''60 Cycles'' is a 1965 Canadian short from the
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...
directed and photographed by
Jean-Claude Labrecque
Jean-Claude Labrecque, (June 19, 1938 – May 31, 2019) was a director and cinematographer who learned the basics of filmmaking at the National Film Board of Canada.
Career
Jean-Claude Labrecque was born in Quebec City, Quebec, and trained as ...
.
Synopsis
''60 Cycles'' is a film about the 11th St-Laurent long-distance bicycle race covering 2,400 kilometres of
Gaspé countryside in 12 days. With the curving, picturesque landscape as backdrop, you see here an event where the challenge seems more personal than competitive. ''60 Cycles'' was the first to use a 1,000-mm lens in an opening shot that remains famous: a group of cyclists is shown riding towards the camera with the impression that they are not even moving due to the long focal length of the lens.
In 1966, Labrecque told ''
Take One'' magazine, "I found I could go further in experimenting with the effects of various lenses on heat. For example, we found out how heat waves can be seen coming off the road on a hot day. We first noticed the effect approaching the camera way in the distance. With everything telescoped, it produced a unique effect. Notice how, on the right of the line of cyclists (they were on a straight road seven miles long), the telephone poles seem to be a narrow fence. In reality, there is a 180 feet between each pole.
"We used
Eastmancolor
Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak.
Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was on ...
and had three
telephoto
A telephoto lens, in photography and cinematography, is a specific type of a long-focus lens in which the physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length. This is achieved by incorporating a special lens group known as a ''telephoto ...
lenses (1,000, 600 and 300 mm) on
Arriflex cameras with an
Angenieux zoom 25–250. We had two operators, two assistants, one racing car driver and one business manager. In the end, we only used the sequence shot with the 1,000-mm lens. This was done so as not to break the rhythm, since the three sequences gave different speeds to the racers and varied the rhythm of the 'heat waves', which are so noticeable in the film."
Influence
George Lucas has stated that he was influenced by ''60 Cycles'' when he directed his 1966 student film ''
1:42.08''.
Awards
Canadian Film Award
The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...
– Best Cinematography (colour);
nominated for a
BAFTA for Best Short Film.
References
External links
* (requires
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia software platform used for production of animations, rich web applications, desktop applications, mobile apps, mobile games, and embedded web browser video players. Fla ...
)
*
*{{IMDb title, 0224574
1965 short films
National Film Board of Canada short films
National Film Board of Canada documentaries
Films directed by Jean-Claude Labrecque
Documentary films about cycling
Films shot in Quebec
Films produced by Jacques Bobet
Canadian short documentary films
1960s short documentary films
1960s French-language films
French-language Canadian films
1960s Canadian films
Cycle racing in Quebec