Saturday the 25th of February played host to the premiere of The Outsiders – Japan, an all new DVD dedicated to drifting and the culture around it. A truly outstanding documentary filmed, edited and cut together by a deservedly recognised motoring film producer Al Clark.
I was invited to the sell out screening held in Birmingham along with over 150 paying guests also excited to be part of the first ever showing. The feature itself is around an hour and a half of dedicated footage following the staff of Driftworks.com in and around Japan, learning more about the sport that they love so much. Also in attendance was Mr Dan Joyce who put together this fantastic video in which he briefly speaks to the stars of the film capturing the experience and atmosphere of the evening perfectly.
After the film I took some time to catch up with the team to get some words from each of them about the experience as a whole and find out how it felt seeing the completed work on the big screen.
First of all it was great to catch up with Al the creator and editor.
R+W: Hello Al,
Al Clark: Hello Racing and Waiting.
R+W: So having been the man behind the lens, editing and cutting it all together, how do you feel having seen it on the big screen for the first time?
Al Clark: Relieved, um, scared and really pleased that people seemed to like it! There were laughs during the film which was good. Whether they were laughing at it or with it who knows but it just feels good that its done. The reason i’m so pleased is that it seems to have worked and there is nothing else like this out there right now. It was always a bit of a risk because drift films can often be pretty boring but I think we got this right and it seems to have worked.
R+W: On the whole are you pleased with the final cut and the story it tells to the audience?
Al Clark: Well yeah, it is supposed to be entertaining but the bottom line is that I wanted this to be a documentary. I hope that people will come away from it having learned something and then perhaps be inspired to go away and find out more about drifting or the things they’ve specifically seen in the film.
R+W: Throughout the feature it did appear that you had an awful lot of fun filming, but was there anything that wasn’t so great whilst you were there?
Al Clark: (laughing) Actually filming it was really hard! Mainly because I was there trying to put together and capture a feature film as one person. Usually you’d have a whole team of people but it was, on the whole, great and yes it was really fun to film. What made it enjoyable was the fact that I was with my friends, we’re all on the same wave length and doing what we all love doing so the hardship was all worth while and I certainly didn’t lose anything from it.
R+W: Looking forward, and ahead to the future, do you see yourself producing more Outsiders films along these lines perhaps from other corners of the world?
Al Clark: Yeah, the pre-sales alone have pretty much made it possible to consider ‘The Outsiders 2′ already, so perhaps America or Europe, who knows! Japan itself was pretty expensive, as about as expensive as it could have got in fact so if we can get over to the states and do it any cheaper then I see no reason not do it all again and make it amazing.
R+W: Now that you’ve seen it and have seen the reaction from the viewers, is there anything you would have changed?
Al Clark: Probably just more people filming it. There is so much more I would have liked to have captured. Even perhaps just another angle from the other side of the track etc. But with what we had it seems to have worked and of course the guys all did a amazing job on camera talking, driving and having fun which is what it was all about.
R+W: Many thanks Al.
Al Clark: Thank you.
I then caught up with Mr Mitto Steele a familiar name to the UK drift community and someone that actually lived in Japan for a while due to his love of the sport. Mitto leads the film with his own stories and guides on what we see.
R+W: Mitto, hello! So we’ve seen it now the big screen all put together how does it make you feel watching it back?
Mitto: Hey, umm, it was real amazing to watch. Al’s work is just so good and I’m really so happy with how it’s all been put together. I have to say I’m really not used to seeing myself on camera, every time I saw myself pop up on screen I was slowly sinking further and further into my seat saying “dude, shut up! Just stop talking!” (Laughs). Apart from that it’s just great, kind of like watching back the greatest home movie ever.
R+W: A key part of the film which was a point that was raised by all of you was about how fun drifting should be. Was that represented in the filming too?
Mitto: Oh God yeah absolutely we had a great time! I lived there, I’m fortunate to know how it all works but to actually take my friends there, show them it and for them to have that glee and excitement that I had the first time I was there was just so awesome. The whole thing was fun, there was no point in the trip where any of us were saying “oh this sucks”. The film doesn’t show the amount of hours that we put into travelling and that sort of thing. Al again was just amazing with it, we’d all be out on an all day / all night shoot then Al would be up another 2 hours putting it all together and saving all of the footage on hard drives. The first day being a key example, we’d all travelled from home in the UK flown over to Japan, travelled a good 2-3 hours getting from the airport and through Tokyo then hired a bus and drove for 8 hours …by the time we got our heads down we’d been awake for like, 36, 37 hours? it was crazy, we were mullured!
R+W: For you personally, does it ever get any less special going back?
Mitto: Um, nah… Japan is what you make of it. It’s such an amazing place and so drastically different to everywhere else but if you have an idea in you mind of what it’s like and you think you want to experience it, just go do it, it’s amazing.
I also caught up with Phil Morrison and James Robinson the Directors of Driftworks and fellow stars of the film to get their feelings about it.
R+W: So how does it feel seeing yourself on camera and looking back at the footage from the trip?
Phil: (Laughing alot) I really f’***ing hate seeing myself on screen! But it was alright and I could deal with it, the star of the show for me is Mr Mitto, he’s great at telling a story you know!
James: It’s really difficult to gauge for me because I’ve seen so much of it this week having helped Al with the editing of it all but I dunno, It’s nice to see how well its been received as its own thing. It’s really not a big Hollywood movie that’s clear to see, but in comparison to the usual car video stuff you see its just so, so good.
R+W: what was the highlight of the trip for you guys?
Phil: For me it was just having a good time. From a competitive point of view the drift scene here in the UK has been so crazy and developments have been so drastic over the past few years. There have even been times where I’ve actually had to take a step back, just have a break for a period of time and even remind myself why I do it. Going to Japan was just what I needed and the trip came after one of those times of doubt. For far too long I’ve felt the need to step back a little bit. I’ve taken a year out of competition and been able to go and have some fun which is exactly what we did.
James: Difficult question but I think for me personally it would have to be driving at Bihoku. I’ve not driven a drift car for quite some time now and it was just nice to get back behind the wheel and in such a special place too.
R+W: So James, has it given you an urge to perhaps consider getting back behind the wheel in the UK drift scene either for a bit of fun or for competitions?
James: Definitely as a bit of fun yeah, but my love for competition drifting faded away a long time ago. I like drifting under my own terms and with a few mates and that’s how I think I’ll stick to it.
Finally I caught up with Daniel Bridle of the Driftworks blog fame and Pieter Gouwy famous for his work building and maintaining drift cars from his home in Belgium.
R+W: Guys, how does it feel seeing it all now on the screen?
Daniel: It’s pretty surreal actually. Al really has done the most amazing job conveying it but its never something that you can pick up on a screen. For the true effect you really have to get out there and experience it. Even watching it back I was getting tingles from the good memories.
Pieter: For me it was really weird, mainly because I’m seeing myself on such a big screen. Al really did do such a great job it’s great seeing it all put together at last.
R+W: Highlight for the trip?
Daniel: Oh wow such a hard question. I’ve been into drifting for about 12 years watching youtube videos and seeing the pictures etc so on the whole just seeing it with my own eyes was just amazing. A highlight would have to be the time we spent at Nagoya where we got to hang out with the guys from Team Mind Control street drifting. I was fortunate enough to go out with one of the drivers which was just incredible. Being in that car as its being thrown around the streets at the top of 4th gear was just mind blowing.
Pieter: Yeah, Just seeing it in real life. I’ve spent my life looking at videos of these places and then all of a sudden i’m there witnessing it. It’s crazy just to be there and see what these guys do. The highlight though would have to be, (and Al has this on film) where I was in the car as a passenger street drifting. As my driver was approaching an intersection (at an angle) he decided to offer me a cigarette! The road wasn’t even closed off, we were sliding in and the guy is holding out a packet of cigarettes saying “cigarette? cigarette?” and I’m saying “ummm no thanks!” – that was just crazy!
R+W: A big focus in the film was about how drifting should just be fun. Would you say you agree?
Pieter: Oh definately yeah, it was so good to see it in that light. These are all guys just going out and having a good time.
Daniel: Absolutely yeah. Whether it was on the street or on the circuits, the emphasis was always on just having a good time. It’s the way it should be and the film demonstrates that too.
Pieter: All the drivers seem to still want to be the best at it like here in the UK or over in the states but nobody really gives anyone a hard time about it. These guys are clipping each others cars at 180+mph and then having a laugh about it 10 minutes later its just fantastic.
R+W: Are you guys keen to continue and explore the sport on a global basis?
Pieter: Well I’m off to LA myself in the summer to see what it’s all about and to see how they do things over there so I’m pretty excited about that. I might even come back with a car. I’d like to think that we could tie in with some more footage but its hard to say, I guess we’ll have to see how sucessful this DVD is.
So there we have it folks. The whole film from start to finish was truly spectacular. It has without a doubt expanded my own perception of the sport and fed my desire to look into it further. I’m sure it’ll do the same to all that buy it and view it too.
This is not a film to be missed so show your support to Al and the guys behind the outstanding project. The Blue Ray/DVD will soon be available to purchase from the Driftworks online shop via www.driftworks.com be sure to pre-order your copy today!
PURCHASE/PRE-ORDER THE DVD HERE
John Marcar
A huge thanks to Driftworks, Al Clark, Mitto and all the stars of the film as well as Dan Joyce for the photos and film above.
