Sign in to Windows Live ID     register |   | français
go


ARCHIVE

2010
Mar (1)
Feb (3)
Jan (4)
2009
Dec (4)
Nov (3)
Oct (3)
Sep (4)
Aug (5)
Jul (4)
Jun (3)
May (4)
Apr (4)
Mar (5)
Feb (3)
Jan (4)
2008
Dec (6)
Nov (4)
Oct (5)
Sep (4)
Aug (1)
Jul (2)
Jun (2)
Strange Brew: Hard Drive Surprises
Posted On Apr 13 2009, 04:04 PM by fdaniello

With modern skate videos fully dipped in digital, the bonus "B-Roll" is omnipresent due to the rapid-fire use of this medium and the ability to store a virtual semi-trailer's worth of large video files with ease. By no means is "B-Roll" a heavy-set inferiority reference. After countless hours of footage is logged for a major video project, there are always loads that didn't make the final cut. B-Rolls usually include alternate angles, or same-spot extras. There are also clips that didn't make the cut for technical reasons—less-than-ideal lighting conditions, or "bro-cam" was in effect and the white balance was set on a mustard-stained shirt (if at all), and/or the panning techniques were suspect. [The perfect example of bro-cam gone bad: Andy Stone's part in Fine Artists. Element, 1994.]

If a video project has been in motion long enough, footy leftovers usually still exist that weren't etched onto the final DVD due to space constraints when the B-Roll hierarchy was established. So what becomes of those unseen digital morsels? Well, the rendered clips are still worthy of back-up hard-drive occupation for the purpose of future exposure, and the Internet is the perfect theatre. Typically, this footage is posted as short YouTube or Vimeo segments and virally submitted to an extended list of contacts that occupy oft-visited web domains. It's footage worth watching—its imperfections are subtly masked by small desktop video players that pleasantly break up the monotony of writing that school paper or burning Excel gridlines into your retinas all day at the office job. Since new skate videos are always on the near-horizon, this branch of unseen footage from an already-released DVD project can not only inspire, but also serve as an effective reminder of the original feature production.

Kurt Filippone and Bradley Sheppard combined backup hard drives and provided the visual means for an exclusive Push.ca/skateboarding footage reel featuring unreleased Strange Brew related clips that you'll find below. They also share their thoughts on the pleasantries of these extras—why they should be seen and not be destined for the virtual landfill.

Bradley Sheppard:
"In Strange Brew, I filmed some of the stuff that's in the friends section, and my friend's tricks that appear in my part. I also edited my whole part and put it all together. I kind of had a lot of footage stacked up over the years that never got used or that I forgot about. They were sitting on my computer for so long that by the time it came around to making Strange Brew I just thought it was too old. For this Push.ca video, there's a few of those older clips, and most of the stuff is from filming for Strange Brew—like an extra trick on the same ledge, or an extended line that had a couple extra tricks in it."

"Some of the footage just didn't fit into the editing scheme of Strange Brew. Sometimes you want a part to have flow and not be oversaturated with one spot; I'd have a nollie crook on a ledge and a bluntslide on the same ledge, but didn't want to use the bluntslide. The footage isn't just garbage and I keep it on my hard drive for a reason [laughs]. Maybe we can do something with it, and that's what we're doing here. When you see somebody's part in a video, you know that they must've had more footage so you're curious to see it. Parts are so manipulated and usually not as raw as they could be. It's good to see some raw footage."


Bradley Sheppard's filming exploits while on the road. Summer 2008.

Kurt Filippone:
"Strange Brew itself was just under 60 minutes. I think the bonus B-Roll section came out to be around 10 minutes, and there was still quite a big stockpile left over from that. Sometimes you go film for a while and maybe you got 3 switch flips and you'd want to use the one that looks the best. At the end of it all, you want to use the best clips for the feature and not repeat the same tricks. Most filmers want to use what looks best to them. To me, it's always been about using the best trick rather than the best filmed trick."

"I guess any footage gets people stoked. When you watch bonus stuff online from other videos there'll be that ledge trick you haven't seen before and you're like, "Why didn't he put that in his part?" You can still draw inspiration from the extras—it's a fresh breath for your eyes and it makes you want to skate when you see something new. It might be old footage from the feature video, but it's still new to the viewer."


Push.ca/skateboarding's exclusive Strange Brew Bonus Reel.

-------------------------------------
Related:
The Follow Up: Strange Brew
Wade Fyfe's Survival Story

Get Microsoft Silverlight for a better video experience Print You need to be signed in for this functionality Submit Story to Digg share with facebook
Share:

Having grown up skating in Winnipeg with the Green Apple crew, Frank migrated over to Vancouver 11 years ago to skate the parks, bomb the hills, and hit the sushi spots. During that span he’s also become a full-time writer and editor who contributes to Concrete Skateboarding and SBC Skateboard magazines. Well, add Push.ca feature columnist and bloggist to that list.

Comments

Pingback from  More Interweb Videos to Peep — Vancouver Is Awesome

posted by More Interweb Videos to Peep — Vancouver Is Awesome | Apr 13 2009, 04:36 PM

Kurt Filippone and Bradley Sheppard cleaned out their hard drives, and after compiling the Strange Brew

posted by News | Apr 17 2009, 04:56 PM

We know we throw a lot at you here on Push.ca, and sometimes it's hard to keep up. Things fall through

posted by News | Apr 20 2009, 03:02 PM

You'd think getting sprayed by a 1-ton truck while walking down the sidewalk during an 8am Vancouver

posted by Frank Daniello's Column | Apr 20 2009, 05:21 PM

Expedition is offering up Spencer Hamilton's part from Strange Brew as evidence of his recent sponsor

posted by News | Apr 28 2009, 02:20 PM

Originally hailing from Aylmer, Quebec, which is just outside of Ottawa, Paul Trep can be easily spotted

posted by Frank Daniello's Column | May 20 2009, 02:44 PM
Please Sign In or register to add a comment.
 |  | privacy policy | about us |