Markus Bengtsson and Peter Johansson are old friends and they’re also connected through the Poetic family. The two likeable Swedes are also our friends and they both have worked on different video projects for us. Now Peter has pointed his camera towards Makke’s several cameras to document his passion for filming skateboarding. And since he gained some experience along the way, we also asked Makke to give some tips for filming skateboarding.
• Don’t forget to charge ALL your batteries!
• Make sure to be transparent with the skater you’re filming, what your plans are with the footage that you are filming and where it’s going to end up. Honesty and communication is gold.
• This one is tricky, but some skaters just can’t come up with tricks to do on a street spot. So you will have to come up with a trick that is well suited for the skater. BUT you have to make it seem like they were the one thinking of the trick, so they feel in charge of their own skateboarding. Like I said, tricky one but this is possible with the right mind tricks.
• This one is connected to the previous tip, know your skater. Know what kind of tricks they are good at and what spot to take them to. This will save you time and you can get another spot in before the day ends.
• Look at other skatefilmers and draw inspiration from them. The inspiration can change and so can your style of filming. My top inspirations right now are Fredrik ”Fritte” Söderström, Tyler Smolinski and Peter Sutherland.
• Skate! Try to skate with the person or persons you’re gonna film. This will make the session fun and it takes away some “seriousness” when you take up the camera and get down to business.
• Try to sometimes be on the other side of the lens, to feel the pressure of what being filmed feels like.
• Always bring extra bearings. Believe me, the skater you’re gonna film will eventually break a bearing on a session. So, bring bearings (and obviously wax) if you want that clip!
• Filming a trick can take time, and I mean a long time. You may lose your patience and also miss a dinner date with your partner. Stay positive and smile at the skater.
• And the last, most important and cheesy advice. Don’t film if you don’t enjoy the struggle of filming skateboarding.
