Emericans and Memphis Threat

Ok Emericans, I was doodling on around the Interwebs while I was peeling my tangerine but only after I had finished by Sunday Report Card. There was this little video that was delightful yet inspiring. I was not even looking for this young guy but the old guy Tom Knox. What do you know, there is a young version of Tom Knox ripping the streets of London by way of Tube. It reeks of the elements a solid skate video has with in its dark and stinky under tones. From beginning to ending the short video was indicative of what short people in my organization are trying to capture.



From the start, they cleverly introduce where the chappy is from with suttle visual hints of this and that to set the stage for the London based shredder.  The shots are dived into 3 to 5 second clips, he might do a half dozen of these and then they switch to a 15 second run where good old Tom does a speedy run of different objects only ending in some dramatic stair set or something interesting. They use a wide angle lenses on some shots and then the fish-eye in others. They had the fish-eye partially framing the shots although I like to see the framing less. Maybe they could not get the shot if they zoomed out partially to eliminate the circular hue at the edges of the picture. The camera angles were spot on, the saturation from shot to shot was crisp, the white balance of each shot was warm and even. I really like how they filmed him jumping a stair set as they followed but then they also filmed the opposite angle from the bottom of the stairs. It makes for a nice shot. So you see a formula through out the short film of 4 second clip after four second clip then onto a 25 to 35 second clip of something longer. You could see how they panned some of their shots down into the ground or away from the skater which makes for a nice transition into the next clip. They were also very cognizant of how interesting the surrounding architecture or landscaping was with in the longer shots to round it out. Finally credits roll. The credits were as good as each of its parts. So I was not looking for this at all but I always love to get some good education. I mean, its  Team Emerica with Blueprint, would you expect any less?? Just check out Blueprint's list of achievements.

Then I wanted to give a big shout out to Memphis Threat and Ian Lemmonds. This past weekend I had the chance to catch up with Ian while he attacked the wall at the Midtown Skateboard Shop  with wheat paste and posters. It was violent at first but ended up looking as professional as it gets.

Ian makes some fantastic shirts. Great gift ideas for Christmas, Hanukkah, Birthdays or just any old occasion. What?? You were gunna go tot he Gap and spend $25 on a new shirt, stop yourself and go here and order something worthwhile.

WAIT!!!!!!!! Back to what I was orginally talking about, the Real Tom Knox. Just so you know he skates a 9.75 wide board and yes, he is doing those tricks.




Did you enjoy that?? I did, not sure about you. Then there is the always the parting shot of you know who by now, or if you don't, you will in just a few.