Friday, November 28, 2008

Lo Def - Elkin Interview

Interview with Jeremy Elkin about his upcoming video. Premiering very soon..  
 
1) This is a lot shorter than your average skate vid. 
You over the  
epic 40
minute videos? Why?
 
I didn't set out to make this film, I just filmed everyday
and molded my clips all together. I wanted to make 
something that was different than the rest of the videos
that come out on the internet 
every week.  I find that it's as if videos being made 
these days go by an  instruction pamphlet on how to 
make a skate movie. I'm pretty sure it  requires 
random HD clips scattered throughout the film, 
46 additional  filmers (using 8 types of camera setups)
need to be involved in the  project and there 
needs to be at least 50 ramped slow motion clips. I  
kept this film short, fast and most importantly-
watchable before you  
go skateboarding. Lo-Def is by no means epic, it 
just makes you want  
to go skate. There's no fancy effects or 50 second 
intros for the  
parts. In fact, there's no intros really. It's
underground east coast  
skateboarding. There's hardly any "played out" 
spots, no big names and  
definitely no tall tees.
 
2) How's being one of the few remaining skate
filmmakers still  
operating in
Canada?
 
Yeah there's not that many anymore. Thanks 
YouTube! Skaters have no  
idea what's going on and they're doing it to
themselves. In a few  
years, the only people making skate videos 
will be kids making videos  
for their YouTube accounts and big companies 
to promote their brands.  
The independent filmmaker is being killed, myself 
included. I  
literally just spent the past year and a half of 
my life making a free  
video. I love being broke, it's so fun.
 
3) What's your next project?
 
Well, I made this one cause I felt like it was 
the perfect
timing  
because everything was in place to make it. 
I really gave my all for  
this one. Unless a company hires me to make a 
film for them, I can't  
see myself putting out another one like "Lo-Def"
out for a long time.  
There's absolutely no motivation to film 18 hours
a day and be this  
broke, I'd rather work a bit, travel and be 
skateboarding the rest of  
the time- without having to carry a camera bag.
 
4) The scene in quebec has always been super 
strong, if not a little
isolated from the rest of the country. Do you
think the video will  
help get
some of these insane PQ riders the respect they
deserve outside the  
belle
province?
 
Maybe, but I feel as though no one cares about
videos
anymore, unless  
they've got big names in them. Skaters strive 
for magazines, not  
films. Shops don't buy videos anymore because 
no one wants to spend  
thirty bucks at a shop, when you can get it for
free sitting at home.  
We put a lot of time in this film though. It 
gives a really accurate  
glimpse of Montréal and the current scene here
that's 
changed so much  
over the last couple years.  Hugo [Balek] is good.
Bob [Lasalle] kills  
it harder than most and is really underrated. 
Just watching Bob  
powerslide down a hill is more enjoyable to 
watch than most things you  
see in videos, we tried to show that in his part.
Seb [Labbé] is  
blowing up. He's the next one to come out of 
the province for sure.  
Good on a board. He's always motivated and super
happy. I've known him  
for about four years now and I've yet to see 
him stressed.
 
 
 
 

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