How Does Peloton Film Their Scenic Rides?

If you’re a lover of traveling and nature, then Peloton scenic rides will be a huge selling point. You’ll be hopping on your bike and traveling around the world from the comfort of your own home. Furthermore, there are stunning views all around. However, how are these incredible scenic rides filmed by Peloton?

Peloton films the scenic the scenic rides by taking drone shots of the environment and of the rider. The shots follow the rider directly using a Steadicam and the first-person view of what said rider is seeing.The different ways the Peloton scenic rides are filmed keep the ride visually entertaining.

Peloton’s production of outdoor scenic rides is some of the best out there. These scenic rides are a welcome addition to Peloton’s growing catalog for many. Have you ever wondered how those scenic rides are filmed so you get that outdoor experience while at home? Here is how Peloton’s scenic rides are filmed and the impact each filming style has on the ride.

How Are Scenic Rides Filmed By Peloton?

Peloton wants their scenic rides to be an entire cinematic experience. Peloton transitions between different camera angles, incorporating scenic drone footage, road shots without any instructor, road shots with the instructor addressing the camera, and road shots with the instructor talking but not to the camera. 

These are all the ways that Peloton films their scenic rides. They have different angles above and off to the instructor’s side while they are talking and riding. A lot of editing goes on when these scenic rides are being filmed, with a lot of zooming in on faces and surroundings and some voiceover work. 

Furthermore, it may seem like one long continuous ride. Still, in reality, the scenes are cut from area to area and edited together so they flow nicely.

How Are All The Different Peloton Scenic Rides Filmed?

Peloton has three different scenic rides that they offer, and unsurprisingly, they all have a different way they are filmed. They are distance, guided, and time-based scenic rides. Let’s take a look at how Peloton’s scenic rides are filmed.

How Distance Scenic Rides Are Filmed

Distance scenic rides range from 5 to 10 kilometers in length. The loop is in the first-person view of you biking in the middle of the road. There are no fade-ins or outs, but it loops. Interestingly, the speed changes according to your speed. You can thoroughly test it by going slow, stopping, or going all out. 

This is because the speed at which the film plays is determined by your cadence on distance-based scenic rides. Depending on the landscape, a combination of ways is used to film the scene to perfection.

In this case, it’s primarily a human running around with a Steadicam device in the films. Still, they also stick a camera on a car to get a first-person view.

How Guided Scenic Rides Are Filmed

Guided scenic rides usually last 20-30 minutes, and you’ll be riding with an instructor on a path. There are instructions for resistance and cadence comparable to a recovery riding class. The video alternates between first-person views of the route shot depicting what the instructor sees directly in front of them, the instructor biking and speaking, and drone footage. 

For example, aerial views of Hawaii mountains and beaches. Medium shots are close-up shots of the peloton instructors, usually zooming in on the face or upper body of the instructor as they ride and speak or just before the ride starts.

There are also cameras filming the instructor’s different sides, front, back, etc. The frame covers the entire person. This is the most frequent shot as it shows the rider in full action from all sides, so you can see exactly what they are doing during the ride.

A bird’s-eye view covers both surroundings and the peloton teacher pedaling the bike from a lofty angle. This image is designed to show the spectacular locations that the individual is going through

These are just some of the many techniques used when filming this type of ride. As you can see, a ton of work goes into providing riders with the best riding experience possible. However, some believe guided scenic rides are the least genuine feeling ride of the three because the immersion is disrupted by drone shots. 

If you’re good with feeling like you’re riding on a looping path, the others feel more natural. Scenic rides are usually preferred since they are fairly immersive, to put things in perspective. You want to feel like you’re genuinely on a road, a trail, or in the heart of a city. Anything that disrupts the simulation shatters the illusion. 

The panoramic views that appear every 10 minutes or so on typical scenic rides are beautiful. Still, they’re not representative of what it’s like to ride outside. By including aerial drone footage, instructor discussion, and other features, guided scenic rides go even further away from an authentic experience.

How Time-Based Scenic Rides Are Filmed

Time-based scenic rides are the third option offered by Pelotons catalog. Rides that travel through multiple areas for a fixed amount of time are known as time-based rides. Time-based scenic rides are usually filmed from the rider’s first perspective. 

They are much like distance scenic rides, except no instructor tells you what to do. For those that prefer music instead, this would be a perfect choice. The camera operator will utilize a Steadicam, a spring-counterbalanced camera mounted to the operator’s body, to film time-based scenic rides.

Conclusion

Scenic rides are lovely as they show you places you’ve never been to that are interesting. As mentioned above, there are many different ways that Peloton’s three types of scenic rides are filmed. 

It is simply up to you to choose the one that works best for you and gives you a great experience while you’re on your bike. Now that you know what goes behind filming them, you’ll probably have a new appreciation for your Peloton bike and the scenic rides it provides.