Michell's Twitter and follow him for some more great original scores!

[@bitmadmax]

Good film and all valid points. Many motorists forget that cyclists are perhaps themselves drivers, they are people, they could well be your brother, your sister, your mum or your dad. Think about that the next time you chance your luck at a left turn or a pinch-point. Best of luck in your future studies dude.

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

A very good point, most cyclists can drive, but they chose to cycle because it is quicker in a town like Cambridge. Thank you, I look forward to making my next documentary now

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Hey Dan I really appreciate your comments and really happy that the film entertained you. Thanks for the feedback, I agree with the GoPro shots, and time lapse is something I am a big of at the moment, so I definitely realise how one would have worked really well in my film. Thanks for subscribing, I am planning a new documentary right now with a local musician, so please follow on twitter to be kept up to date

[@Stentendable]

Good vid. I cycle everyday in Cambridge so I know the points you are trying to get at and you cover them very well.

[@MedialockeFilmsUK]

Well done Bradley, this is fantastic.

[@stonefoxuk]

What a lovely video. I live in a village but I ride on a section of the A4 (bath road) on my commute, and since I got back riding with a helmet I too am now treating my bike as if its a bigger vehicle. I now feel much safer and drivers are a lot more considerate overtaking also. Its a matter of confidence as you said only pull to the curb to be kind don't do it to satisfy.

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Thank you very much, Tascam Dr-07 M2 portable audio recorder was used

[@danmcmahon11]

The b-roll was solid and all the interviews and clips were shot very well with clear focus and audio. I only wish there were some more Go Pro shots from the view of the cyclist, maybe mounted near the tire to get a real effect of how close you are to traffic. And also a time lapse to see the shear volume of cyclists and motorists would have been a great visual. These are just creative suggestions that you might be able to utilize in the future. But seriously, amaizng job!

[@Myrmecia]

Bradley, I cycle for about 15-20 more trips than I drive and this has been my ratio for most of the past 55 years. Even now, I will admit that when driving, I am less empathic/sympathetic to silly cyclists than I am when cycling. I am consciously a very cyclist-aware driver but sometimes my conscious mind slips and my sub-conscious takes over and I have to remind myself to be patient.

[@SonofthewindsInc]

Done! I enjoyed that.. will watch again when I get Home

[@lifexpansionpack]

Like the video; really, really like it. Does this only apply to Cambridge, though?

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Sorry about that. As a college project I struggled a lot to get people who wanted to be interviewed. I hope you still enjoyed the film though

[@coolmantay]

Thank you so much. I havn't been out on the roads yet because I'm too scared haha! Been spending this night reading the highway code and watching loads of videos. This one is great! Maybe I'll turn from cycle lanes and wheeling my bike on pavements to the road now!

[@susanvandeven]

Great video and yes we need a cycle-only traffic light at the junction of Northampton and Bridge Streets!

[@Chris_E_Dub]

Great video Bradley, really well structured. Any of us, as cyclists, pedestrians or motorists, can take something positive away from the messages here. Bravo.

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Thank you for watching, I really appreciate and I am glad you enjoyed it! If you could help share to cyclists/motorists so more people can hear what is said in my film that would be awesome! I am having thoughts about making a follow up documentary which is more on the side of motorists saying what they dislike about cyclists, not sure yet though.

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Thank you very much :)

[@harrystcecilia]

the guy with glasses has a lot of good points

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Thanks for watching Chris :) Please subscribe or follow me on twitter, as I will be doing another Cambridge related documentary film over the summer holidays

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Thank you for watching :) I wanted this to be less controversial than the BBC documentary that you were in

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Thanks for watching Danny. In this film Lee and Aaron are both neutral in the argument, both cycling and driving. I agree though, the film needs a view point from someone who is slightly against cyclists to make it completely unbiased. I hope you still enjoyed the film though

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Thank you :)

[@BadDriversOz]

Very WELL done! *****

[@rainwatrs]

Intersections are deadly. Avoid them even if you need to safely disregard the signage or light. "I might draw a little bit of anger, but I'm safe" This is wisdom.

[@sjmKidd]

Absolutely!

[@PilotInCommand100]

I really like that Dr guy. It seems he has his head on straight and tight.

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Thanks Ray, thanks for subscribing as well :)

[@BeeryUSA]

I've been doing this in the States since 1995. It works perfectly well. Even American cars have brakes and steering wheels. The fact is, gutter cycling and avoiding the road kill many more cyclists than cycling assertively in the lane does, because fearful cyclists tend to be less visible.

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Thanks man :)

[@screamager72]

At 5 minutes the guy talks about a group of 5 cyclists approaching a red light and only 1 going through. He's clearly living in cloud cuckoo land. Two weeks ago I saw a group of 8 cyclists approaching a red light and only 3 of them stopped.

[@MyEarHz]

I think the tone of light guitars and the fact it was constant/near constant was an issue. It was distracting and at times made it difficult to make to make out speech clearly (I noticed it when I was turned away from the monitor at one point). It don’t think it was system volume, I put it down to EQ/mixing. In general I don’t think the backing music helped or added meaning. If I was to do it again I would maybe be a bit more subtle and only use it when it has relevance.

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

I thought it was too quiet, maybe turn your speakers down?

[@SBARTSTV]

Nice

[@adysayswakeupffs]

That would be good to see. A mere existence is often all that is needed for some motorists to dislike cyclists as we are often seen as 'obstacles' to be navigated around instead of valid road users. But I'll let you search for your own findings and look forward to viewing them in due course. :)

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Thank you for watching

[@UploadPending]

That was great!

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Thank you for watching :) Please share it to anyone else who may be interested

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

All of these people live in Cambridge city centre, want to re-think your comment now?

[@peefrimgar374]

I am a cyclist and I cannot believe that that woman said that cyclists should jump red lights. If you take the junction properly then you will be fine most if not all the time. Bit if you jump the red light that what puts you in danger.

[@ericd7709]

Peef Rimgar www.rudi.net/node/16395Not being killed 'most of the time' is not good enough. London 'Feeder lanes' and 'Advanced Stop Lines' correspond closely to lorry 'blind zones'. Being way out in front gets noticed, and you avoid getting caight in the 'F1 starting-grid' where drivers are jostling for position, generating the most fumes. If there's no conflict, there's no risk. I don't RLJ. But it's not necessarily dangerous.

[@ericd7709]

Eric D That link should have been www.rudi.net/node/16395 but KZbin broke it !

[@iam.halili]

awsome man which MIC you use for this ?

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Thanks for watching

[@dannycopues9593]

Very good. Be interesting to get some motorists points of view as well.

[@nash12er]

That doctor chap knew what he was talking about.

[@OrionOokami]

Brilliant VIDEO! Stop the stereotypes!

[@MyEarHz]

It was an interesting video though, it is nice to see some talk about this in public fora and away from the CN. I disagreed with many of the views or experiences of the interviewees, but we’re all different! =)

[@southern428]

good vid thanks

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

I am a freelance filmmaker, so if anyone needs any filming done please do get hold of me by sending a youtube message or tweet.

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Thanks for watching :)

[@MyEarHz]

There *are* many with total disregard for their lives. I have mixed feelings about jumping red lights, yes it’s true that sometimes going early at some lights is safer. It’s not the majority though. Foreign/new students are an issue, riding in large groups, the wrong way up roads and other madness. Regarding paths-buses not giving space is a huge issue and smaller roads like Mill Rd often leave no option but to mount the path due to lack of space. As a side note the music was far too loud!

[@tallthinkev]

I do not want to rethink my comment. I said people FROM Cambridge. Someone like me! Where, if I may ask, are you from?

[@lifexpansionpack]

Enter the discourse, what did you disagree with?

[@nash12er]

For the interviews with the lady and the bloke with long hair, the music was too loud relative to their voices. Rest of the time it was fine.

[@Shubhanaga]

Are these comments from the US for real ?

[@olivergreene6017]

Matt?

[@adysayswakeupffs]

If motorists say 'cyclists are always in the way' show them this playlist: ;) /playlist?list=PLYBwF2iVqnyec22CVHBwqZvFanlfMWU0C&feature=mh_lolz It might surprise them and I'm not the only cyclist that does this.

[@SuperRat420]

Do this in the States and you'll just have a doc about dead cyclists.

[@KlaasBrumann]

A*

[@tallthinkev]

How many people on there from Cambridge? About, none? Do they even bike? The bit about the one who honks his horn is alright, that's bollocks. The one who honks his horn is the one who cuts you up knocks you off and then hits you when you're down! A nice rosey picture of untruth. Interview real people from Cambridge, not just ones who are/were at Uni. You will get the truth then.

[@SuperRat420]

Don't get me wrong, I also cycle in the United States (And more than agree with you about the gutter/pavement cycling), but it's pretty fucking ignorant to think we don't have an anti-cyclist culture on the whole. That's all I meant by my comment. Can't tell you how many times someone's tried to 'teach me a lesson' about riding in the street and tried to bump me, hit me, or run me over.

[@gharvey612]

This michael cahn I see him all the time riding his bike around at night with no lights I remember as I nearly hit him

[@SuperRat420]

Yes, so. Riding in the street and riding as traffic is always always safer, but motorists in the States are far more fucking insane about cyclists than probably anywhere else. (Especially around here. Obviously, you have your hippy dippy pockets which are more tolerant.)

[@purps45]

Not so. This is a growing trend due to its validity. When you act like normal traffic car-drivers will treat you like normal traffic. See iamtraffic dot or g and cyclingsavvy dot or g.

[@sjuas690]

Yes - it's motorists that make cycling dangerous - if not for them there would be no deaths. This is a tragedy, and please don't shoot the messenger here, but Motorists in the UK are dangerous.

[@sjmKidd]

Cycling is dangerous. Great film, but we have to be careful regarding advocating cycling and walking in that, although great for society, the risk of injury per kilometer to the user is far greater for 'soft' modes. This is a tragedy, and please, don't shoot the messenger here, but Cycling in the UK is dangerous.

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Thank you :)

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Thanks for watching

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Thank you :)

[@RedSpectrumPictures]

Thanks for watching