Cyrus, who honed his skill in commercial films, says he believes that HD video is superior not only to legacy video, but also to film technology. "It's so easy once you get a feel for it," he explains. "If you need to do a color correction, you just pop a different board in the camera. What you see is what you get." Technical advancements should shorten time and expense for shooting and post-production, he believes.

One chore that may never diminish is culling the best shots from the miles of rough takes that compose every episode. Director/editor Steve Bebee can't be here, Brutsman explains. He’s 300 miles south in his studio in Ojai, Calif., editing the next episode. He views a mind-boggling 40 hours of footage for each one-hour show—all of it originated in the 24-frame-per-second progressive format and offline edited on 30-frame-per-second Beta SP. For online editing, Bebee uses a program called Final Cut Pro on a Pinnacle Editing board and sends the results to Prime Post in Universal City, Calif., for mastering. Speaking to us by cell phone, Bebee bemoans his absence from the shoot and says he tries to be on site during "crucial days," about 60% of total shooting time. Otherwise, he’s "always editing," leaving unanswered the question of when he finds time to sleep.

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Revved Up
Brutsman and Bebee make a formidable team. Brutsman praises the director/editor for his "amazing eye" and for his ability to find the best shot among dozens of look-alikes. Bebee likewise lauds Brutsman for his ceaseless energy and limitless drive. "The guy is going to own Hollywood one of these days," Bebee predicts.

Perhaps so. At present, the partners absolutely rule the high-def hot-rod niche. Discovery HD has committed to another season of Rides. Timed to coincide with the Detroit Autorama, Rides 2 will make its debut on The Learning Channel this winter. Hot rods on HDTV—one amazing American art form celebrating another.