Skate Videos: Brother Film’s Cinematic Education

Skate videos hold a particular importance for us here at Brother Film. Myself and my two brothers learnt how to film and edit almost entirely through copying early-mid 2000s skate films as teenagers - with limited success at first, it has to be said, but they set us on the long and winding path towards starting a production company. 

These skate films fascinated us. The ‘death lens’ fisheye up impossibly close to a flipping board, or the rolling long-lens angle that looked like an expensive dolly shot (the ‘Frangle’, made famous by skate filmer Fred Mortagne), all edited seamlessly to amazing music that we’d instantly rip from Limewire or Kazaar (sorry, world) and use in our own imposter versions. 

And then there were the other, non-skating components within skate videos which intrigued us just as much - the introductions to each skater with storyboarded skits (complete with knowingly questionable acting), epic opening title sequences shot with Phantom cameras, or beautiful 16mm montages and cutaways that looked otherworldly to our MiniDV-centred teenage selves. Each tape or DVD was rewound and replayed within an inch of its life.

 

I think that the importance of film within skateboarding is unlike any other activity or ‘sport’ (for want of a better word). The primary goal of most professional skateboarders is to produce a video ‘part’ showcasing their best tricks, rather than competing in competitions or leagues. These parts will be directly linked to a skater’s perceived success, pay from sponsors, and longevity within skateboarding. This feels very much unique, and is one reason why so many cinematographers skate or came from a skating background: the two are intrinsically linked.

A lot of what we learnt and gleaned from those skate videos, especially between 2000 and 2005, is imprinted deep within our brains - a combination of being our formative years, as well as being at the dawn of the mainstream internet (without access to every skate film ever made at the scroll of an iPhone). Getting hold of a newly released film on VHS or DVD (or perhaps via the aforementioned filesharing route) and being able to watch it on repeat felt special and like a big event. 

All this has meant that certain tropes found within these skate films have lingered and remained in what Brother Film produces

today. There are creative or technical details pilfered from different videos - particular camera angles or movements, styles of edit cuts, music choices or even favoured fonts. But there’s also a broader mindset that we’ve gained - a sort of DIY mentality that anything is doable - even with a small core team at the helm. 

With that all said, here are some of the our favourites from way back when: 

Co-directed by Spike Jonze, before we knew what on earth directing was, ‘Yeah Right’ was released just as we were learning the basics of shooting and editing our own skate films. 

The 16mm montages, the creative skits with chroma keyed skateboards and ramps, the slick animated name titles, the ultra-slow-motion intro sequence, the Owen Wilson cameo… this blew our tiny minds at the time and, looking back, still totally holds up today. 

An iconic early-2000s skate film, and another big inspiration for Brother. The rapid-cut edit style by Fred Mortagne was an eye-opener, and much copied by us for years after. Incredible music throughout, too (back-to-back Bowie songs for skater Arto Saari, I mean…). 

The Ali Boulala section (8:08 in) is something to behold. 

The first UK skate video that we really got obsessed with. 

Beautifully shot and edited by Dan Magee, and showcasing some great, grimy London skate spots. 

Another stone cold classic. Joe Castrucci’s opening titles in this got us toying with animating text and obsessing over fonts for months. 

A few years later down the line, but nonetheless replayed numerous times. 

Artistic cinematography and editing by cinematographer Greg Hunt that has become a cult classic. There are super creative sequences throughout the film, as well as inventive use of B-roll (mixing still images, 8mm and 16mm into hyper-fast cuts) edited to perfection.

A special shout to Adio’s ‘One Step Beyond’, not on many people’s ‘best skate videos’ lists but the very first one we ever bought with our own pocket money (from a surf shop in Newquay). 

Kenny Anderson’s section from it has an amazing intro featuring a ‘never-ending’ nose manual skit in the Nevada desert (looking back now, all shot on 16mm), which got our early creative juices flowing. 

Birdhouse - The End (1999) 

és - Menikmati (2000) 

Zero - Dying To Live (2002) 

Osiris - Subject To Change (2003) 

Emerica - This Is Skateboarding (2003) 

DC - The DC Video (2004) 

Baker - 3 (2006) 

Lakai - Fully Flared (2007)