It’s such a huge commitment to make a long form skate video.
Regular movie productions have very strict times of shooting with paid crew turning up under union rules and lunch is laid on.
Skateboard video shoots, for the uninitiated, are not like this. Skaters look after their own timetables and the footage is gathered unsanctioned and unsupervised in the streets, mostly without security erm...supervision. Nobody is buying the skaters lunch unless they’re lucky/unlucky enough to be with thier ‘team manager’ and of course they’ll most likely be kicked out of the spots within three tries of anything.
Many parts of the world have less than ideal weather for skateboarding but Britain is well known for the inclement type, so rain dodging becomes an obsession for UK skaters and ‘filmers’ who often seem to know more than the Met Office about upcoming climatic conditions.
On top of all this the actual skateboarding might be far from easy, require multiple visits to complete to the satisfaction of all parties and keep up with modern demands of the culture. A virtually impossible situation to deal with.
Anyone who manages a few minutes of serious/usable footage a year is doing really well. We all ought to be thankful that Callun Loomes has managed to find a full 48 minutes for the lastest Get Lesta masterpiece ‘Darling’.
The dedication of these film makers is incredible especially given the limited ways of making all the dedication and the required travel pay for itself. I’m not sure the youtube/instagram algorithm recognizes all the effort.
By comparison, in my experience, stills photographers waltz up for the last five minutes of the shoot, take all the glory of the final image for ‘print’ and flounce off to the next appointment with style and/or fashion. Comme le flâneur.
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend any of the filming of ‘Darling’ but keep up the good work Callun and everyone; hopefully I’ll be there for some of the next one.
Extra text for this post that wouldn’t fit on instagram.
A good reminder of the UK climate in the opening sequence. Jordan Lightwaters sensible winter headwear. Chris Vile’s community relations. Mark Stern's existential questioning. Marcus Palmer must have magic potions? James Bush’s easy empty town centre charm. Luke Humphries making Sneinton Market feel like Love Park. Oliver Lawrence’s selection of haircuts. Jacob Eardley’s reuse of broken street furniture. Josh Hay’s dance school visit. Jason Cloetes' not so silent face. Alex Hallford showing the locals the lines. Rhiannes exploration footwear. George Worthington’s customised spots. Lucas Healy gets the last part but it’s not just for his beanie over hood combo. Another complete manifesto from Get Lesta. Showing us the true character of UK skateboarding through its hugely varied characters and psychogeography. Keep the good work!
If you’ve got this far you’ll have noticed I’ve avoided talking about the actual skateboarding. skate videos are difficult for me to watch because every second, second I’m imagining how I would have shot a still photograph that would do any particular move justice. For me a video this length would be an archive of a thousand moments and these ones, sadly for me and as previously discussed, are missed.
Watch Get Lesta ‘Darling’ above.