Premis Industries "Carpe Diem 4"
ATV DVD Product Review

Premis Carpe Diem Links Press Release

Carpe Diem 4 Teaser Trailer (Windows Media Player)

For Carpe Diem 4, Brad Phillips and his crew were experimenting with a different camera set up than what had been used in previous videos. They used a Micro 35mm, which is actually an attachment for their standard cameras. “Getting use to the new set up was a bit of a challenge.” Stated Brad Phillips, owner of Premis and director of the Carpe Diem series. “All of the focusing had to be done manually and we had to do a lot of follow focus.” (Follow focus is a term that describes having to continuously manual focus the lens while filming a moving object.) The new camera is a definite improvement as the image quality is noticeably higher than that of previous films from Premis, but still retains a raw look to it that has become Premis’s signature style.

The film starts out with a public service announcement from Brad Phillips and some of the riders in the video about not burning and pirating the DVD. In the last couple of years, DVD burning has taken a toll on the ATV DVD industry. It affects all companies, but Premis has taken a noticeable hit from this and as Phillips states in the announcement that if the trend continues, it could drive independent filmmakers such as Premis out of business. Phillips is still optimistic that his message will be heard and taken to heart. “So far sales have been good and we are hoping that we will be able to make a Carpe Diem 5”. He stated.

Rockstar / MSR / Pro Taper / Suzuki / Yoshimura's Chad Wienen

One thing that sets Carpe Diem 4 apart from the rest of the movies in the series is that Phillips incorporated an interview segment with Suzuki’s Chad Wienen that was similar to what was seen in Premis’s documentary “Beating the Odds”. It offers a good commentary from Chad about his views on his career as a racer. Another scene that was different from anything seen in other videos of this type was a skit where Wienen goes to the bank to cash his oversized check from his winnings at the WPSA, which was quite amusing.

Hunter & Cody Miller practicing at Caddio Point in Texas	Frank Batista racing in the Las Vegas Stateline SuperMoto

There is quite a bit of race footage from the WPSA series in this video, which features some really good shots of Chad Wienen tearing up the track, but most of the scenes are of practice sessions with some of the newest up and coming riders such as Cody and Hunter Miller, Greg Gee, Sage Baker and Joel Hetrick to name a few. The scenes were filmed at several tracks Including the Miller brother’s track in Texas and Greg Gee’s private track in Canada. “It was kind of tough filming some of the scenes because we had to work around everyone’s schedules with racing and school, so we went and filmed where we could, when we could with some of the guys.” Stated Phillips in regards to his choices of filming locations.

Kory Ellis carving the Sand

A couple of the “standard stupidity” scenes are reminiscent of episodes of “Viva la Bam” and “Nitro Circus”. One scene includes a demolition derby, while another, a slip ‘n’ slide that resembles the one in Travis Pastrana’s back yard. Both scenes, among others, seemed to lean toward being somewhat unsafe so it is probably a good thing that there is a “Don’t try this at home” disclaimer in the Director’s commentary regarding the activities presented.

One of the best things about this video is all of the bonus footage that is included. The full interview with Chad Wienen is definitely worth watching, as is the Director’s Commentary version of the video. The sound track is upbeat and features a lot of new artists, including rapper Kasper who is famous for his “Kwad Up” song that has become a cult hit in the ATV community.

Overall, Carpe Diem 4 is definitely the best of the Carpe Diem series. All though some of the footage seems like it’s been done before, it is still entertaining to watch and would make a great stocking stuffer for any ATV enthusiast this holiday season.