A skate video is a movie of or about

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a ...

typically showing new tricks and a series of skateboarders in a

montage Montage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Filmmaking and films * Montage (filmmaking), a technique in film editing * ''Montage'' (2013 film), a South Korean film Music * Montage (music), or sound collage * ''Montage'' (Block B EP), 201 ...

set to music.

History

Released in 1965, the short film ''

Skaterdater ''Skaterdater'' is a 1965 American short student film. It was produced by Marshal Backlar, and written and directed by Noel Black. Summary The film tells a story with no dialogue. The group of boy skaters are suddenly at a point when one of the b ...

'' is credited as the first film to depict skateboarding and therefore the first ''skate video.'' In 2015,

The Berrics The Berrics is a private indoor skatepark owned by professional skateboarders Steve Berra and Eric Koston. It is also a website providing content filmed in the skatepark, as well other skateboard-related media. The facility's name is a portmante ...

campaigned for the film's acceptance into the

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...

. However, the

Powell Peralta Powell Peralta is an American skateboard company founded by George Powell and Stacy Peralta in 1978. The company rose to prominence in the 1980s as skateboarding began maturing as a sport. The company featured the Bones Brigade, a team featurin ...

company is often credited as creating the first skate videos proper that were not a part of a fictional film or a documentary. Their first video, ''

The Bones Brigade Video Show The ''Bones Brigade Video Show'' is a 1984 skateboarding video, produced by Stacy Peralta and Craig Stecyk. It was the first of several videos produced by the Powell Peralta company, and showcased members of the Bones Brigade skateboarding team, ...

'' (1984), was expected to sell just 300 copies on VHS, but it sold 30,000. From the invention of the skate video genre in the 1980s till the early 2000s, skate videos were distributed via VHS tapes sold primarily at skate shops. In the early 2000s skate videos transferred to

DVDs The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

along with the rest of the home video market. The advent of

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

and new digital filmmaking tools such as

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

and

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

challenged skate video traditions, putting less emphasis on full videos and more emphasis on shorter clips. The conventions and styles of skate videos continue to evolve and redefine themselves alongside the sport of skateboarding.

Producers

There is a variety of skate videos that are produced, from independent individual filmmakers to those commissioned by skateboard companies who use the video to promote the brand. Additionally, small

skate shop 320px, Ridin' High Skate Shop in Burlington, Vermont A skate shop or skateshop is a store that sells skateboards and skateboarding apparel. When financially possible, skate shops sponsor local riders and promote skateboarding locally through s ...

magazines A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...

, websites, collectives, and independent skaters make skate videos for the love of skateboarding; as well as, promotional material. '' 411 Video Magazine'' was a popular bi-monthly video log published from the 1990s to the 2000s. Film director

Spike Jonze Adam H. Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze, is an American filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes commercials, film, music videos, skateboard videos and television. Jonze began his ca ...

has shot several skate videos, including Blind's

Video Days ''Video Days'' is a skateboarding video by Blind Skateboards released in 1991. It is considered one of the most influential skate videos, as director Spike Jonze's format is frequently cited as its definitive filming template. ''Video Days'' is ...

(1991) and

Girl A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary ...

and Chocolate's Yeah Right! (2003). Throughout the late 2010s and into the 2020s, filmmaker

William Strobeck William Strobeck (born March 17, 1978) is an American filmmaker, director, videographer, and photographer based out of New York City. Strobeck directed the skate video, skate videos: ''cherry'' (2014), ''BLESSED (''2018), ''CANDYLAND'' (2019), an ...

has developed a style of producing skate videos which goes against traditional skate video conventions such as the use of fisheye lenses and sequential sectioned parts in favour of a more experimental approach. Many amateur skateboarders hold professional skate videos in high regard, and as authentic representations of skateboarding, and attempt to create their own videos. Amateur and professional skateboarding videos are often shared via

Content and style

In most skate videos, skaters show their skills in sections called video parts, but other formats and techniques, such as montages, are used, and new tricks are often demonstrated. It is common to have the best highlight trick as the final trick in video parts, this is referred to as the ender. Most videos feature "slam sections" of tricks that end up in failure and spectacular falls where the skateboarder is hurt. They are macabre yet popular because they serve as a reminder that skateboarding is a dangerous sport. Another common feature is sections covering skateboarders off the board, covering their personalities. Although skate videos vary in aesthetic style and content, there are several common denominators. They are usually anything from half an hour to an hour long, feature skateboarders performing tricks in urban environments, and are edited to include song-length segments. Ultimately, producers try to promote their idea of skate style, achieved by montage and editing. Often the videos are shot using a

fisheye lens A fisheye lens is an ultra wide-angle lens that produces strong visual distortion intended to create a wide panoramic or hemispherical image. Fisheye lenses achieve extremely wide angles of view, well beyond any rectilinear lens. Instead of p ...

. Skate videos are also notable for featuring music soundtracks of punk rock,

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

, or hip-hop music.

Notable Skate Videos

The Search for Animal Chin ''The Search for Animal Chin'' is a 1987 skateboarding film featuring the Bones Brigade. It is one of the first skateboarding films to have a plot, rather than simply a collection of skateboarding stunts and music videos. Plot summary The Bone ...

(1987) * ''

'' ( Blind, 1991) * Love Child (1992) * Questionable (1992) * ''Mouse'' (

, 1996) * Welcome to Hell (skateboarding) (

Toy Machine A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

, 1996) * ''Fulfill the Dream'' (Shortys, 1998) * Menikmati (2000) * ''Photosynthesis'' (

Alien Workshop Alien Workshop (AWS) is an independent American skateboarding company that was founded in 1990 by Chris Carter, Mike Hill, and Neil Blender in Dayton, Ohio. Following periods under the ownership of the Burton snowboard company and original team ...

, 2000) * Dying to Live (2002) * ''Sorry'' ( Flip, 2002) * ''PJ Ladd's "Wonderful, Horrible, Life"'' ( Fancy Lad, 2002) * DC Video (2003) *

Yeah Right! ''Yeah Right!'' is a 2003 skateboarding video by Girl Skateboards (featuring Chocolate Skateboards), directed by Ty Evans and Spike Jonze. ''Yeah Right!'' is notable for its soundtrack, length, and the extensive use of never-before-seen (in a s ...

(2003) * ''This Is Skateboarding'' ( Emerica, 2003) * Getting Nowhere Faster (2004) * ''Cheese & Crackers'' (

Almost In set theory, when dealing with sets of infinite size, the term almost or nearly is used to refer to all but a negligible amount of elements in the set. The notion of "negligible" depends on the context, and may mean "of measure zero" (in a me ...

, 2006) * ''Skateboarding Is Forever'' ( DC, 2010) * ''Propeller'' (

Vans Vans is an American manufacturer of skateboarding shoes and related apparel, established in Anaheim, California, and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and motocross teams. From 1996 to 2019, the comp ...

, 2015)

References

External links