Skater movies have been the backbone of skateboarding promotion since as early as the 80s.
As time has gone on, promoting yourself has never become easier through social media and streaming services. For skaters, making a short film that showcases your personality, charisma and, most importantly, skill is vital to gain attention and credibility in the skating community.
Organisations such as The X Games have rejuvenated this aspect of skateboarding culture. Utilising their platform to prop up rising skaters as well as allowing a new avenue for veterans to take advantage of. In their yearly competition, X Games host their “Real Skate” series as part of their “World of X Games” collection of broadcasts. These competitions require skaters to create films just like the old days. Go out in public, find a spot at a park or town centre. Anywhere you can skate and film.
The competition requires the competitors to use their creativity in finding unique spots to skate from in the real world. The videographer is required to direct these clips of tricks in public and make it cohesive enough to stand out amongst the rest. This includes soundtracks, different frame rates depending on the trick (to allow the judges to figure out what type of trick the skater is doing) and so on. The Skater must be versatile but also themselves. The top three skaters get a medal each, the winner gets gold.
Skater films have been allowed to stay in the current generation of skaters past simple highlight reels and social media posts. It is an art form in skating culture that cannot die out. The X games using their popular YouTube platform has allowed this not to be the case. Millions tune into these competitions. The Street Skate and Big Air events are popular, but Real Skate allows audience to see newer and more innovative performers in the real world.
The X Games gold medal holds a lot of influence in the skater community. It could lead to sponsorships, recognition from legends that would potentially lead to skating tours. It is also a medal of pride. Encouraging creativity in these skaters through friendly competition should always be celebrated.
This yearly competition has led to many skaters gaining the recognition they deserve that would have otherwise been unnoticed. The environment is not naturally catered for skaters. The ground is rougher and more likely to throw the skater off their board with loose rocks or jagged terrain interrupting tricks. Rails, ledges and benches may be made skater proof. It is up to these skaters to identify these challenges and do something creative with it.
They have saved Skater films from dying out. The skating community cannot thank them enough for that.
Comments