📝 Intro & Interviews by Jacques Talbot
🎨 Header Art + Editor Assist by Farran Golding
Watching skate videos over the years is a constant reminder of how rich skateboarding cinematography is, and how it has evolved alongside mainstream film across different eras.
From a film perspective, the late David Lynch is an interesting case. Lynch changed cinema forever, but his visionary influence is also a throughline to skateboard videography, well-documented in the work of Jacob Harris, the creator of the “Atlantic Drift” series. Harris connects with an idea explored by filmmakers in genres beyond skateboarding: “Surreal representations of life have always felt truer to a coherent experience of reality to me, [rather] than what you might call a realist or documentary feeling. That’s the corner I’m operating from.”
The temporal loops, visual non-sequiturs, and liminal spaces throughout Harris’ work create a unique feel within skate videography, so it tracks that inspiration is drawn from outside. Artists that resonate with Harris are those that, like Lynch, capture the absurdity in day-to-day life.
“If a filmmaker, musician, comedian or whatever can synthesize and express this fracturing, be it [Andrei] Tarkovsky or [Peter] Greenaway, it chimes with me.”
The recurring imagery and soundscapes that characterize Harris’ “Atlantic Drift” series are compelling because — otherworldly as they seem — they’re also familiar. Specific moments present as a first-person recollection of an event. They’re imperfect, but also somehow more faithful to lived experience.
“Memory is fragmentary, flawed and hallucinatory, but it has a gloss of coherence. I always wanted people to experience [the “Atlantic Drift” series] like a memory of their own that was already half rotting,” says Harris. “So many filmmakers do this in different ways; pre-eminently Andrei Tarkovsky, but there are major bits of things from Raging Bull to your average romcom that you could point to.”
Evidence of the crossover between skate videos and cinema is everywhere. Spike Jonze is the obvious case. The Oscar-winner’s videos have paid homage to golden eras of film, as with Chocolate’s 1995 western-inspired Las Nueve Vidas De Paco. Later in the 2000s, Grant Yansura’s WKND Skateboards began their genre-spanning skits, emulating scenes from formative films of the 80s and 90s. The Boys of Summer videos are a love letter to the 1980s American farce. Today, the veil feels thinner than before, with cinephile Tom Karangelov searching for iconic film locations in and around Los Angeles, and melding them with nearby skate spots.
Interested to learn more about skate videographers’ connection to cinema and the filmmaking process, I reached out to Greg Hunt (Sight Unseen, The DC Video, Mind Field, Propeller, Alright, Ok), Matt King (DON’T LIKE, Sci-Fi Fantasy’s Endless Beauty), Tomas Morrison (GETJUICED, Quasi’s “BOBCBC”), and Drew Adams (Black Sheep, Strangelove) to discuss cinematic influence, collaboration, and creative direction in skateboard videos today.
To what degree do you credit cinema as informing your approach to skate videos, and what are some early cinematic influences for you?
Greg Hunt: When I started making skate videos, I was interested in the very cinematic films of the 70s and early 80s, especially Days of Heaven, which was all shot with natural light. I think that film really shaped my visual language and how I shot stuff, because I was so inspired by the silhouettes, a lot of the long lens, and the really strong compositions. I think I was sort of aspiring to capture some of that when I was out shooting skating. Also, early skate videos like the Santa Cruz videos: Wheels of Fire, specifically. That was a huge influence because it was all shot on 16mm film — just really beautiful film footage.
Tomas Morrison: All of the technical elements that are involved in filmmaking really appeal to me and the way my brain works. With my dad working for JVC Electronics growing up, I had access to cameras, so naturally, it’s woven into my DNA. More than ever, I see a correlation between cinema and skateboard videos because all the tools are extremely accessible: color-grading, sound, and cameras.
I think there’s a reason why MACBA looks so good, or Love Park. All these places with negative space around them. And that could relate to film with respect to locations or production design. The sound signature of the VX, for example. Sound engineers exist because people have a preference for how things sound. I think there’s a lot of correlation that we don’t even realize we’re conscious of.
Matt King: It plays a big part. As far as movies, I’d say Batman Returns. That’s a huge inspiration for me. Watching that when I was little, I was like, “This is fucking scary and looks cool.” Just the colors. So, I base a lot of my stuff off that. It’s so freaky. A lot of horror films that I watch give me inspiration. Insidious has a lot of visual inspiration, and the music too. Just kind of uneasy, scary shit. It makes me want to film stuff myself and not jump into the [Adobe] After Effects world as much.
Drew Adams: Any influence that I can see crossing over into my skate content would be look and feel. My favorite examples of what I’m trying to describe would be the silent filler city shots used as transitions in The Dark Knight Rises. The NYC B-roll, locations, and wardrobe in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990 version), and the Florida beach house scenes in Red Dragon. The films listed do a great job showcasing the environment where the storyline lives. I like the dark crime mood, city street, “gutter shit,” doom feeling. I tried to implement that into my last two full-lengths: Black Sheep 2 and Black Sheep 3.
Do you have a clear creative vision for a video at the outset, or does this come into focus when the project is already in progress?
Greg Hunt: I try to have a vision early on. Never before because — especially if it’s a skate video — things can change. The early periods are always a bit of a beta period for the people that are involved. Sometimes that shifts a bit; someone might get hurt. It takes a little while for it to really get going. But in that early period, I do try to think about how I want it to be, and I think that’s because I don’t want to repeat myself. I like to be challenged. I like to have something that I’m really excited about, something that’s new that I haven’t done, or that I haven’t seen. I’m not always able to do that, but I at least like to try.
Some companies give more creative agency to the videographers behind their projects, whereas other videos seem more brand-led. What factors can contribute towards — or compromise — creative direction?
Matt King: When I’m editing for someone else’s company, it’s a combination of both. They have ideas and how to execute them, and I add my own stuff as we go along. I always have ideas, but they’ll change. Sometimes it will be like, “Oh this wasn’t a good idea, but I can make them make sense in the video — it’ll go with music.” That’s always fun, because it’s something that looks cool that you usually wouldn’t have unless you had gone through the process of thinking of a skit or filming something funny. I try to make it the best I can vibe-wise: just hanging out and having a good time. That’s usually when it’s going to turn out good.
Working for Sci-Fi, I do whatever I think is best or what I want to watch, and then we go back and Jerry [Hsu] will watch it, and the skaters will watch it. They give me input to change stuff, and sometimes it looks better, and sometimes it’s fine [as is.] It’s really fun to work with them and it’s easy, and most of the time it’s pretty close to what we’re looking for. It’s the first video stuff we’re doing, so I’m kind of helping them shape everything with Luke Murphy, who I worked with a lot on Endless Beauty. It’s a lot easier working with Sci-Fi than by myself where I’m just deciding everything. That can get really stressful, and I can get in my head about it.
Greg Hunt: You need to make sure you’re surrounded by people who trust that you’re going to make it really great, and that you’re going to make something that has you in it. Mike Hill [owner of Alien Workshop], has generosity and trust in that. He created a lot of those amazing visuals [for Mind Field]. What they contributed was incredible, but he wasn’t trying to micromanage what I was doing. Him and Chad [Bowers] were doing what they were doing; I was doing what I was doing. There might have been some little notes, but he really trusted me and gave me the time. I was able to get it to where it felt exactly right. Having a good relationship with the skaters, and having trust there is equally as important. Because the more they trust you, the stronger the end product will be. And I think the more creative people that you really align and connect with, the better the project’s going to be. I would say the element that can really get in the way is not giving yourself enough time: taking on projects that are too big where I don’t have the time to creatively sit with the project and develop it.
Tomas Morrison: My philosophy now is to work with companies that appreciate what I do, and the monetary exchange is based on what a company can afford. For me, that exchange is important as it helps value myself and my time. There does have to be that exchange happening. But at the end of the day, I know what companies are working with. If I feel valued for the work that I’m putting in, that’s all I can ask for, and it keeps my head clear, and I make my money outside of skating. It keeps my passion for filming skate videos pure and doesn’t taint my love for it. I have seen so many great filmers move on because of a sour relationship with the compensation and not feeling it’s worth it — and I get it — but if you can make it work, the juice is worth the squeeze. If you want to make money in skating, that’s up to you. Hearing Daniel Wheatley talk about starting Blanket [with Soul Crusher] on The Bunt and how it’s just an avenue to explore — he’s trying, you know? I appreciate that hustle.
What degree of importance do you place on experimentation? Do you think there is still the same scope to take creative risks in skate videos today?
Drew Adams: I always like to see somebody breaking the mold. Those WKND guys do it pretty good with the stuff they put out. Every time I make a new clip or a new video, I always try to do something I’ve never done before, either using new title or camera techniques. I think that’s good for skating.
Tomas Morrison: As a filmer, it’s really hard to go against the grain and serve it up in a different way, because if you try something new and the audience doesn’t like the video, then it doesn’t serve the skater and all the effort they put into it. The formula of skate videos really hasn’t changed much since the introduction of skateboard documentation. Hook, parts, b-roll, and outro, all scored and displayed like an album for the company. It’s hard to challenge it, but I think that we’re at that point [now] more than ever.
In any creative endeavor, I feel it’s important to try to add something new. Progression can’t happen without creation. There are so many tools at our disposal. It’s scary, but I think that at the end of the day, you might as well try. If you can communicate that feeling we all get from skateboarding and put it into a video, that is special. That’s what I think good cinema is. Bringing people into a world. If you can successfully do that, there are no rules.
Greg Hunt: One-hundred percent. I think there’s the ability to take risk. I don’t think that will ever change. Taking the risk is hard. I’m guilty of not always taking the risk because it’s scary. Look at Menikmati. When that video came out, it was so different. After [it], everyone was rolling long lens. That’s what Fred [Mortagne] did. When Bill [Strobeck] made “cherry,” he was like, “This is the way I see it. This is the way I want it to be.” He wasn’t looking at what anyone else in skateboarding was doing. He was making the video that he wanted to make, that he saw in his mind, and that takes a lot of courage. But if you’re successful with it, it has so much influence because I think skateboarders always want something new and fresh.
Certain creative partnerships seem to endure. To what extent do you credit collaboration; whether with a second videographer, skater or company owner, as contributing to the creative success of a video?
Tomas Morrison: When working on this Bobby Dekeyzer project, we realized that just doing parts in the same fashion doesn’t hit like it used to, or for feel fulfilling that matter. I feel fortunate to work with Bob and Quasi because they are willing to take a chance and challenge the medium. Quasi nourishes creativity and encourages experimentation. It’s very special to be around people who value this. Releasing “BOBCBC” was different and scary. However, doing it the same way as we had previously [done it] seemed almost crazier. The one thing that kept our foundation strong was that if everyone else hated it, at least we loved it, and we felt something special.
Drew Adams: The first would be Josh Frazier, the owner now at Black Sheep [skateshop in Charlotte, NC]. He’s a solid guy, great leader, and takes care of his people. The second one would be Ty Brown. He’s from Charleston, moved to Charlotte several years back, and he helped me film second angles throughout the whole of Black Sheep 1, 2, and 3. He also had last part in Black Sheep 2 and first part in Black Sheep 3. He’s an incredible skater and my right-hand man on everything from fixing spots to ideas editing-wise, and a big help managing the crew of guys that we had during those times.
Matt King: I’ve been working with Spanky and that has been really cool — if someone is into my vision and they also have ideas for their project — it works out really well. For [DON’T LIKE], I’ll just film stuff and he’s like, “Yeah, do whatever you want, this is your video.” That’s different; that’s fun I can just do whatever.
But working on something for his sponsors is nice because, creatively, I could do whatever and I’ll show him something, and the skating part is what he’s focused on — as well as the art part. But he dials me in with the skating: “Maybe that clip could be there, this clip should be here, this should be shorter.” I think it turns out well because I put all of my creative energy into it and then we go back and tweak the skating.
Greg Hunt: Working with Ken Block [on The DC Video] — I’ve never worked with anyone who was that calm, cool and effective. That guy was running that whole brand, every ad, every video I made, every commercial, every shoe that was designed, all the clothing. I never saw him get upset, never saw him raise his voice. Nobody there had an issue with him. Seeing somebody who can operate at that level and be so humble had a huge influence on me. Ken was always generous, always made time for me no matter what. That stuck with me, because there’s few people I’ve collaborated with that were as successful as he was. And he was as kind as you could possibly be, so that had a huge effect.
🎬 Related: Andrew Allen’s Movie Matinee (2025), ‘It Feels Like You’re Both Getting The Clip’ — A Reappraisal of Fisheye Videography (2024), ‘Shrinking Attention Spans & The Search For the Perfect-Length Skate Video (2023), Name Dropping — Four Videographers On Putting Skaters’ Names in Videos (2022), ‘You’re Ruining The Aesthetic’ — Five Videographers On Skate Video Music Supervision (2019)
QS Criterion Closet next?
So sick
No Benny Maglinao??