Meet the Warrior Trophy

February 7, 2012 in Art, Headliner, Portfolio, Surf, Video

The Volcom Pipe Pro has the coolest trophy in pro surfing. For this year’s Volcom Pipe Pro, Volcom wanted to show it off. So Stebs and I created this piece to do just that.

We started by throwing the trophies into the studio with some light and smoke. Stebs met up with a local blacksmith for some filler shots and locked down JOB for an interview while I dove into the archival drives and pulled out selects from the last two years of Volcom Pipe Pros.

We wrote the script to give some background behind the trophy and the idea of Pipe “warriors.” After Stanfield nailed the narration, it was time to stitch it all together.

I spent a couple days laying out the script and soundbites from JOB’s interview. Threw in some epic footy from the last two years over some “warrior” themed music and a Tweakbird instrumental while waiting for the best footage from this year to top it off. Polished it all off and played it out right before the final to set the stage.

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Stash That in Your Memory Bank

February 7, 2012 in Headliner, Surf, Thoughts, Video

The 2012 Volcom Pipe Pro was the most exciting surf event I have ever seen. There, I said it.

Not just this year, not just for a 5 star, not just for Pipe….. EVER.

And it all happened without that one guy, what’s his name, Slater or something? Yeah him.

The first day alone saw some of the heaviest ocean conditions you could possibly have for a contest. So much so in fact that contest organizers called it off after only 7 heats. The next day, surfers were practically begging not to be sent out in the unruly 20 foot surf.

When the ocean finally did calm down, it was only just enough for a competitor to receive the best barrel of his life, or the worst beat down. And in most cases it was both.

For spectators, it didn’t matter which one it was. Regardless of whether or not guys were shooting out of barrels or flying over the falls, fans of surfing around the world were glued to the action unfolding before them. And if people were watching that weren’t surf fans before, they probably are now. Let’s face it, people love carnage. And when Pipe is shows off its true colors, there is no lack of carnage.

And all this was before the final.

Choose your favorite sports cliche yourself. I will stick to the simple fact that the moment JOB raised his hands in victory was the exact moment he lost. His early celebration gave John John all the space he needed to put himself in position for the Backdoor bomb heard round the world.

When John John emerged from that wave, and Stanfield screamed gibberish commentary that somehow suited the moment perfectly, and the crew in the truck celebrated with high fives, forgetting for the briefest moment that they were still live and had a show to do, and JOB cringed in the impact zone as the last waves of that magical set steamrolled over him; John John simply rode to shore with a little grin on his face.

The entire surf world was freaking out and John John just grinned.

I wonder how he will react when he clinches his first world title? Grin a little bigger maybe?

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As Seen on Surfline.com

January 10, 2012 in Photos, Surf

This year’s broadcast at the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing once again took things to the next level. We chose not to throw away budgets on gimmicks that don’t contribute to the overall production value, and instead concentrate on specific ways of elevating the viewing experience of a surf contest.

This paid off in several aspects. Mainly, the crew. When people get paid, they want to do a better job. When people want to do a better job, it makes people around them want to do a better job. When everyone wants to do a better job, everyone does a better job. Sounds simple, but the surf industry is infamous for underpaying worthy employees in return for the “lifestyle” bro.

Another major breakthrough this year was the graphics package. There were a couple moments during the Pipe Masters when I glanced at a heat draw and thought I was watching ESPN. This is in fact part of the goal. No, not to look like ESPN, but to be as professional as an ESPN broadcast.

Surfline.com noticed what was happening and decided to feature a behind the scenes investigation on the Vans Triple Crown broadcast.

It was nice to see that people are actually paying attention to what is happening in our small little world of surf. And definitely nice to get some recognition. The entire crew deserves all the recognition they can get.

Hopefully the trend catches on with all major surf productions.

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Pipemasters Highlights

January 5, 2012 in Headliner, Portfolio, Surf, Video

Final Day:

Day 2:

Day 1:

When the waves are pumping at Pipe, the highlights tend to come together a little easier. The waves themselves could do all the talking, but we want to tell the story of the day as well. Throw in some soundbytes about the best action on top of some pumped up commentators and you have yourself highlight gold. Check it.

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Sunset Highlights

January 5, 2012 in Portfolio, Surf, Video

Final Day:

Day 3:

Day 2:

Day 1:

Sunset came alive this year. And John John came alive with it. He could possibly be the best all around surfer in the world. Minus Kelly Slater.

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Hawaiian Highlighter

November 24, 2011 in Headliner, Photos, Portfolio, Surf, Video

Final Day Highlights:

Day 11 Highlights:

Day 10 Highlights:

After over a week of flat conditions on the North Shore, the Reef Hawaiian Pro finnaly got underway at Haliewa.

Here are the first round of highlights that I will be editing during the course of the Triple Crown.

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San Fran I Love You

November 20, 2011 in Headliner, Photos, Surf, Thoughts, Travel

Before the first time I went to New York, San Francisco was my favorite city.

The interesting thing is, I couldn’t really tell you why. Sure it has the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, steep hills, great art, amazing food, eclectic people, beautiful landscapes, open minded intellectuals, free wi-fi and good waves, but it’s also the home of the Giants. And that is a huge problem.

Other than that, the allure of San Francisco is very hard to resist indeed.

So I was pretty excited when I picked up a job editing for the Rip Curl Search event that went down at Ocean Beach. I could say that Ocean Beach delivered, which it did. I could descibe the nice weather and how people actually showed up to watch, both of which occured. And I could probably write about the big citiy tour stops outweighing everyone’s wildest expectations.

But all that could take away from two major impacts that the San Francisco event had on the world of surfing.

One; Kelly Slater is a surfing God. Two; Gabriel Medina is next in line.

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Live It Up

November 19, 2011 in Snow, Style, Surf, Travel, Video

I can’t decide whether this video makes me want to buy a new GoPro camera or get a squirrel suit and jump off cliffs.

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Highlights

September 17, 2011 in Portfolio, Surf, Video

Quiksilver Pro New York:

Billabong Pro Tahiti:

A couple products of the last month on the road.

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The Iron Fist

September 16, 2011 in Headliner, Photos, Surf, Thoughts, Travel

I’m not going to say that I’ve been too busy to post a blog in the last two months.

But I will say that I have been insanely busy the last two months.

36 hour journey across the States, over the Atlantic and down to the tip of the world. Or at least Africa. Jefferies Bay proved moody, but the kind of moody that you fall in love with despite it’s temporary fits.

Lay days, what lay days? Hi fived a lion on a lunch break, but that’s about it. Checked off a South Africa surf session, finished editing in the rain and went continent hopping back to California.

A few hundred thousand people kicking up dust welcomed me home at the US Open in Huntington Beach. Rocked sidestage to the Sounds, sat in on the direction for a live MGMT show, IP directed like a mad man and got the hell out of there.

Tahiti was boring. All we had to entertain us was the constant fear of someone dying, ten point rides galore and poisson cru. Other than that, it was just the best layday surf sessions of all time and a couple yoga sessions in the rain forest. Ugggh, kill me.

New York was lucky. Hurricane Katia delivered the goods while the crew put in 20 hour work days to make it all look even better. 2 solid nights in the Big Apple made it all worth it in the end.

Time for some recovery in good old San Clemente. Just in time for the circus.

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