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13.08.2020
Jake Ashe is one of the founders of Wide of the Mark, a new feature-length motorcycle film that’s set in the wilds of Tasmania. Due for release early next year, Motul supported the film, providing oils and lubricants for the bikes. Jake tells us more about the adventure.
Wide of the Mark is a film idea myself and two other people had. The idea was to send six riders around Tasmania with road bikes that they’d custom-built into off-road bikes. And we’d film the whole thing. So, we rallied together and made it possible. We spent two weeks traversing around the rugged landscapes of Tasmania and essentially living off the backs of the bike, pushing them to the limit and taking them where they’re not meant to go
The inspiration came from the three of us having created a motorcycle film a year previously, which we put out on YouTube for free. That was a trip down the east coast of Australia, and we dug into some of the garages and best custom bike builders in Australia. We wanted to keep the adventure going and we were really inspired to push the limits.
We were in Tasmania for two weeks, and on the road for 16 days. In terms of riding, you would be able to do a lot more if you didn’t have to film as well. It was challenging. We were posed with all kinds of new and exciting opportunities and things we weren’t expecting. So many things went right, and we had so many amazing destinations. But a lot of things went wrong, too. It was really challenging in so many different ways.
Yeah, I was the director of photography and cinematographer. I’m also editing the film. My friend Cameron Grant, who is also the business partner of the film company, directed it. Tom Gilroy was one of the main riders and he helped string it all together. We also had five other riders in front of the camera riding their bikes.
Tasmania is just so diverse in such a small space. You can drive one hour and be in a place that looks just like Mars and the next day you’re beside the craziest cliffs you’ve ever seen. The roads are great for bikes. They’re long and windy and there’s lots of different terrains.
We made it a point to go off the beaten path and take the dirt roads. To go the long way round. The name of the film, Wide of the Mark, comes from the idea of aiming for a point but essentially missing it, in a good way.
We were quite lucky with the timing. We filmed in early February, and Australia went into lockdown in March. So, we were quite good with our timing. I’ve now been editing the film since then.
We’re hoping to release it around the start of next year and we’re currently negotiating distribution. It should be on the larger video on demand platforms and, depending on what the world does with this pandemic, we’re hoping to get it a cinema release. The film’s around the 60-minute mark. It’s all run and gun stuff, and we just let it happens as it happens. There’s a narration throughout that keeps the audience engaged. And we’ll hopefully do a few more. For the next one we might head further up into northern Australia where it’s more barren.
