Sena Technologies, Inc. will sponsor filmmakers Zach Settewongse and Amanda Pollard as they begin filming a documentary about their upcoming cross-country motorcycle ride. The pair will depart from Reno, Nev. late this month and will capture all 8,500 miles of their journey on video. Sena will make communication between the riders possible by providing Bluetooth technology to Settewongse and Pollard. The audio recordings of their conversations will then be edited into the documentary, “Pursuit Horizon.”
“We are thrilled by Sena’s sponsorship, and using their headset/intercom systems will make our production so much easier,” said Settewongse, principal documentary filmmaker. “In fact, we did a lot of research as to how we could make our audio recordings work the way we wanted. The Sena Bluetooth products were the only ones on the market we found that have an audio-out capability, and the sound quality of the headsets themselves are optimal and perfect for broadcast recording on a motorcycle.”
Amanda and Zach will each be equipped with a Sena SMH10 headset/intercom on their helmets. The SMH10 allows them to connect wirelessly via Bluetooth to their cell phones, mp3 players, GPS and to be able to talk to one another through intercom for a distance of up to one-half mile.
“Amanda and Zach should get a lot of use and great audio using their Sena SMH10s for the documentary,” said Marc Woo, president of Sena Technologies, Inc. North and South America. “A number of other film productions have used the SMH10 in similar capacities, though the on-camera motorcyclists were able to talk via intercom to producers and camera people. The two of them undertaking the filming by themselves adds new challenges, though we are excited to see their journey along the way, as well as the finished product.”
The 8,500-mile trek and documentary was Settewongse’s brainchild. He said he always wanted to undertake such a journey and in this case, wanted to make it similar to the documentary series “Long Way Round,” but instead do it himself without a support crew of any kind. He stated that approaching 40 years old made him finally say, “Today is the day,” and set about making his dream come true. An avid motorcycle rider, Pollard signed onto the project after meeting Settewongse at a northern Nevada motorcycle shop. “I just need adventure. I’m a restless soul. There is a whole big world waiting for me to explore and I am stuck inside watching it go by,” she said. Although the pair has motorcycle and gear sponsors such as Sena, the trip and post-production will cost approximately $60,000 out of pocket.
The two will run a daily blog and will produce weekly video podcasts during the two-to-three month excursion, which can be found at http://pursuithorizon.com. They also will update their Facebook page daily at www.facebook.com/PursuitHorizon.
