Browsing “Film + Video”

Over at the SbA site we have just commissioned James James to cut this ripping Recon piece on the West Hobart Bowl which is the 2^nd oldest park in Australia. Here is a little sample of the visuals. The video is over here.

If geologists rated skateparks the West Hobart Bowl would be classified as Jurassic. It is a crusty, meandrous beast that will happily spit you (and your flesh) into the stratosphere if you hesitate or make an error in judgment. It is a lumpy 100m roller coaster ride that takes you from a shallow dish, through the belly of a snake, past the demonic ‘Thrasher’ corner into the actual bowl. The West Hobart Bowl, (which is actually more of a snake run) has been sessioned for thirty three years now…. (continued here)

I took a trip down to Kinetic this weekend to peep the new 5Boro vid and to personally congratulate long time underground ripper and FDR local Willy Akers, on joining the pro ranks.  Always humble and permanently stoked, he may be the one guy out there who could give Theotis a run for the “nicest pro skater” title.  Delaware’s finest for sure – the kid kills it on all fronts.

And the whole Join or Die video is super sick.  With gritty super 8 footage of the Big Apple and a rugged soundtrack of classic tunes, it definitely delivers that raw, east coast vibe you’d expect from the good dudes over at 5Boro. Easily one of the most underrated squads out there. Tookmanian, Falla, Jimmy MacDonald, Pensyl – everyone on the team kills it with style.

If you haven’t caught it already at one of the premiers, the new 5Boro video, Join or Die, will be up on the Thrasher site this Friday, Feb 24. Don’t sleep on this one.

STANCE socks features some of their riders and new feet coverings in this well produced commercial.

“We thought Solitary Arts and their 50mm 87A “Black Eggs” wheels were rad. So much so that we were inspired to create this clip and bridge the gap between 2 skate crews: Solitary Arts and Circle A.” Featuring Sean Connolly, Rich Hart and friends.

Tomorrow night this opens in San Francisco. Last weekend I help art director, Porous Walker set up some of the installation and documented the progress. Photos can be seen over on my COLOR blog. More on Porous, the art department and the installation coming soon.

About the installation from the gallery:

FIFTY24SF Gallery, in association with Upper Playground and American Zoetrope, are pleased to announce TWIXT sc. 83, an exhibition and installation coinciding with legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola’s newest feature film, Twixt. The exhibition opens January 13, 2012 with a public reception at 7PM.

Over his past three films, Francis Ford Coppola, famed director of The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now, has set-out to create self-written, self-financed, self-produced, and self-distributed films with his own intimate crew. Developed through personal experiences, a love of American Gothic, Edgar Allan Poe, and Coppola’s own trials as a horror genre author, Twixt is the story of B-list author Hall Baltimore’s process of writing his new mystery while researching an old murder case in a remote Northern California town. While Baltimore (played by Val Kilmer) is seemingly rewriting history with the help of the an eccentric town sheriff, he finds himself embedded in his most personal, demanding story he has ever written. Filmed around Northern California with locals as actors, as well as sets built on Coppola’s own property in Rutherford, Twixt examines the process of storytelling as it applies to personal experience, artistic influences, and the classic American genres that have become staples of modern cinema.

Working within their own self-financed restraints and freedoms, the team behind Twixt had the unique experience of researching and building sets in and around Coppola’s home in Northern California. Many of the sets were built in Coppola’s backyard, while some required the small town backdrops of Northern Napa and Lake counties. In keeping with the original spirit of American horror, some scenes were created with intentional kitsch, while some dream sequence were shot with highly-detailed, ornate sets and original post-production work.

For TWIXT sc. 83, members of Twixt‘s tiny tiny Art Dept, (Jimmy DiMarcellis, David Hopp, and John Paul Goorjian) will be rebuilding the set of the film’s dramatic climax sequence, scene 83. The center of the gallery will feature a remake and stand-alone installation of the film’s clock tower, shown in the film as an impromptu 3D experience. Also on display from Twixt, will be bat and birdhouses from Nice, California artist John Hathaway, whose front yard/gallery/shop “The Woodpecker”, was a key set in the film. TWIXT sc. 83 will also feature a series of other pieces from the film’s set department that were found around different locations in Northern California and in the Coppola archives, as well as behind the scenes photography by the film’s executive producer, Anahid Nazarian and set photographer, Kalman Mueller. The gallery will run trailers of the film, along with other enhancements to bring Twixt‘s horror scenes to life.

Here is a “Behind The Seams” video that I shot with my wife, Amber B. In it she walks you through the process of creating the stop-motion animation in the Eden video, piece by piece.

Amber and I co-directed the video, which tells the story of Element Eden. The project was a fun break from skate videos, and an opportunity to work together on something creative. I’m really looking forward to see where Amber takes her new found passion for animation and filmmaking.

To view the Eden video, click here. And for an in-depth article, click here.

When it comes to documenting Australian skateboarding in moving pictures, Chris Middlebrook is the most well known and no doubt one of the most devoted. Two of his most recent accomplishments include Nike SB Chronicles #1 and what is arguably the video part of the year: Nick Boserio’s Life Splicing part.

Aside from VX and HD Midds is also a bit of a Super 8 lord. Over at the SbA site we have recently unearthed Chris Middlebrook’s Super 8 reel from 2008. Inside you will find archival footage of: Shane O’Neill, Andrew Brophy Dane Burman, Lewis Marnell, Andrew Currie, Bryce Golder, Nick Boserio, Alex Campbell, Justin Brock, Tommy Fynn and a myriad of other talented rolling units.

Chris Middlebrook is currently working on a part for the next Transworld Video “The Cinematographer Project”: be prepared for some locally spawned lunacy in that one.

Merry Merry Season peoples. See you next year.

TOP 8 from THE ISLAND

1ST: Chima Ferguson ($4000)

2ND: Tommy Fynn ($2500)

3RD: Jack Fardell ($1500)

4TH: Jack Kirk ($800)

5TH: Jake Duncombe ($500)

6TH: Reece Warren ($300)

7TH: Alex Campbell ($200)

8TH: Joel McIlroy ($200)

ISLAND WRAP

Cockatoo Island is not only the largest isle in Sydney Harbour; it has one of the most colourful histories. Prior to being home to the first ever SbA Pro/Am Grand Final it was an imperial prison, an industrial school, a reformatory, a jail and was the site of one of Australia’s largest boat building docks. Cockatoo is also closely aligned with the legend of bushranger Captain Thunderbolt, who was one of two prisoners to ever escape the island. Their escape was aided by Thunder’s lover Mary Ann Bugg who swam through the harbours shark-infested waters to save them. Thunderbolt was given his name whilst on the job: during one of his robberies he knocked on a door as a clap of thunder and lightening ignited the skies. The victim asked who was at the door to which he replied: “Thunderbolt”. Of course prior to the intervention of colonialism Cockatoo was no doubt a sacred stomping ground for indigenous tribes and possibly the odd cockatoo.

During event lead up there were several trips out to the island. My first trip was with Cuzz and we were in charge of surface checks on the heritage-listed ground. After a serious run in with an egg-guarding screech-burger of a sea gull, and several heated discussions regarding the logistical problems of holding a comp on the island, we thought we would calm our nerves with a beverage. Whilst ordering the edge was taking off by a gruff but jovial chinless wonder of a Hungarian tuck-shop manager. He was the kind of odd character you would find in an old Bond film. His vibe somehow smoothed the situation and mid bev we ran back over to the site and finally sussed how the course could work.

Over the months of prep that followed it was no doubt that Logistics Manager Steve Murphy went through the most trials and tribulations. At one point he was heard ordering some fluorescent inflatable tower lights over the phone: “So how big are they mate?“… (pause)… “Oh so about as big as a fat person?” The attention to detail was phenomenal. So how do you get a skate course built on an island you ask? Every element had to come by barge: 24 of them! The course design and construction was a combination of efforts between SbA, Convic and Shane Serena’s Revolution crews. The course housed elements such as the bank to ledge to bank, the out rail (based on Perth’s swing out bar), the doorstop slappy kickers, the wheel chair ramp and the Sydney Harbour Bridge China Bank. (article continued with video over on the sba site)

(link straight to video)

Elemental Awareness hit the road to visit their friends on the Apache, Flathead, and Navajo reservations, where they were able to skate with the kids, and connect on a larger level…

Through the CHANGING LIVES THROUGH SKATEBOARDING program, they were able to give away more than 100 pairs of shoes, 50 skateboards and tons of other product. Needless to say, the kids were hyped and received some much needed gear.

Click here to see some photos from the tour. And for more information on Elemental Awareness and their programs, visit their site and Facebook page.