There aren’t any premiere’s for a week and a half, so this is the last video review for a little while, but here’s the final review installment for this video-filled weekend: Nike SB: Nothing But the Truth.
Nike gets m-o-n-e-y. They rented out the most famous theatre in New York City to premiere a skate video – most of the people who see us ruining their ledges a mere twenty feet away from the theatre probably just assumed skateboarders were all homeless. Beyond that, they are pretty good hosts: free popcorn, soda, and Nike chocolate bars. And hot girls in skimpy outfits passing out candy. This really could’ve been a premiere for the Kastel comeback video, and still been a worthwhile outing when you take into account the particulars.
It’s somewhat sad when approximately seventy-five percent of the people in attendance have never done an ollie in their life, but that’s probably where the majority of Nike’s cash flow derives from anyway. Sneakerheads seem to insist on being anywhere that involves a line and a Nike check on it.
The video itself is quite good. At least the actual skateboarding in it is. Lewis Marnell, Wieger, Chet Childress, Omar Salazar and Todd Jordan all have standout parts. Wieger was probably the biggest surprise, with without a doubt, the best backside 180 nosegrinds in skateboarding. Todd’s last ten tricks are all conveniently grouped together at New York spots. And Childress, being the black sheep of the team, still has one of the most entertaining parts of the past few years. A full Gino part would have been nice, but since he was in jail for a large portion of the time when the video was being filmed, it’s kind of hard to put him at fault for it. (Still, six years on a team, and about seven tricks to your name in a video is unfortunate, but the dude’s put in his work over the years, and still got the biggest cheers of the night for a back lip kickflip out). No matter how much money Nike may have thrown at P-Rod to get him in SBs, New York seems to be rather indifferent to him, granted that the theatre was relatively silent throughout his entire part. It’s great for the sections where he skates ledges, but the mandatory switch heels down steps could probably account for the silence.
The skating probably takes up a good two-thirds of the video. Now, I’m all for artistry in skateboarding videos – as long as it’s done in moderation. This video is seriously feature length due to the skits, and there is no reason for a skateboard video to be over forty-five to fifty minutes long, much less so an hour and a half. It seems that many people forget that you can’t really apply the same principles of filmmaking of actual movies to skateboard videos, because they serve two completely different purposes. You watch a movie to be entertained and then go home and think about it, whereas a skate video serves a secondary purpose – it should make you want to go pick up a skateboard. Who the hell wants to sit in front of a TV for ninety minutes before they go out and skate in the morning? It is nice that videos are progressing, but they ultimately defeat their purpose once you start to focus on 16mm footage and skits. Regardless of what the common idiot on the Skate Perception message board may tell you, the actual skating is what matters in the end, and over-saturating your product with something nobody (well, nobody besides the aforementioned Skate Perception idiots themselves) came to see in the first place makes the video forgettable in the end.
As far as this premiere-filled weekend goes, Chapman takes the cake for the very opposite reason – concise, sick, and still well made without deterring from the actual flow of the skating. Take notes.
