What do you think makes a good surf film?

originality is key in my opinion. I am interested when I see something different. Gets old watching stuff that has already been done a hundred times.

new angles, new locations, new plot concepts, etc...

 

this and one thing I'll vent about is the newer movies that edit the wave down to just one turn or air- I much prefer when they show the guys paddling for position and popping up and continues until they kick out.

If you "can't stand" the scenes where they are prepping for the swell- tracking it and getting there- that's half the fun of surfing. Are you saying you can't stand the "Drive Thru" series?

"making movies about the guy"? IMO some of the best surf flicks are just about one guy: from old school "Searching for TC" or "the Occumentary" to newer greats like "WanderJahr (margo)" or "ARC (T. Knox)" that's what makes for a human interest angle.

Of course for a pre-surf pump up I prefer something more like "Punk and Disorderly" or "The Kill" series. And please just stop trending towards the artsy fartsy BS with queers like Alex Knost.

 

"Sipping Jetstreams" Taylor Steele...watch and learn

 

yes taylor steele makes the best surf films. Why?

VERY LITTLE DIALOGUE. I am so sick of hearing "bro" interviews or watching hawaiins talk about respect and pecking order. Also, I don't care about the 60's. I mean, I do, but I don't need 600 long drawn out documentaries about it. We get it... surfing lost it's soul, or whatever.

I dont want to see Rob machado pretend to be wandering alone when there is a 15 man film crew following him down the road everywhere he goes. Quit being a little emo Biatch and surf with that god given talent! The best clip of his surfing that I have ever seen is in Castles in the Sky, and that's because they didn't let him speak. You can tell that he creeps out the locals in that one scene... if you know what I'm talking about.

Music is critical. Taylor steele uses b-sides and less popular music (most of the time). I have found myself on more than one occassion turning on one of his movies just for the soundtrack.

THEY ARE NOT RIDDLED WITH SPONSORS AND PLUG_INS. I get so sick of watching these companies flaunt their logo and $ everywhere instead of showing ... surfing

This got me thinking about surfer magazines again too... WTF!?! $6 an issue for something that is 80% ads and 20% content? F*ck that i'll read Dane's blog again.

 

Worst movie ever. all content, no surf.
Got it as a present, watched it once, collects dust.

One movie I tend to watch on the reg.......Dark Fall. booyah. Punk, metal, rap.....the whole gammit. Only slow mo sections are the heaving winter barrel sections in certain clips. The editing is great, surfing is top notch and it wasnt done with a billion $$$$ budget.

Billabong Trilogy- Parko, Andy, Taj. Awesome surfing, awesome angles and great soundtrack. No BS.

 

I agree with you that it's annoying when they edit a wave down to just one portion of it. I also agree that the tracking of the swell/getting to the break portion of films can be pretty well-done in some cases.

However, I'd submit that the "human interest angle" you mentioned varies greatly from human-to-human -- you and I are obviously interested in different content, for example.

Lastly, is it necessary to call Alex Knost a homosexual because he's in a handful of films that are shot, edited, produced, and presented better than 90% of other surf films? "Artsy fartsy" is a term that's usually thrown around by people who don't know when they're looking at something that's done well.

 

Probably not necessary, but quite possibly accurate.

Art is in the eye of the beholder. People who "dont know when they're looking at something is done well" just dont like it. They arent wrong just because some other art critic likes it.

 

If I'm looking at a nordic track or a stationary bike (whatever it was) on top of surfboard- is it "done well" or is it crap? I'm going with the latter.

 

I agree with you that a person isn't "wrong" if they dislike something that's liked by an art critic. However, I didn't mention art critics in my post and I stand by my opinion that "artsy fartsy" is a term that is usually (read: not always) thrown around by people who don't know when they're looking at something that's done well.

Perhaps Bronzewhaler is in the minority group, though. He's one of those people who understand, appreciate, and are interested in art and films but still feel the need to call someone a homosexual because of how he chooses to express himself. Yeah, that must be it.

 

Ha! Haven't seen that one! Sounds crappy to me, too.

But I don't think one segment in one film takes away from Knost's surfing in general or turns every other film that he's in into crap. Nor do I think it makes him a homosexual.

 

http://vimeo.com/32183365

blows anything I have seen outa the water mate. Cool style, great landscapes, and awesome use of lighting.

 

The OP might as well be asking, "what makes a great song?" or, "what makes a great photograh?"

In all art (and I do see film as art), there's the mechanics... the technical end... and there's the creative/expressive part. Art that's done well from a technical perspective can still fall flat in terms of creativity the ability to make the viewer feel something or take them somewhere; and visa versa. But that's not to say a film that's rough around the edges can't be good art... Taylor Steel's Focus is a good example. It was a totally new and creative approach to surf films, and even though it wasn't technically perfect, it really wow'd people at the time.

So I guess my answer would be that there are certain aspects that help a surf film be great... creativity, artistic flair, content, the technical stuff... and context - it has to have meaning in the time and place of the audience.

That's my 2 cents... FWIW.

 

http://www.jerseybrosthefilm.com/Jersey_Bros___The_Film/TRAILER.html

I saw this one in the works about NJ.

http://www.jerseybrosthefilm.com/Jersey_Bros___The_Film/TRAILER.html

 

The only surf movie I like is Riding Giants, Because it takes you back into where surfing really started & took off. and it shows you how big wave surfing got started! & the shortboards.

 

Punk rock and combo waves do it for me.. as sick as some of the airs guys do today are i cant stand watching a full movie of one trick waves.. i wana see a guy get shacked come out throw a full rail turn get back in the barrel and come flying out of it straight into an air.. its all about the flow

 

That was awesome..

Despite that cool video, I'm surprised that the Northeast has so many advocates of surf porn. "Time and place of the audience" is a good way to put it, LB. For me, living an hour inland, my time dedicated to surfing involves so much more than just on-wave time. Machado in the drifter weirded me out too, but i can appreciate a bump in the road on your way to catching it good. Ripping a turn so hard it makes you unconsciously grunt really loud, or getting spit out when you thought there was no chance in hell you were going to make it is what keeps me coming back for more, but THE SEARCH is where most of my time is spent. There's so many factors that need to jive up for us to get great waves in the NE, and when it happens, a little background isn’t always a bad thing on a local video. Geography and bathymetry are what makes the good spots even hit, and the majority of vids out there don't even give you so much as a lineup shot, much less a zoomed out panaromic of the area.. of course, please zoom IN when you find interesting, umm.. subjects.. on the beach..

 

the quality of the surfing in that trailer was extremely poor....

 

For me, I like to see videos where they show the guy paddling into the wave. Not sure why, but when the first part of a clip is the guy already on the wave it takes something away from it. Maybe cuz you can see the background and the swells rolling in and you can see the wave go from a bump to an actual breaking wave, but thats something i always notice when it is not there.
Also music. I thought the drifter had an unbelievable soundtrack. there were a couple songs that really stood out for me there. but music is all preference.
also i think id rather see a full session and not just kellys part or joels part etc. but i guess thats all based on what you are filming, whether its filming random surfers for a year straight or a surf trip. and to my next point, for a video i like seeing actual trips.