For Red Bull BMX Athlete, Murray Loubser that daydream was captured into an almost hypnotic video where he is transported from a lecture room into a BMX scene scape, sessioning some of the most iconic locations around the City of Cape Town, in ‘Shapes in the City’.
Shapes in the City
Conceived by Loubser and his friend and photographic collaborator Wayne Reiche, the film crew on the project also featured a host of his friends from the South African BMX scene. As the country’s lockdown regulations eased and filming was allowed under strict protocol, the team was finally able to hit the streets to start production.
The 4-minute long action-packed film has been a labour of love for Loubser and the entire crew involved in the ideation and filming of the piece, having started the process early in 2020.
“I definitely enjoyed the factor that it was just me and the mates, going out and making something that I know we’re all proud of. We all put in such a large amount of work just to make it happen and the final product is epic!” says Loubser of the final result.
“The idea for shapes in the city kind of spontaneously happened with Wayne Reiche and myself, we would just go out and shoot photos.
“And then we kind of saw shapes appearing in these images. We were shooting in architecture and shadows, and we pitched it as a photo gallery thing and then they turned it into video, which is pretty cool.
“I would say the most daunting part about shooting this video was the fact that I could get injured in the beginning of it, and then it will get scrapped.
“So that definitely weighed on my mind. Best part of having a BMX crew film it and just be part of it was obviously just they understood what I was doing. And we had a friendship before so it’s just good vibes. But yeah, I feel like because they knew how to film BMX before going into, they knew how to make it look that much better.
“The most technical location I would say was to Sea Point rail, we got there super early in the morning, and it was full of dew. So the rail was wet, my tires are wet, and we had to wait for the dew to dry before I could try the trick. And then the trick itself was also really technical, had to hop and land with my tires on the rail, and then ride down and do a bar spin off. And just like everything wasn’t working, there were cars and pedestrians. And it just was crazy. But it worked out and so I was stoked everyone was stoked.”
The video showcases iconic spots like the Cape Town Stadium, Taal Monument, Sea Point Pools, Monwabisi Pavilion and The Castle of Good Hope – many of the places that Loubser dreamt of riding and would not have been possible for him to ride outside of the shoot.
The sport of BMX is powerful, creative and engaging and ‘Shapes in the City certainly drives that point home.
A unique Behind-the-Scenes special on the making of the film, titled ‘Shapes’, will be available on Red Bull TV. It will also air on SABC 1 on Saturday, 24 October at 13:30.
You can watch Shapes in the City on Red Bull TV now.
