# My 9-day 135i European Delivery Adventure Film



## maxofthewell (Jun 9, 2009)

After over a year (!), the film from the european delivery of my Montego Blue 135i has been edited and posted online. It's 23 mins and absolutely hilarious.

There are two versions, the full version, with some NSFW language, and the edited version which isn't as funny but SFW. Watch it in HD if you can. 

NSFW VIDEO: http://vimeo.com/4990426
SFW VIDEO: http://vimeo.com/5028367


I originally wrote about the trip, with pics, here: http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=214957.














































Freiburg






















































Chateau Miraval









Col de Turini


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## philippek (Jul 31, 2003)

Net nanny is blocking me at work, but if the vid is as good as the stills I'm sure it's awesome :thumbup:

Can't wait to see it--you guys look like a motley crew.


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## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

Super video, Max.

Well done. :thumbup:


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## mg e30 (Aug 12, 2007)

That was fun to watch.
Years ago, when I was in the Army, my roommate and I took a five-week leave and drove through Europe. This video brought back some great memories.:thumbup:


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## ucdbiendog (Nov 19, 2007)

very cool vid and pics!! Thanks!


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## philippek (Jul 31, 2003)

:bustingup

Awesome idea to use the Great Driving Roads Theme. Ties everything together and works well with the 4-guys-in-a-1-series schtick.

Your still photographs are really inspired. Verges on over-produced for my tastes but I get what you're trying to do and I really dig it.

Kudos to the cast and crew and great choices on the soundtrack too. Damn I miss Europe.


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## bagbklyn (Apr 28, 2006)

*Excellent!*

Bravo! Bravo! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


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## trucheli (Jun 1, 2004)

*Nicely Done!!!!*

On the day that I am leaving to Munich to pick up my E92 M3, what a nice way to start my journey. I loved everything about your work, you've got it all: nice editing, great composition, time lapse, audio montage and the stills are great and not because of your 5D Mark II. I see your talent and I dig your photoshop. Send me the info on your plug in.

I know the feeling of driving the twin turbo, the perfect engine to get up to speed on the Autobahn and twists roads.

We need to see more. As a Photographer I can say that this is best piece of work that I have seen since I joined this great forum.

Congratulations!! and keep' em coming.


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## j128i (Oct 17, 2008)

trucheli said:


> On the day that I am leaving to Munich to pick up my E92 M3, what a nice way to start my journey. I loved everything about your work, you've got it all: nice editing, great composition, time lapse, audio montage and the stills are great and not because of your 5D Mark II. I see your talent and I dig your photoshop. Send me the info on your plug in.
> 
> I know the feeling of driving the twin turbo, the perfect engine to get up to speed on the Autobahn and twists roads.
> 
> ...


+1

Only comment I have is to ask Ian (one of the 4 students, who shut the film) to add an introduction of BMW ED by Max at the beginning of the film. This would be a great way to show people about this great program. I'm very surprised that so many people (many of them purchased Euro cars) did not know European delivery.


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## guppyflyer (Oct 26, 2006)

:thumbup: Thanks for the laughs!

Erik


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## mason (Jun 8, 2006)

I like some the pictures a lot. What are the settings?


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## Kzang (Apr 12, 2006)

mason said:


> I like some the pictures a lot. What are the settings?


If your talking about the exageration of some of the contrast then it is called HDR - taking 3 or more exposures. There are softwares that can be used to stitch the 3 photos together for this affect.


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## icjefferys (Jun 9, 2009)

j128i said:


> Only comment I have is to ask Ian (one of the 4 students, who shut the film) to add an introduction of BMW ED by Max at the beginning of the film. This would be a great way to show people about this great program. I'm very surprised that so many people (many of them purchased Euro cars) did not know European delivery.


Yes, I've been surprised too. We've posted this in a few forums now, and I've been surprised by how many non-BMW owners have never even heard of the European delivery concept, much less what the details of it are.

When I got back from this trip with seven hours of footage, I was unsure what I wanted to make out of it. I thought of attempting a professionally structured type of show, more closely resembling the Top Gear format, where a plot line would be explained in close detail by lots of voice overs and a lot more simple "establishing" content. Eventually I ditched this idea thinking that it would come off feeling unnatural and forced... the video aspiring to more than it was.

Since I'd shot this trip not as a staged show but simply as travelers recording their experiences, I decided to go that route while editing as well, though with some higher-than-typical production values . I'm very pleased with the result, though as such, it is more a collection of scenes than a well laid narrative. Frankly, whatever the style would be, I was aiming for the definitive ED video. I suppose in hind sight I failed by leaving out such crucial information as what ED actually is! Non-car-people who see this typically think the car was a rental!

Due to the time I've already sunk, this particular video is never coming back to the editing room. Oh well, there's always next time! And a next time there will assuredly be.


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## philippek (Jul 31, 2003)

I think you made the right call. To do something Top Gear-esque requires a LOT of planning, storyboarding and production. Tough to reverse engineer something like that when you don't have the shots. Your trip doesn't feel very structured--else you wouldn't be calling random people from Davos asking for a place to stay. The video reflects this stream-of-consciousness, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, happy-go-lucky ethos. Exactly fitting for 4 young guys, a 135i and the European continent.

Like you I'm also planning _the next time_. Capitalize on all the lessons learned and make the next one truly epic.


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## Gig103 (Sep 10, 2007)

>


Amazing photo. Which pass is this?


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## boothguy (Feb 1, 2007)

Hmm. Your license number was one digit after mine in '08 and I was looking to see if my car or skywalkerbeth's was in your delivery day shots. I definitely recognize those drizzly skies.

Liked the still images even though the amount of manipulation is too much for me, the video footage, the fact that you had PEOPLE in the shots, including the guy who spoke mostly-incomprehensible German and French, the fact that you had some knowledge of other languages before going, taking the time to get out of the car and getting footage of the car on the roads, and your music choices - all very good.

Disliked some of the commentary. The one comment about some roads being "..tight as a ..." (you know the one I mean) I actually thought was offensive. 

Overall, nice effort.


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## icjefferys (Jun 9, 2009)

*philippek:* Phillippe! How went the trip, man! I stumbled across your YouTube channel yesterday and was watching your ED videos, and now here you are in our thread. I gotta assume you're back in America at this point... I'm looking forward to the rest of the saga. Hope you had a fruitful time on the emerald isle! I love the M3 sedan, and if I happen to move to LA any time soon, I might come see you about a 1 series myself if/when BMW throws a high-pressure turbo 4 into it and proper limited slip :bigpimp:

*Gig103:* That's at the Col de Turini in the Italian Alps, right across the boarder from the French Riviera.

*boothguy:* Dude... you're killin me... we made the edited version just for you! You shouldda gone that route :tsk:. ANYWAY! Thanks for the kind words about the video. I looked through my original footage just now and I don't see a silver with red 3 cabrio anywhere. That'd be amazing though, if you had been there the same day as us one year ago. I wonder how many Americans per year do euro delivery.


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## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

icjefferys said:


> I wonder how many Americans per year do euro delivery.


What data would you like? Just for BMW, just bimmerfest members for BMW, or across all brands?


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## philippek (Jul 31, 2003)

icjefferys said:


> *philippek:* Phillippe! How went the trip, man! I stumbled across your YouTube channel yesterday and was watching your ED videos, and now here you are in our thread. I gotta assume you're back in America at this point... I'm looking forward to the rest of the saga. Hope you had a fruitful time on the emerald isle! I love the M3 sedan, and if I happen to move to LA any time soon, I might come see you about a 1 series myself if/when BMW throws a high-pressure turbo 4 into it and proper limited slip :bigpimp:


I'm back my friend...been back for about a month now, and I'm slowly but surely uploading videos. I came back with just over a terabyte of raw video and stills. As I'm sure you know, the editing process can be real PITA. I thought I was pretty organized but I'm finding that doing this as a one-man-band was REALLY a huge undertaking, and I just had no idea until I was in the soup. At least I didn't wait A YEAR until I put it together :stickpoke

I'll be doing this again next year (late July/early August). Consider yourself invited, along with your entire cast and crew. I'd love to get a group together and _*really*_ do it up right. I think you guys clearly have that certain _je ne sais quoi_ which makes for a good road trip.


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## JohnnyRoaster (Oct 28, 2008)

Great piece of work! Loved the footage and the music. Petty, Dylan and Floyd...hard to go wrong.

It is obvious you guys had a great time. I was stuck with a Eurorail pass when I was your age. I had the pleasure of doing an ED for an M3 in April with my wife and three kids. It was a slightly different experience but just as much fun (maybe).

I am looking forward to the video from your next trip.


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## adc (Apr 1, 2003)

Awesome video, I thoroughly enjoyed it! And congrats on the car!

Can't wait to drive those roads again in July...


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## icjefferys (Jun 9, 2009)

Due to popular demand, I've made the videos open for download on Vimeo. Just go to the videos' Vimeo pages and scroll down to the bottom-right. They're a touch under 500 mb in 720p.


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## Vanos4:12PM (Apr 20, 2007)

Very fun video. Can't imagine doing a ED at your age with friends. What a great experience and it's all on video to keep for years. Congrats.


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## Solidjake (May 10, 2007)

Saw the vid over at Bimmerforums, good stuff dude. 


Is that a speed camera!!!??? haha


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## jvr826 (Apr 22, 2002)

We knew about this the other day...

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=374685&highlight=http+vimeo+com+4990426

Enjoyed your video very much! Awesome photography and videography as well!!

Welcome to the 'Fest!


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## Patman36 (May 9, 2008)

I thoroughly enjoyed the video. Thanks for sharing.

-Patrick


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## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

bagbklyn said:


> Bravo! Bravo! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


+10000000000000000! I just finish watching your video! THANK YOU for sharing!
Great video, photo! :thumbup:


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## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

This thread need bump for new user to show them how to properly report back.


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