Producer & Director – Chris McClean – chrismcclean.co.uk
Cinematographer & Editor – Mark Waters – markwatersfilm.com

Awesome footage combined with awesome poetry and music. A very nicely put together piece overall. This piece won the Shorties section at the London Surf Film Festival.

Filmmaker: Chris Bryan
Source: Mpora
Music: Lower Your Eyelids to Die with the Sun’ by M83.

This video was shot at Teahupoo on what’s said to be the biggest day it’s ever been surfed! There is something awesome about a super raw film piece, which in this case is simply raw oceanic power destroying everything in its path in slow motion. The super slow-mo and music is all these waves needed. Just simple.

Simple. Raw. Powerful.

Chris Bryan explains:

This day at Teahupoo – Aug 27th 2011 during the Billabong Pro waiting period is what many are calling the biggest and gnarliest Teahupoo ever ridden. Chris Bryan was fortunate enough to be there working for Billabong on a day that will go down in the history of big wave surfing. The French Navy labeled this day a double code red prohibiting and threatening to arrest anyone that entered the water.
Kelly Slater described the day by saying “witnessing this was a draining feeling being terrified for other people’s lives all day long, it’s life or death. Letting go of that rope one time can change your life and not many people will ever experience that in their life.”

Filmmakers: Sherpas Cinema
Source: Vimeo

I got sent this clip from the movie All I Can the other day and watched it twice straight away! I couldn’t believe the quality of the segment. The cinematography was definitely a stand-out, but the way they managed to tell the story in this segment is just beautiful.

The riding is super good as well. Tight lines and insane tricks over parked cars and roads!

This is a great article on the making of this segment.

It’s no surprise that All I Can has won the following awards:

“BEST FEATURE-LENGTH MOUNTAIN FILM” – Banff Mountain Film Festival 2011
“BEST DOCUMENTARY” – IF3 Film Festival Montreal 2011
“MOST INNOVATIVE VISUAL FX” – IF3 Film Festival Montreal 2011
“BEST SKI FILM” – Adventure Film Festival, Boulder 2011
“BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY” – ESPN Fan Favorites 2011
“BEST FILM OF THE YEAR” – Adventure Film Festival, Copenhagen 2011

The film has been explained as:

An unparalleled cinematic experience: All I Can is a stunning exploratory essay that compares the challenges of big mountain skiing to the challenges of global climate change. Shot on 6 continents over 2 years, the world’s best skiers deliver inspirational performances while ground-breaking cinematography expands our vision of the natural world.

Journey through Morocco’s majestic desert peaks, Greenland’s icy fjords, Chile’s volcanic craters, Alaskan spine walls, and more. Join the revolution and experience one of the most spectacular, captivating, and thought-provoking films ever created in the action sports genre.

This segment directed by Dave Mossop & JP Auclair

I have just finished voting in the 2012 Photo of the Year Contest on Pinkbike. I thought that these photo’s would just be a couple of really good shots mixed in with some kinda average shots, but wow was I wrong!

All the shots absolutely BLEW me away and it’s such a slick, easy method of voting. I can’t wait to see who makes it into the next round. Everyone deserves a gold star in my opinion though! The best mountain bike photography out there.

UPDATE (16 Nov): You can view the judges feedback on all the images here

Go vote now!

Filmmaker: Sébastien Montaz-Rosset
Source: Vimeo

Watch Pay for full version (42 minutes)

My heart is still in my throat after having just finished viewing the full screening of this film! If anyone wants to see the definition of people pushing boundaries, this is your film.

Sébastien Montaz-Rosset and his crazy friends have combined highlining with BASE jumping and have come out with their new boundary-pusher – ‘Skylining’. If you are in the category of those that don’t enjoy heights, you’ll probably end up pushing stop on this video, as for a lot of the shots, Sébastien takes you literally over the edge of some of the highest mountains in the world, and you end up with a solid lump in your throat.

My first proper experience of highlining was watching the movie Man On Wire featuring the awesome Philippe Petit, who walked between the Twin Towers in 1974. (A movie definitely worth watching). It’s crazy to see how far some guys have taken the sport now.

Experts such as Montaz-Rosset have termed this new sport: Highlining – a combination of rock climbing, slacklining and tightrope walking. While Petit used a steel cable, these days the structure and fabric of the line is made of flat nylon webbing to keep it from rolling under the athlete’s foot. Unlike a tightrope in high tension, the highline is slack with only a measure of tension. This makes the line easily susceptible to wind and any small shift in weight, bouncing the line like a trampoline and making the walk that much more of a dynamic challenge.

When asked what initially attracted Sébastien to the sport, he answered:

As a slackliner: the fact that there is nothing around you. Your link to solid ground is a 26-millimetre sling under your feet. It is an incredible sensation of freedom but also very destabilizing! As a filmmaker: the esthetic beauty of it and its incredible photography. I like everything there is about it: an original unknown activity in a mountain environment.

The film itself is beautifully constructed and Michael Denny must also be given props for his amazing sound design throughout the film. I loved the very ‘free’ feeling which Sébastien managed to bring across in the film, which in the words of the athletes is the most free thing that you can experience. I also love how super easy the Skyliners made it all look!

There is a definite tight camaraderie between all of the Skyliners and as they explain in the film you can’t just put up a line with 2 people, it takes a whole team to get it working properly.

Without your friends, you cannot accomplish anything but once you are on the highline, the concentration is so intense that you cannot hear anything, cannot see anybody cheering you; you are so deeply absorbed. You separate in two teams, one stays on the main peak, the other abseils down and climbs up again with the highline attached to the back of a harness. Then we pull from both side with pulleys and blockers, sometimes even up to 1000 kilos of tension.

Some moments that stood out for me in the film were the incredible ‘bridge-swing’ style jump off the slackline with a floating backflip into thin air (21:30) and the insane highline walk between the 2 points with no safety leash (33:41).

The one shot I found absolutely incredible was the BASE jump off the cliff where they disappear into the clouds (26:22). It just was such a powerful moment for me with the music and sereneness of it all building up and then just vanishing. Also when the 2 girls come and witness the one guy backflipping off the slackline and how it bring them to tears, well I must be honest, I teared up a little as well! I never thought I’d ever do that, but there is a certain beauty to it all and also just a part of it that the human mind just cannot grasp!

More about the Skyliners team: facebook.com/?pages/?Skyliners/?270006826367436

Sébastien’s Facebook page: facebook.com/?pages/?Seb-Montaz-Video-blog/?149892381710213

Quotes used from an interview on the MB! Blog

Filmmaker: Dan Skajarowski
Editor: Mickey Smith
Source: Vimeo

This awesome bodyboarding video is of Dan Skajarowski on a trip he did in Ireland recently. It’s such a great little edit and really makes you just wanna get in the water and surf!

The cinematography is great and it also looks like some older cameras were used to film some of the water angles. I think the thing that also stands out for me is the music – ‘I will remain’ by Matthew and the Atlas  – which goes to show how important a really good soundtrack is for a video. A track can make or break a video. The song also fits perfectly with the style of the video – fast, happy, and soulful.

This bodyboarding video also shows that they most definitely do have amazing waves in Ireland!

Photographer: Todd Glaser
Source: Todd Glaser Blog

I remember watching Todd Glaser (was more commonly know as Lil’ Todd) ripping it up as a grom in the No Friends bodyboarding series. It’s awesome to see he’s now become an incredibly respected, amazing photographer. His work is insane and he now works as a senior photographer for Surfer Mag.

I found this image on his blog and while it looks like a regular lineup shot at first glance, I couldn’t stop looking at it. There’s a certain striking symmetry between the foregrounded peoples heads and the perfect wave in the background. It’s also obviously captured on film, which gives it a great warm feel. I love the calmness and quietness to this image.

Filmmaker: Lee Garrett
Source: Vimeo

This is a really cool little skimboarding video which is filmed in and around South Africa. What I really liked was the fact that it was really well filmed and as Lee explains below, he used some old Super 8 footage from his great grandparents. How cool is that!

The video makes you feel as if you get a good understanding of what skimboarding’s all about: the beach, the fun, and general vibe around skimboarding.

I asked Lee Garrett a couple questions regarding his video:

1. Tell us a little about yourself and your love for film

I’m currently living in Durban and working as a graphic designer for a local company called Modern Museum.
I’ve been interested in film from a young age. My brother and myself would film each other, and our friends dirt jumping. Always documenting what we did. I mostly film as a side project now.

2. What do you love about skimboarding?

Skimboarding is super rad cause it’s a mix between surfing and skating. I do both, so it’s a cool combination.

3. What drove you to make this video?

The skim scene in Durban is relatively small, so I wanted to make a video to promote skimming. And I was doing my degree part time so I chose it as a topic for my study.

4. What cameras and equipment did you use to film this?

Currently i’m rolling with a Canon 60D, Canon HG20 with a water housing, Sony Fx-1. I’ve also made a small jib, dolly and steady-cam. There’s also some old Super 8 footage of Durban from my great grandparents.

5. Who/what inspires you?

Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, Alien Workshop/Habitat skate videos and generally just hanging with my homies.

Filmmaker: Ipath Films
Source: Vimeo

This is a rad little clip of some guys busy skating the natural formations out in the desert. It may not have the biggest tricks and the classiest action, but just the shear exploration and fun aspect of it was inspirational enough.

Would make for an awesome stills shoot location!

Riders: Kenny Reed, Matt Rodriguez, Steve Nesser, Jon Goemann, Ryan Lay, Ben Raybourn, Danny DiCola, Ryan Reyes, Steve Durante.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNNhFvgWlq0

Filmmaker: Clay Porter
Rider: Aaron Gwin
Source: Youtube

I have been dying to see this film, and just this clip was enough to warrant a purchase of 3 Minute Gaps!

Clay Porter is a film-making genius. His work always impresses me and this clip is just ridiculous! Some of the tightest angles I’ve seen, which is great as Aaron Gwin‘s riding is incredibly tight and fast, so I think the style of the filming fits it perfectly.

Aaron Gwin just floors it! Its great to see him riding somewhere, but the world cup circuit, as on his home trails the man definitely has some style. Huge whips and absolutely massive jumps, seem to be the easiest thing in the world for him!