As long as I remember my Dad has had his 1969 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide motorcycle. I grew up riding on the back of it. Over the years the novelty has worn off and I could never ride it myself because I'm just not tall enough. I know my Dad's hope was to pass it down to me or my brother but unfortunately reality sometimes changes things. Life sometimes turns out differently than you expect. That certainly is true for my Dad. For many years my Dad used to say, "this year I'm going to do it, I'm going to sell it". But he never did, and I never thought he would. But he finally has stayed true to his word and took it for the final ride last Saturday. My Dad and that motorcycle share so many memories so I decided to shoot a video that could encapsulate that. I think I was successful in creating a very intimate feel. It is the last look at a prized possession, from my fathers eyes.
Synopsis: "Electra Glide In Blue: The Last Ride" is the depiction of a man's final moments with a sentimental machine. It is a tribute to a father, a hero to his sons. It is a homage to a rugged and masculine America of the past. It is the last ride on a rolling American sculpture, a relic that holds memories of the childhood of two son's and the blossoming and the failure of a marriage. It is a piece of iron and steel that holds so much and has survived the good and the bad. It is the "Electra Glide In Blue", and after four decades of life together the man takes it for one last ride.
Electra Glide In Blue: The Last Ride from Don Ford on Vimeo.
I shot this video very quickly because we didn't have enough time to set up our shots so I had to take them when they came. I didn't get everything I wanted out of the shoot but what found it's way into the video are some of the better moments. The wonky hand held camera was not necessarily my intention originally but I actually think it creates an effect as If we are witnessing the last moments of a mans prized possession from his own eyes. To help add a little emotional impact to the imagery I wrote song lyrics that encapsulated some of what was lost from the shoot. My friend Todd Umhoefer who fronts the band Old Earth wrote an original piece of music for the video and incorporated some of the lyrics. It's a very simple minimalist approach that I think creates a bittersweet mood. It helps add the emotion. It represents the feelings of a man giving something up that has always been there. Even though it's just a machine it holds decades of memories.
"Electra Glide In Blue":
Years gone by
many miles traveled
waiting quietly, waiting silently
two boys grown up
no woman by his side
time for the last ride
on his Electra Glide
-
Electra Glide in blue, you were true
Electra Glide in blue, show him the way
Electra Glide in blue, he loved you
-
Years gone by
many miles traveled
waiting quietly, waiting silently
memories from the past haunt him
reflected, gleaming back
time for the last ride
on his Electra Glide
-
Electra Glide in blue, you were true
Electra Glide in blue, show him the way
Electra Glide in blue, he loved you
-
Years gone by
many miles traveled
waiting quietly, waiting silently
his life reflected in your paint
his cry heard in your roar
time for the last ride
on his Electra Glide
time for the last ride
on his Electra Glide
-
Electra Glide in blue, you were true
Electra Glide in blue, show him the way
Electra Glide in blue, he loved you
http://virb.com/oldearth
