By the Power of GoalZero!

Earth Hour was fast approaching, and with the help of GoalZero, we not only got the power, but a life-saving solution for all our power needs on the Mongol Rally.

Of course you don’t have to drive across continents to benefit from solar power. The ever so nifty Nomad 7 featured in our Earth Hour video is perfect for camping, keeping in the car on weekend trips, and general household use. Quite honestly, if the muppets in the team can operate one, anyone can!

The Nomad 7 and Guide 10 Kit

Our friends at GoalZero have been amazingly supportive of our plans from the beginning and we are very proud to have them onboard.

With all the camera batteries we have to keep charged; the laptop for social updates and back-ups; mobile phones; and an actual light, GoalZero will power everything from clean and efficient solar power. On a journey like the Mongol Rally, it’s important to us that we keep our carbon footprint as low as possible and be sustainable as possible. GoalZero is the perfect fit.

Over the coming weeks we’re also going to be putting the Escape 150 through some grueling tests so watch our Facebook and Twitter for updates on the power of Gre– GoalZero!

Welcome Aboard, JOBY!

We are beyond excited to announce one of our first sponsors. These guys were the first company we approached for sponsorship, and their enthusiasm has been unrelenting. Known for the inventive, versatile GorillaPod, we are very pleased to announce that JOBY have joined our film team by providing our camera crew with ever versatile GorillaPods and 3-Way Camera Straps.

The GorillaPod has paved the way for creative photographers and videographers to achieve that ultimate angle. No need to box your creativity around a tripod any longer. And not just for DSLRs, the GorillaPod comes in all shapes and sizes so you can get creative with your mobile, your camcorder and your point-and-shoot as well.

With a range of accessories including ball head mounts and in a selection of colours, the GorillaPod has taken the thinking out of  “how do I hang from that cliff and capture the sunset over the valley?” and “I wonder how many magnets I need for gravity boots to hang from this scaffolding upside down?”

Check out all the awesome JOBY products at their website where you can also order through their store. Thank you JOBY for your support!

Aside from the innovative GorillaPod, JOBY have created the unique 3-Way Camera Strap. From shoulder to wrist to neck, this camera strap is genius in such a small way. Gone are the days of coiling excess strap out of shot, or trying to focus with a slack line getting in the way. And who wants to advertise their “CANON 7D” for all the world to see?

But wait! There’s more!

Cinetics began as a Kickstarter campaign for their pretty snappy CineSkates and have gone on to devise easy, light-weight solutions for sliders, motion and our favourite, car mount & rigging. Along with all the other amazing JOBY products we’ll be using on the rally, we’ll be putting to very good use our very own CineSquid! Check out the squidy goodness below.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be putting all our gear to some pre-production tests around Dubai. Watch this space for an unique perspective on the perfect Spiderman angle. In the meantime, go take a look at the GorillaPod family – from iPad stands to magnetic ‘Pods for all your Gorilla needs – including the bright & cheerful GorillaTorch.

Thank you, JOBY for your support!

You can find JOBY on Facebook: www.facebook.com/JobyInc

On Twitter: @Jobyinc

And via the Internet: www.joby.com

For media enquiries please email: mongolrallythefilm [at] gmail [dot] com

Ralliers: Past, Present, Future! We Want to Hear from You

As we stall just a little bit longer on announcing not one but TWO (okay, maybe three…) of our sponsors, we’ve devised a little survey. If you are a currently registered team, previous participant, or a hopeful rallier for 2014 we want to hear from you!

For less than 10minutes of your time, you can provide some valuable insight to what motivated you to participate in the Mongol Rally. Our super-dedicated and overworked Research Department will love you forever for it. We promise that there are no dodgy questions and we will not be using your information provided for anything outside of research for the film. We will always ask permission for anything we use in conjunction with the film, and rest assured we won’t be harassing you further than this survey if you opt out of future contact.

In answering the 10 short questions in the survey, you’ll be helping us gain a better understanding of what manner of crazy creature the typical Mongol Rallier is, and what drives them to… well, drive to Mongolia.

You can find the survey here  and also on our Facebook page.

Hello World (of Adventure)!

 You’re going to make an adventure film, you say? In a small van, you say? An all-chick team traversing across Europe and into Asia towards Mongolia? Why that sounds preposterous! Absurd! You’d have to be crazy to undertake such an impossible venture!

Well, we are. And fortunately for us, there are plenty others out there who have equally questionable sanity. This year marks 10 years of people removing themselves from the ordinary and into 1.2L cars in the spirit of adventure, and charity. Forming their own (but often times, shared) routes from Goodwood, UK to Ulaanbataar, Mongolia, we’re going to document the inspiring journey of small cars doing grand things!

We’ve officially been prepping since March 2012. For me though, prep started around the end of 2011 when I first heard about the Mongol Rally. I saw photos of wee cars beat up, and muddy; bumpers MacGyvered back into place. Ambulances traversing across rivers. Dusty smilin’ faces shaking with triumph at the finish line in Ulaanbataar. I was hooked. This was an adventure I needed to do. Not just do, but find out what it was that led people to come to the same conclusion. And film it all. From start to finish, with all the drama, hijinx and donkey carts in-between.

On a drive back from a location scout at a local fish market, I told Steph about it. Stinkin’ ever so slightly of the fresh catch of the day, that undeniable underlying aroma that lets every cat within a 25mile radius know you’ve been near a market of fish, she too came to the conclusion that it was the best freakin’ idea ever.

And so, it all began.

It’s now February. The panic has not set in…yet. We’ve managed to convince a couple more people that this is indeed the best freakin’ idea ever, and we’re in the middle of convincing a few more people that not only is it the best idea, but to sponsor us in making it happen. We’ve drafted up budgets; cried all over them; then re-written them. At least twenty times. We’ve made equipment lists, checked them, unchecked them. And we’ve drafted the scripts for our first ever crowdfunding video.

Over the coming days we’ll share some of the crazy that goes into prepping and making our first documentary film together. You’ll get to meet the crazy behind the scenes. We’ll tweet obscene messages about how we’re driving each other bananas over the littlest thing. We’ll show-off our car. We’ll parade our disasters alongside our triumphs. And we’ll Facebook all the glorious news as it happens. But most importantly, we’ll take you along our insane adventure so maybe when we roll into the finish line, dusty and full of smiles, you too will be convinced that it is indeed the best idea ever.

And maybe, just maybe, you will start making your own plans for a grand adventure.