Making a film, whether about skateboarding or any other subject, is a challenging endeavor. Without a compelling creative vision, the result can easily become uninspired. That’s why truly exceptional skate videos, offering a unique perspective or aesthetic, are so rewarding to discover amidst the formulaic and repetitive ones.
To gain insight into the minds of some of our favorite skate video creators and understand their sources of inspiration, we interviewed three filmmakers: Colin Read, Bing Liu, and Greg Hunt.
These individuals have significantly contributed to the skateboarding film world, and they also create films outside of skateboarding, providing them with interesting perspectives on what makes a video truly work.
Essentially, we aimed to create a skateboarding version of Inside the Actor’s Studio with these talented filmmakers. Enjoy the show.
Colin Read
Do you recall the first movie that deeply moved you?
Probably The Land Before Time. As a kid, I watched it repeatedly. It was an incredibly emotional movie, so I’d say that one.
Having worked on films both within and outside of skating, do you now pay closer attention to the filmmaking craft when watching movies?
Ultimately, movies are all about the story. If the story isn’t compelling, the rest won’t compensate. However, it involves countless other elements.
I believe sound accounts for more than half of any movie. The sound design, how it works, and how the dialogue is handled are all crucial. Then there’s performance, which reflects the director’s guidance of the performers.
Even when I was solely making skate videos, I constantly sought elements to borrow, learn, or outright steal from movies. They are both forms of film, so the craft can be applied interchangeably.
Where do you draw the line between inspiration and blatant copying? How can filmmakers avoid crossing it?
The saying goes, “Everything has been done before.” It’s always beneficial to observe various elements, identify what resonates with you, and adapt and combine them with your own internal references to create something unique.
For instance, Jacob Harris may not be reinventing filmmaking or introducing completely novel concepts. However, his unique combination of elements transforms them into a skate video that feels incredibly fresh within the skateboarding world. Creatively, nobody exists in isolation. Everyone relies on references and the things they enjoyed and were inspired by growing up.
That said, you know when you’ve crossed the line. In skateboarding today, that line is often crossed. For example, Bill Strobeck’s first Supreme video revolutionized skate filming and skate videos, both in filming and editing techniques. Now, half of the videos are blatant imitations of Bill’s style.
If you only look at other skate videos for influence, your videos will naturally resemble them. It’s essential to be aware of media outside of skating to bring a new perspective to your videos. Alternatively, you can be a bizarre genius like the creators of the Beez videos and create something entirely original. There’s no definitive answer, but people generally know when they’re crossing the line.
Do you think the similarities between skate videos eventually become the norm?
In skate videos, and even in commercials and music videos, formulas are often repeated, leading to a uniform look. Despite different trends, everything appears similar due to shared influences.
I try to approach each project with a blank slate, aiming to create something that challenges my ideas rather than simply replicating past work or someone else’s. Otherwise, what’s the point? It’s like when someone makes a skate video and its sequel feels identical, with only different tricks performed. Why bother creating it if you’ve already made it?
Do you ever revisit your past work for inspiration?
Occasionally, I revisit ideas after a long break. For example, I recently shot a Danny Brown and Run The Jewels video and blatantly borrowed from myself, as skate filmers will notice. I used VX1000 techniques that I’ve employed for the past decade, from the Open Skateboards promo in 2011 to Spirit Quest. I used around 15 camcorders, VXs, and VHS cameras. I wanted to put an end to the overuse of glitchy effects in videos. I’m tired of it and hope others will stop, so I pushed it as far as possible.
Which directors or films would you recommend to aspiring young filmmakers?
I’d suggest taking a step back from current popular figures, as they’re often heavily influenced by previous generations. If your primary influences are today’s working filmmakers, you might be getting a watered-down version of their inspirations.
Explore the works of Andrei Tarkovsky, Maya Deren, Akira Kurosawa, and Buster Keaton, who have all greatly inspired me in various ways.
Terrence Malick and Wong Kar-wai, who were pioneering in their younger years, and Michel Gondry, a clear influence on me, are also worth exploring.
Additionally, try to experience as much art as possible. I read extensively, and many of my visual ideas paradoxically come from books. Don’t limit yourself and feel free to experiment and borrow ideas, especially when you’re young. There are no consequences.
Bing Liu
Which movie first inspired you to pursue filmmaking?
Richard Linklater’s rotoscope film, Waking Life, sparked my interest in filmmaking. I watched it when I was 15. The movie explores questions about existence and our purpose on Earth, as well as the limits of knowledge and relationships. As a natural investigator, it tapped into my curiosity in an accessible way.
Then I saw Richard Linklater’s other film, Slacker. It’s about a community, sort of the weirdos of Austin, Texas. I started doing that with my community in Rockford, Illinois. I got a bunch of people I hung out with who I felt like were the weirdos of Rockford and we spent the night improvising something. We had a few people riffing about a subject like existentialism or religion, and then I was like, “Okay, at this corner you’re going to bump into someone.” That would be sort of the handoff moment. That was the first thing I did shortly after watching Slacker.
While making Minding the Gap, did you watch other films for inspiration?
Yes, I did. I wasn’t a cinephile growing up, but in my mid-20s, as Minding the Gap gained traction, I started watching more films, especially documentaries. I watched Hoop Dreams for the first time, which was mind-blowing. In A Dream by Isaiah Zagar also deeply moved me. I estimate that 75% of the movies I’ve watched in my life have been in the last five to seven years. Once I realized I could be a filmmaker, I essentially started “freebasing” movies [laughs].
I believe you must master the rules to break them. Currently, I’m primarily developing fiction projects. In fiction, I’m less focused on style and execution, which will come later, and more on capturing unseen truths that have happened in the world.
In documentary films, you capture nuggets of truth and mold them into something digestible and entertaining through style and execution. I’m experiencing a bit of an inversion in my process with my current work.
Looking ahead, are you open to different genres and styles, simply exploring what’s next?
Yes, like in Waking Life, I’ll pursue the next interesting string. If it’s not interesting, I’ll find a different one. I believe there’s truth in the idea that some filmmakers truthfully tell one story throughout their careers. Scorsese’s films, for example, often feature troubled males with violent tendencies struggling to control their alienation from society. All my projects deal with coming of age, parent-child relationships, and their meaning in adulthood, themes that remain relevant to me.
Why did you film skating in The Yeah Video on a glide cam?
I got the idea from someone in the Louisville scene. He liked filming run-up shots with a glide cam, then using a fisheye or long lens for a traditional angle. I was assisting on high-budget wedding videos at the time, and one of the camera operators used a glide cam. I was also a camera assistant with steady-cam operators, so it all came together, and I got the glide cam. It took me about a year to get used to it. The Yeah Video documents that year of learning its limits and capabilities. The main critique I received was, “I got a headache watching this” [laughs].
Your film was nominated for an Oscar. Did you learn anything from that experience, or did it change your perspective on filmmaking?
I got a glimpse behind the scenes of how the game works. The Oscars feel like a film prom, and the lead-up is like a political election. Which distributor will spend millions on billboards and radio spots? Which filmmakers will campaign for their films? It was interesting. If I ever have another film nominated, I wouldn’t do the circuit as much.
Greg Hunt
Do you recall any films that inspired you to pursue a career in film?
Maybe Days of Heaven, a Terrence Malik film. Actually, before that, it was Anton Corbijn’s music videos. I lived with Gabe Morford, and he had a DVD of Corbijn’s videos, especially the Super 8 Depeche Mode videos. “Behind the Wheel” remains one of my favorite music videos and films. It sparked my interest in making small films. The imagery, with its distinct style and feel, captivated me.
Besides those music videos, what else were you watching?
Around that time, I started to get a lot more into films. I was pretty lucky as a teenager. I would spend the summers at my dad’s house and he was a bit of a cinephile. He would go to bed pretty early and I would just stay up and watch all his movies.
I didn’t even know what I was digesting but I was watching like [Francis Ford] Coppola’s The Conversation or Apocalypse Now, Mean Streets, and all these old [Martin] Scorcese films. I would just eat ice cream and watch movies. I was 15. But once I got into shooting photos in my 20s I was more comfortable with myself as a creative person. I was watching Days of Heaven all the time, also watching Blade Runner all the time.
Was your photography background helpful when you transitioned to filmmaking?
It made cinematography a bit easier. Photography helped me gain confidence in capturing images. By analyzing photos, you identify what you like about them, especially with film. This allows you to improve and easily achieve the shots you want, capturing the desired moods, feelings, and types of images.
Once I started shooting film, like 16mm, I had confidence. Looking through the camera, I knew, “This is going to be a really cool shot.”
You’re now a director for Farm League. How does that differ from working in skating?
They handle everything from straightforward commercial production to documentaries and branded films. Making a skate film is completely different. To film skateboarding, you need a guerrilla approach. It’s challenging to shoot skateboarding in a traditional production environment.
For example, the Geoff Rowley Yeti piece is a branded film made through a proper commercial company, requiring a proper channel. Yeti is the client, Farm League is the production company, and you must adhere to the budget and union rules. With a skate video, you’re a one-man band ready to shoot anytime.
I appreciate your participation. When I saw Mindfield, I was in high school, and it was one of the first skate videos I saw with a more artistic look.
It’s funny, I always thought that skateboarders are underestimated in their sophistication by the skate industry. 14-year-old kids who skate are a lot more sophisticated than people think they are. You’re talking about Mindfield in that way, and I think it’s important to not set the bar low and really try to push what you’re doing.
But even now when I make skate videos, I think I’m most influenced by those first skate videos and photos that really inspired me as a kid. I think in a weird way I’m always trying to make Sick Boys or Wheels of Fire. That 16mm in Wheels of Fire, I want that feeling of that old Natas part and the look and feel of Sick Boys. Whether I’m always aware of it, those videos have a huge influence on how I film and shoot photos. I would say they even influence my non-skate work just as much. It took me a long time to realize that, but it’s true.
