A skate video is a movie of or about skateboarding typically showing new tricks and a series of skateboarders in a montage set to music.

History

Released in 1965, the short film '' Skaterdater'' is credited as the first film to depict skateboarding and therefore the first ''skate video.'' In 2015, The Berrics 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 ...

. However, the Powell Peralta 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'' (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 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 me ...

and new

digital filmmaking : Digital cinematography is the process of capturing (recording) a motion picture using digital image sensors rather than through film stock. As digital technology has improved in recent years, this practice has become dominant. Since the mid-20 ...

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 sharing and 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 Google, and is the second most ...

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 shops,

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 combina ...

, websites, collectives, and independent skaters make skate videos for the love of skateboarding; as well as, promotional material. ''

411 Video Magazine ''411 Video Magazine'' (commonly abbreviated as ''411VM'' or ''411'') was a skateboarding video series. 411 was created in 1993 by Josh Friedberg and Steve Douglas. ''411'' released four issues per year, until its last issue, issue 67 was releas ...

'' 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 (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'',Dictionar ...

and Chocolate's Yeah Right! (2003). Throughout the late 2010s and into the 2020s, filmmaker William Strobeck has developed a style of producing skate videos which goes against traditional skate video conventions such as the use of

fisheye lenses Fisheye may refer to: * The eye providing vision in fish or other aquatic creature resembling a fish * Fisheye lens, an ultra wide-angle lens used in photography * Fisheye (''Sailor Moon''), a character from the anime ''Sailor Moon'' * ''Fisheye ...

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 (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

, or hip-hop music.

Notable Skate Videos

* The Search for Animal Chin (1987) * '' Video Days'' (

Blind Blind may refer to: * The state of blindness, being unable to see * A window blind, a covering for a window Blind may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Blind'' (2007 film), a Dutch drama by Tamar van den Dop * ''Blind' ...

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

, 1996) *

Welcome to Hell (skateboarding) ''Welcome to Hell'' is the debut studio album by English extreme metal band Venom. It was released in December 1981, through Neat Records, at the culmination of the new wave of British heavy metal movement. The album was re-released by San ...

(

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

, 1996) * ''Fulfill the Dream'' (Shortys, 1998) * Menikmati (2000) * ''Photosynthesis'' ( Alien Workshop, 2000) * Dying to Live (2002) * ''Sorry'' (

Flip Flip, FLIP, or flips may refer to: People * Flip (nickname), a list of people * Lil' Flip (born 1981), American rapper * Flip Simmons, Australian actor and musician * Flip Wilson, American comedian Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * ...

, 2002) * ''PJ Ladd's "Wonderful, Horrible, Life"'' (

Fancy Lad Fancy Lad is a skateboard collective and company known for its creative skate videos and non-traditional construction of skateboards. The group often skates in improvised spots around Boston. The group's "board manipulations", or modified skateboar ...

, 2002) *

DC Video DC Shoes is an American company that specializes in footwear for action sports, including skateboarding and snowboarding. The company also manufactures apparel, bags, accessories, hats, tshirts, and posters. History The company was founded in J ...

(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 ...

(2003) * ''This Is Skateboarding'' ( Emerica, 2003) *

Getting Nowhere Faster ''Getting Nowhere Faster'' is a 2004 American skate video featuring female skateboarders. The video features skateboarding footage of the world's most prominent female skateboarders, as well as a fiction film called ''The Skatepark Hauntings of ...

(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 co ...

, 2015)

References

External links