photo: allen ying

Colin Read 是一位滑手兼摄像师，尤其喜欢用VX。他的作品Tengu God of Mischief系列视频中一个全部在楼顶拍摄的视频；一个全部在地铁拍摄的视频都曾引起过不小的轰动。他的最新作品Spirit Quest将滑板片和野生动物完美地融合在了一起，片中从滑手动作到动物的转换无一不让人惊叹，Colin用充满自己想象力的剪辑和拍摄再一次提醒了我们，滑板的根基和最终目标是“乐趣”！如今，Spirit Quest已经制作完毕，DVD也已经在一个月前发售了。Jenkem之前对Colin Read做了一个采访，在这里，skatehere把它选译后分享给大家。

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Spirit Quest 预告片

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问：你当初是如何接触到拍摄和制作视频的？

COLIN READ：我从未想过要做一名摄像师，不过是凑巧成了一个而已。我曾经有一次伤的很重，我只能一边帮朋友拍摄，一边恢复，然后事情就发展成现在的样子了。

 

问：你的摄影师艺名“Mandible Claw”是来自于职业摔跤选手的动作名字吗？

COLIN READ：是的，来自Mankind

 

问：你在Tengu视频里用了动画和低分辨率的特效，为什么你会喜欢这些呢？

COLIN READ：因为它们很有趣，就是这样，真的。我最近又看了那些视频，我都不敢相信那些效果做的那么差。我当时是在最后关头一口气把所有特效剪完的，现在想想真是疯狂。希望我现在的水平会有一些进步。

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Tungu God of Mischief – roof skating

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问：你的摄像风格也在变化。Tengu里面有很多快镜头（镜头会迅速地从一个角度转到另一个角度），没有其他滑板视频中那么多的慢动作。再看你拍的Spirit Trailer预告片，你甚至用两台摄像机同时拍摄，是什么影响了你风格的变化。

COLIN READ：这些想法是我一直就有的，还有很多想法都在我脑袋里没有实施。我最近有一段时间没看滑板视频了，因为专注于我的工作能让我更加兴奋。我从自然纪录片中截了很多东西出来，并且尝试着去重建它们的感觉，就是那种在野外观察动物的感觉。

 

我从自然纪录片中截了很多东西出来，并且尝试着去重建它们的感觉，就是那种在野外观察动作的感觉。

 

问：关于“摄影师要形成自己的风格”这一点，你觉得最重要的是什么？

COLIN READ：我觉得不管你是做什么的，你都要找到属于你自己的做事方法，做属于自己的东西。如果不是这样的话，我觉得就没意思了。这就像“你是选择在当红乐队表演还是选择写自己的音乐”的问题一样。

 

photo: mike heikkila

问：滑板圈里拍摄风格看起来好像有“标准”一样。

COLIN READ：滑板圈里是有“标准滑板片”的。圈子里有几条大家都在使用的“金科玉律”，我不想指名道姓，但是我觉得现在大多数的滑板片都非常枯燥。但有一些还是非常有趣的，比如说Zach Chamberlain的新视频就很有趣。我觉得大家应该用自己做的东西给自己带来更多乐趣，而不是一味做那些遵循“金科玉律“，因而“有可能”被所有人都喜欢的视频。如果我这次视频还用我的旧手法（因为我的旧手法还算受欢迎），那么这次就没有任何趣味可言了，因为我是在做同样的事情。唯一有趣的事情就是尝试不同的东西。

问：你在2010年搬到了纽约，并且获得了纽约大学的创意写作Master of Fine Art。你最初想要追求一个写作生涯吗？

COLIN READ：我会一直喜欢写作的，虽然我好几年没写了。我属于只能专注于一件事的那种人，所以当我在做一件事情的时候，我只会考虑这件事情，这段时间我专注的是滑板视频，不过现在我要“退役”了，所以我要重新开始写作了。

 

问：你要从哪里退役？

COLIN READ：从滑板摄影师行业退役

 

问：为什么？

COLIN READ：因为我对刚完成的视频很满意，而且我想做一些不一样的东西了。但我知道六个月后我就又会脑袋短路，又想要做新的滑板视频了，但是现在就先写作吧。

 

问：写作和影片制作是完全不同的工作，但它们都是向观众诉说一个故事。你的写作兴趣对你的影片制作有什么影响吗？

COLIN READ：我不知道它们是不是有关联，但是心态肯定都是相似的。写作就是讲一个故事，我觉得影片制作，甚至滑板片也是一样的。即使片子不是在讲故事，它也应该呈现出一个容易辨别的主题和结构：开头，中间和结尾。

 

photo: mike heikkila

问：你想过要靠做滑板视频谋生吗？

COLIN READ：没有。

 

问：Spirit Quest在世界各地都上映了，它看起来将是一个国际性的滑板视频，为什么让它成为国际性的滑板视频对你来说很重要？

COLIN READ：我喜欢旅行，而且滑板也是不分地区的。你遇到的人都是不同类型的、来自世界各地的人。

 

问：你会把不同国家和地区的滑手或片段包含在你的片子里，不像那些大公司只是到美国以外的地形拍动作。

COLIN READ：是的，他们会在中国拍20分钟的片子却没有一个中国滑手出镜。中国滑手呢？我想要看到他们。我打赌中国有一些强的离谱的滑手。

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Tungu God of Mischief – subway skating

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问：视频DVD可以给你带来很多收入吗？

COLIN READ：我觉得我不可能过上宽松的生活，我将会一直保持“赤字”。我都数不清我为这部片投入了多少心血；买了多少相机和镜头；多少飞机票；多少医药费；为保持拍摄的其他治疗费用。

 

问：当个人片段取代全队影片成为正常的时候，很多人觉得这预示着全队视频这种形式的结束。我觉得从现在的情况来开，全队视频并没有消失。你觉得为什么会这样呢？

COLIN READ：就像有了电影，电视秀仍然存在一样。它们是不同的艺术形式。我是很讨厌个人视频。但也有例外，但大多数个人片段在我看来很“廉价”，很多时候，我都感觉他们把本可以做的很精彩的东西浪费掉了。但是不管怎么样，变化的车轮是不会停止的。

 

问：在最近几年里，像Thrasher, Transworld这样的网站每周都会放出独立片段。这对视频制作者是好的现象吗？

COLIN READ：我觉得这样一个影片接一个影片放出的局面是不利于视频制作者的，这里的问题还是滑板圈过饱和了。这么多人在做自己的视频，通过更大的媒介把视频展示给世界，这是很不错的。但是他们的频率太高了，每个单独的影片都会被淹没。如果Thrasher每周都放出一个全长视频，那么你肯定记不住一个月前的影片。一个人耗费两年心血做成的东西，然后很快被另外的视频代替。

 

问：为什么你觉得在剧院首映对你非常重要？

COLIN READ：最重要的一点就是看到最后的视频，当面和朋友们一起庆祝。视频制作者最重要的时刻就是首映了。你最终看到了自己努力的结果，而且朋友们也都从世界各地过来参加首映。

 

问：做视频是特别困难的。它耗费金钱，时间，甚至健康。做视频过程中哪些东西让你觉得你是最幸福的？

COLIN READ：所有的都是值得的：拍摄的滑手终于完成了自己的动作；发现或者剪辑出了很好的过场、想到了非常有趣的特效，当然，还有首映，最后好好享受一下视频，然后再也不看它。

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Tengu God of Mischief – Connor Kammerer

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 英文全文:

 

When I first met Colin, he was filming with some kind of completely lame Sony Handycam. Not even a TRV-900, just straight dad cam status. Since then, he’s become both a keeper and a pioneer of the VX1000, and one of the most imaginative and invigorating skateboard filmmakers today. Colin’s proclivity for non-conformity, whether it be skating roofs or subway cars, or placing style and execution above gnarliness, may seem high-strung, but it’s not. The energy he brings to skateboarding is firmly rooted in fun. All the unusual, unexpected, and inspiring moments in his videos come from Colin’s unwavering desire to have and promote fun. And if fun is your endgame, skateboarding becomes simple, and dad cam footage becomes cool.

Right now you’re laid up on your couch with a walking cane because you were just in the hospital for a back procedure. What happened?
Well, there’s discs in between the vertebrae in your back and they’re supposed to be like little shock absorbers. But mine basically burst. If you look on an MRI, the other ones will be roundish shapes, while that one’s a black line. It bulges out into the nerves that run down my body, and that causes a lot of localized pain as well as muscle spasms. I’ve been dealing with this for three years and it’s been getting worse and worse, even though I’m doing everything. I’ve had epidural injections, trigger point injections, physical therapy twice a week, exercise, stretching, massage, accupuncture, accupressure.

Did all this stem from filming?
I have no idea. I’m sure part of it was filming and skating, and part of it is genetics.

If you have any leftover Percocet, are you gonna sell it?
No. I need it.

photo courtesy of colin read

To take a step back, how did you get into filming and making videos in the first place?
I never wanted to be a filmer. I just ended up being the one with the camera. At one point I ended up getting really hurt and the only way I could keep hanging with my friends was to film until I got better, then that led to this.

Is your filmer name, “Mandible Claw” the name of a pro wrestler’s special move?
Yeah, Mankind.

Do you have a history of choke slamming people or being choke slammed?
I don’t think I’ve ever choke slammed anyone or been choke slammed. I’ve had a bouncer choke me out before. That was Daniel Kim’s fault for sneaking beers into the bar.

You’ve used animations and lo-fi special effects in all three of your videos, Mandible Claw, 561 to NYC, and Tengu. Why do you like these?
Because they’re funny to me. That’s it, really. I watched [Mandible Claw] recently and I couldn’t believe how bad all the effects were. I made almost all of them within Final Cut, which is insane looking back. I hope now mine are more refined.

Your filming style has also evolved. Tengu had more fast cuts to alternate angles of tricks, not nearly as much slow-mo as a lot of skate videos, and based on the Spirit Quest trailer, you’re even filming with two cameras at the same time. What’s influenced that evolution?
A lot of it’s just being trapped inside my own head. I haven’t been watching skate videos for the past while, just ‘cause I’m hyper focused on what we’re working on. I took a lot from nature documentaries. Trying to recreate the feeling they produce, like witnessing something out of the wild.

What’s important to you about establishing your own style as a filmer?
I think it’s important in whatever you do to find your own little way of doing it that can be yours, something you own and work on. Otherwise I don’t think it’s very fun. It’s like playing in a cover band versus writing your own music.

It does seem like there’s a standard style of filming a skate video.
There’s just a standard skate video, you know. There’s a couple different formulas people follow. I don’t want to fucking call people out, but I think skate videos for the most part right now are extremely boring. Some are really great and fun. Zach Chamberlain’s new video was really fun. I think people need to try to have more fun with what they make instead of sticking to what they think works. If I did stick with my formula for the last video, ‘cause that seemed to work, then it wouldn’t be any fun this time around because I’d be making the same thing. The only thing that’s fun is trying to do something different.

“I took a lot from nature documentaries. Trying to recreate the feeling they produce, like witnessing something out of the wild”

You moved to New York in 2010 and earned an MFA in creative writing from NYU. Did you initially want to pursue a writing career?
I’d still like to write. I haven’t in years. I’m pretty one track minded, so when I’m working on something it’s the only thing I can really think about, and that’s been these skate videos. But I’m retired as of now, so I’m gonna write again.

You’re retired from what?
From skateboard filmmaking.

Why?
‘Cause I’m happy with what we’ve just made, and I’d like to do something different. I’m sure in six months I’m gonna be losing my mind trying to make another video, but for now… Maybe this is what I’m telling myself because I physically can’t, with my health.

photo: mike heikkila

If you go back to writing, what are you going to write?
Erotic skate fiction? No, I don’t know. I think skateboarding is wholly incompatible with writing somehow. At least fiction. Whenever you see skating in a movie it comes out whack. If anybody tries to write about skating it ends up trying to describe skating to non-skaters, and that always falls flat, so I like to stay clear of the whole crossover.

Writing and filmmaking are two distinct media, but they’re both about telling a story to an audience. Is there anything from your writing interests that influences your filmmaking?
I don’t know if there’s much of a correlation, but the mindset definitely follows. Writing is about channelling a narrative, and I think filmmaking and even skate videos are the same. You should tell a story even if it’s not a narrative story and it’s not through words or skits. It should still get a story across to the viewer that has identifiable themes and a structure that you can feel, a beginning, middle, and end. The audience should grow.

You used to have two different web series, New York Clips for SLAP and MCVX for The Ride Channel. How did those come about?
After 561 to NYC came out the guy running SLAP hit me up. Those were all off cuts from Tengu, the video I was working on at the time, so that was a nice venue to get rid of stuff. When I got fired from SLAP, The Ride Channel wanted me to pick it up, which was really great ‘cause I was broke. That came at a perfect time. I did one season of that and it was too much of a hassle, so I let that end.

Why was it such a hassle?
It was a lot of hoops to jump through. The Ride Channel wanted permission slips from all the people in the videos and I had to get music rights and talk to artists and be a producer and all this stuff that I really wasn’t interested in. Also, I got really sick of skate media through those types of channels that were a constant onslaught on people. I didn’t want to be part of the problem anymore.

photo: mike heikkila

Did you make any money off either of those series?
A little bit. The SLAP ones were $100 or $200 a pop.

Do you ever want to earn a living from making skate videos?
Nah man, I’m retired. Retirement’s great. When I say I’m retired, I’d like to retire from filming skateboarding. I’d like to take all that time filming and spend it actually skateboarding. When and if I physically can again, ‘cause all I really want to do is skate.I’m sure I’m as soon as I’m physically able I’m gonna start another project, because I have so many ideas that are unfulfilled. I just can’t really do the whole fisheye filming thing anymore. But there’s a lot of other ways to make films.

Would you use drone cameras? You can just sit at home and film?
That’s the thing. There’s a lot of great VX filmers but there’s no like ace pilot drone filmer yet. Maybe that’ll be me. Maybe I’ll be the Red Baron of drone pilots.

Before you were retired, did you ever want to work as a company filmer?
I made promos and videos for companies that are my friends’, but ‘friends’ is the key word. I only really like working with companies by people that are already my friends, and people whose stuff I like in the first place. If it’s something I’m not really excited about I’d rather have nothing to do with it. Also, you can’t make money in skating. I did for a couple years, I did the web series and gave clips for other videos, standard skate filmer stuff, and it was just exhausting. I’ve really enjoyed working on my own stuff and doing exactly what I want to do, and not having to answer to anybody. I’ve been content just being a human being and making skate videos how I want to with my own money.

Instead of like a marketing plan run through your video?
Yeah. When giant companies make skate videos, they make them to sell products. They’re trying to seem cool, rather than doing something meaningful for skateboarding. For me, it comes down to having a creative vision and not letting anything get in the way of fulfilling it.

Spirit Quest, your new video, is coming out next month. Can you describe the quest?
It’s a safari. It’s a skate safari.

Will people get lost when they see it?
There’s a high chance of people getting lost inside this video.

What sort of animals are you going to bring to the premiere?
I was gonna say on the flyers that all animals are allowed since it’s a skate video made for animals, like the Metalocalypse show for sea animals, but I don’t think the theater will allow it.

But we could try, right?
I guess it’s worth a shot. If it’s a quiet type of reptile or something, it’ll probably be OK.

Like Tengu, Spirit Quest looks like it will be a really international video. Why is that important to you?
I love to travel, and skateboarding’s international. The people you meet are from all over the world and are all different types. Following everything else, they’re just my friends, so if I end up meeting some Japanese people here in New York, I’ll probably go to Japan to hang out with them. My dream was to go to Africa for the video, but I didn’t get to do it.

You also incorporate international skating differently than the way big company videos have filming trips simply to have footage at specific non-U.S. spots.
Oh yeah, other videos will have twenty minutes filmed in China but not a single Chinese skater. Where’s the Chinese skaters? I’m trying to see them. I bet there’s some fucked up good Chinese skaters.

What’s the sketchiest spot you skated while making Spirit Quest?
There’s a clip of Matt Town where we’re skating next to a projects building and a guy comes out and says, “I’m about to go upstairs but I’ll give you guys five minutes to skate.” Then we skate for about two or three minutes and the guy comes back with a baseball bat and says, “Alright, I was nice. Now it’s time to shed blood.” But Matt said, “No dude, one more try.” He tried one more and made it, then we ran.

photo: mike heikkila

Do DVD sales from your videos make you much money?
I don’t think I’ll ever make any sort of “in the green.” I’ll always be in the red. I can’t even begin to imagine how much money I’ve spent making this video. How many cameras and lenses I’ve bought, all the plane tickets I’ve bought, all the medical bills I’ve incurred, all the medical debt from those, all the physical therapy just to keep me to be able to keep filming. It adds up.

When the single person video parts premiering online were first becoming common, a lot of people thought that spelled the end of full-length videos. I think it’s fair to say that didn’t come true. Why do you think that is?
The same reason movies still exist even though there’s TV shows. They’re different entities altogether, a different art form. That being said, I pretty much hate the single part things. There’s exceptions, but for the most part they feel cheap and a lot of time seem like a waste of what could otherwise be a bigger, more memorable project. The content farm has got to keep churning, man. The wheel keeps spinning no matter what.

“I pretty much hate the single part things”

Over the past few years, skate video websites like Thrasher and Transworld started premiering a new independent video online nearly every week. Is this good for those filmmakers?
I think on a case by case basis it is, but the problem again is oversaturation. It’s awesome that so many people are making their own videos and have a bigger outlet in which they can show the world, but when they come at such frequency, each individual one tends to get lost. If Thrasher premieres a new full-length every week, then you don’t fucking remember the one from a month ago. Somebody put two years of their life into that, and it’s replaced by the next one. It’s a hard thing to figure out. I don’t think there is any good answer for the best way to make sure your stuff is seen and remembered. It’s good that there are outlets for non-industry skaters to have their stuff seen, but they can easily be taken advantage of and swept under the rug when the next video comes out.

Because those videos add to a website’s constant online stream of content, they’re also able to leverage that with their advertisers. Do you think the filmmakers get any money?
There’s no way. No. They’re not getting anything.

photo: mike heikkila

Why is it important to you to have a premiere in a theater instead of online?
The whole point of all of this is getting to watch the end result and celebrate it with my friends in person. That’s the whole point. I’ve talked about this with Josh [Stewart] and he’s said the same thing. The moment you live for is the premiere. Finally you see the result of all your efforts, and for this one my friends are coming from all over the world to see it.

Making skate videos is hard as shit. It takes your money, time, and even your health.
Which part of making videos makes you the happiest?
Fuck, retiring. It feels great. All the parts are rewarding. Filming when somebody finally lands something they’ve been working for, or editing and finding some great connection or some good parallel, or figuring out some effect that’s really funny. And of course the premiere. Enjoying it finally, then never watching it again.