Below continues part 2 of our interview with Project Pedal's Mike Ambs (left), as questioned by the awesome Micki Krimmel. Here's Part 1 of the interview. If you're in the LA area this weekend, please come on out to the Pedal Push party, sponsored by Indy Mogul and Next New Networks!

Micki Krimmel: Do you all have day jobs? How are you paying for all of this?

Mike Ambs: Well - I do have a day job - I have two actually. I work at iFilm and I just started a while ago at NBC.But I really wouldn't be able to do this if it weren't for Jeff Pulver and his contest. (Mike won ,000 as the first place prize for his entry in a video competition sponsored by Network2.) That really made all this possible - I had been trying for three years to raise the funds and save my own money. I had lots of "almost" moments but nothing panned out in the end, until now. I'm still quite short on the total budget but the ,000 got the ball rolling, for sure. We'll see what happens when I get back and need to edit and buy storage and pay for film transfers and digitize the 16mm we're bringing, etc. It's been three years but it's just the beginning still.

MK: You've published the budget and production schedule on your website and you've been sharing awful lot of information about how the project is coming together. What made you decide to be so open with your process?

MA: I don't know exactly made me "decide", it always just seemed the natural thing to do. I know it's not at all - I've met a lot of people out here in LA who make shorts and work on projects and they are very, very hush-hush about what they are doing. Whenever I suggest posting things like their budgets, and shooting schedules, and ideas - I get the "are you crazy?" look. But I think it's better that way - I don't want to come off like I'm some big shot filmmaker. I'm not, I'm just a guy who is trying very hard to tell a story I want to tell. And, I think, I hope, that if people can see where I'm coming from - it will appeal to more people. Plus, it's my first feature length doc and there's a lot of things I still need to learn - and by being open about what *I'm* doing, I've had a lot of tips on how to do things better and mistakes I might be setting myself up for.

MK: You shared a story about your producer backing out of the project and other ups and downs. How did you manage to keep moving forward? Did it help that you had so much online already? Did that sort of make you feel like you had to carry it through?

MA: I hit a lot of "dead ends" over the last few years and I had the support of Amanda (Producer) to keep me going and pick myself back up. I had the support of people through the site. It's a funny feeling when you get shot down and everything you've been working on falls apart... and not only does it fall apart - but you know there's a decent amount of people watching how you handle that. I always knew that it was going to be hard - so, I would have felt I needed to carry on regardless but the site really helped me do it in such a short amount of time. It kept me from dragging my feet too much. So that's another great reason to be open. People know things go to shit... It happens, but at least if you're open about it, they are going to do what they can to support you.

MK: How can people help? What do you still need?

MA: Well, donations are always great. Everything we're getting now goes to road expenses - making sure the crew is well fed, and then all donations after that start getting set aside for post and distribution. But it's not only money. I mean, a lot of help I've received so far has been from people who could have given money to help me afford something - but instead they had what I needed and helped me out that way. Maybe someone out there has a post-house they are willing to let us use. Things like that always seem like long shots but you'd be surprised. Spreading the word is also really important. It's hard to get people aware of the project. One of the biggest things people can do if they can't donate is to write a blog post or a myspace bulletin.

MK: Have you thought about other ways to build the community around the project? I imagine lots of people have travel/biking stories they'd like to share.

MA: Yes - I always wanted to come up with a great way that people we meet (or even ones we miss) could share their stories... upload pics, footage, etc. I wasn't ever sure how to pull that off - but man, after seeing what Steve & Zadi (Jet Set Show) did with Mix... I mean, their following is huge and mine's not so much... but Mix is a great site for that kind of interaction. It's something I would love to look into. Actually, I'd love to have it up before the trip - but... yea, I'm not sure I'll be able to pull that off without giving myself a heart attack. Hopefully, when we're done shooting we can try to build that kind of interaction into the site.

Mike and Amanda with the JETSET and Noodlescar crews. Photo by Lan Bui.

MK: How do you think the videoblog and the online community will help the success of the finished film?

MA: Well that part of the project is one of the most exciting for me. I feel really strongly that it will always be important that anyone, anywhere can pick up a camera and say what they want to say and put it out there for the world to see online.But I think there's a room for growth in vlogs. I think a huge percent of people see vlogs as amateurish and I'm hoping the community will really get behind projects that push that perception.

MK: Well you're certainly doing that. And in effect, you are creating a tool set for other videobloggers/filmmakers… That's not really a question. It's just awesome.

MA: Aw, thanks. Well, I'm trying

MK: OK do you promise to keep us posted with what's happening on your blog?

MA: Psh yea! The blog will stay up all through filming, all through post, all through my adventures of trying to get *someone* to play it in a theatre, the festivals, all of that. The blog will be there to keep people posted and I'll still be posting episodes after the trip. It's something I'm looking forward to actually - I can't imagine doing any part of this documentary without the support of people who read and watch Pedal. So, yes, I promise. Cross my heart.

MK: Pinkie swear?

MA: Double pinkie swear

MK: Awesome. Have a great trip!