After years of delivering seemingly effortless bike stunts, it’s easy to take Danny MacAskill’s talent for granted.
His ability to consistently make jaw-dropping videos has become an accepted part of modern culture, like Stephen Spielberg filming another blockbuster or LeBron James sinking another three-pointer.
The grace and creativity of MacAskill were on full display when he dropped his “Postcard From San Francisco” vid last month, which has predictably racked up over a million views in less than 10 days.
Like most of his vids, it’s about the length of a single song and sees him, among other things, riding the top of a tennis net (because of course he can do that).
But what actually goes into crafting one of these pearlescent Danny MacAskill videos? Well, in the case of San Francisco — more than we ever imagined.
The tireless cycling star has released a seven-episode series detailing the behind-the-scenes work of just that one video. Each of the episodes is at least 10 minutes long, cumulatively amounting to a feature-length documentary about the making of a five-minute edit.
The lessons gleaned from these videos could likely be applied to any of MacAskill’s work: the countless hours spent scouting locations, the healing from injuries, and the necessary rehearsal of the same stunt over and over — sometimes for practice and sometimes for the cameraman.
The lessons gleaned from these videos could likely be applied to any of MacAskill’s work: the countless hours spent scouting locations, the healing from injuries, and the necessary rehearsal of the same stunt over and over — sometimes for practice and sometimes for the cameraman.
Yet the San Francisco vid clearly resonated deeply with both MacAskill, who has a long personal history with the town, and with viewers.
“Immediately, comment sections were filled with positivity and stoke and all viewers agreed: Danny had created something entertaining, creative, and inspiring — this film brought a great vibe that rippled well beyond the mountain bike community,” a news release said.
“In ‘Postcard from San Francisco,’ we see Danny blowing minds with unbelievably smooth and well-executed street trials riding,” the release continued. “The one or two falls in the edit seem to be there just to make Danny seem human.”
But evidently, MacAskill is more human than his talent suggests. In truth, the San Francisco edit was anything but easy. To prove it, he and his dedicated team have released this series, which they’re calling “Back of the Postcard.”
The series is meant to “show us the incredible amount of work, crashes, blood, sweat and tears put into this project which took over five years to make,” the news release said.
This deeply personal documentary provides new insight into the challenges faced by MacAskill and company. They actually tried to shoot this edit back in 2017, yet it all fall apart when MacAskill fractured a kneecap while stunting in Alcatraz.
These fascinating “postcards” show how Danny approaches these tricks, how he faces his self-doubts, and how he repeatedly shatters the limits of what’s possible on two wheels.
As a location, San Fransisco presented unique challenges, like battling against the clock, as many setpieces came with time-limited permits.
These “Back of the Postcard” docs also introduce us to the technical team, which spends massive amounts of time in production — both pre and post — to bring everything together in a neat package.
That includes Film Director Robbie Meade (Peny Films), Producer Todd Barber (Hi5 Events), Photographer Dave Mackison, Stunt Coordinator Duncan Shaw and Security Guard Preston.
That security guard delivers one of the highlight moments of the series. At the start of Episode 6, a team member asks him to describe MacAskill.
“Half-crazy and half like a Zen Buddhist,” Preston says. “So like he’s half like a crazy man and half Buddhist — you know they blend well.”
Still can’t get enough Danny MacAskill? We understand. We’ve had the same malady for years. To binge all of this superstar’s artful and awe-inspiring vids, check out his YouTube channel.
