Skateboarding
In front of a camera or behind, Hugues kills it, regardless.
Skateboarding photographers' work is regularly put in the spotlight whether in print media or web, but filmers' work, however, much less so – even though it is no less difficult. Some would even say that it's harder to properly capture a trick from A to Z rather than freeze an instant of the same move.
From this observation was born the concept of this new section, Videofolio, which affords filmers a window to showcase their favourite personal footage. To kick things off, we've asked the young Frenchman Jeremy Hugues to edit his favourite clips together into a montage on our behalf.
Hello Jeremy, first up give us your vital statistics.
Hi! My name's Jeremy Hugues, I live in Bayonne, France and I'm 28.
Most of the time, people become filmers because either they weren't good enough to ‘make it’ skating, or due to injury. Neither reason seems to apply to you, as you're sponsored. How did you become a filmer, then?
I started at about fifteen years old; a friend of mine had a camera. We used to film each other in turns. At some point, we had enough footage to make a video, but no computer, so we did the editing by sticking the clip on a VHS tape and then playing it on a VCR. After that we'd film the TV with a CD player next to it to add music. The hard part was to sync the music with the footage, you had to press both play buttons simultaneously!
A year later, I finally had my first camera, which I could plug into a computer in order to edit. From there, I really committed to making a video with my friends. In 2006, we held a premiere in a bar, and seeing the result on a big screen and the atmosphere it created, I decided to keep going.
Isn't it sometimes frustrating to film someone struggling with a trick that you could do in a couple of tries?
Let's say that once I'm behind the camera, the only thing I think about is to get my shot as good as possible, because as a skater what was more frustrating to me is when the footage was bad and I had to do the trick again! The hard part to me is skating after filming because my head isn't into it anymore!
Do you have any favourite skate movies or film makers?
I started off by watching the Transworld videos when Jon Holland and Ty Evans were doing them, one of my all-time favourite is Sight Unseen, I loved the vibe from that video. A few years later, when Jason Hernandez took over, I really liked the dynamism of his work. Then there's Menikmati and Sorry by Fred Mortagne, the travelling shots that gave different perspectives of the spots… I think those are the ones that influenced me the most.
What kind of tools do you work with? Do you subscribe to the VX nostalgia or would you rather work with the latest gear available, given that most of your clients must require HD footage?
I never owned a VX; I had a XM1 back in the day, which I kept quite a while. I loved the fisheye distortion with the VX, but we had to adapt to what the brands were looking for, meaning HD; so I moved on to a reflex camera, like a lot of people- I had a 550D, and a 60D which got stolen, so now I use a GH4.
I don't really care about using the latest gear, but today everybody is a filmer or photographer, gear is available for everyone, competition is tough and everybody wants to stand out – one guy with the latest camera, and the other guy with a vintage one.
As far as I'm concerned, I like to look at the stuff that comes out to see what it could add to my work. Some technologies allow skate films to evolve, but I think the most important part, and what makes you stand out, above all, is the way you film, and the work done in the editing process.
If you had a green light to make your own skate movie, with unlimited budget, what would it look like?
Seriously, I’ve never thought about that one! It's a bit like asking me what I'd do if I won the lottery. I think I'd like to organise tours in a lot of different places around the world to have less obvious spots and different atmospheres! I'd also pick low-profile riders – those who can't afford to travel but who deserve to be part of a nice project – to film sections for it.