Comments on: Charge it!

Charge it!

loquacious — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 01:50:31 -0800

Some skaters blowing shit up.

By: MaryDellamorte

MaryDellamorte — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 01:56:22 -0800

What is the music?

By: Stunt

Stunt — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 01:59:20 -0800

"Lower Your Eyelids to Die with the Sun" by M83 - according to a comment on youtube. Can't verify that myself.

By: nosila

nosila — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 02:02:33 -0800

Ahhhh. 5 am = academics + booze + dj types + post-skate videos. What a fantastic evening. G'night.

By: MaryDellamorte

MaryDellamorte — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 02:05:54 -0800

Damn well I'll be, it is M83 and I even have this song on my computer. I knew it sounded familiar. Teen Angst is my favorite M83 song.

By: Stunt

Stunt — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 02:09:44 -0800

Okay, after having watched that: woah. I have to wonder if it has some movie magic and planning at work or if the slow motion and the soundtrack make it feel more magical and epic (and less crazy and reckless) than it would otherwise. Also, NEAT.

By: CheshireCat

CheshireCat — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 02:27:25 -0800

Stunt: Yeah, it certainly looks like it has had the benefit of careful production to it (which doesn't necessarily rule out crazy and reckless) since they use smoothly panning shots that had to be planned out, and at least on one occasion I saw they switched angles before the explosion which means they did multiple takes to get that look. That being said, everything is cooler in slow motion!

By: mnsc

mnsc — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 02:29:37 -0800

This movie is the answer to this question.

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 02:59:17 -0800

Batshitinsane tag looks about right. Did the second set of explosions come off completely mistimed?

By: Mikey-San

Mikey-San — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 03:05:28 -0800

[this is badass]

By: cgc373

cgc373 — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 03:09:50 -0800

mnsc, you've totally enriched this whole skates-travaganza with that link! We got some danged SKATE now. (You, too, loquacious.) SKATE.

By: gcbv

gcbv — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 04:32:32 -0800

Weird. Just had a long dream about trying to buy a skateboard, finally getting the right deck (it was a NEW Neil Blender board), and skating around an old mall, the skated up into an old elevator, into an apartment, where Allen Ginsberg was sitting around chatting. Then woke up to this. ha!

By: WolfDaddy

WolfDaddy — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 04:53:01 -0800

Skaters are hot.

By: Mike D

Mike D — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 05:49:10 -0800

Skaters-and-things-exploding videos will never truly be said to have arrived until they show skaters exploding. Such thoughts give some of us reason to hope.

By: hadjiboy

hadjiboy — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 06:15:58 -0800

Poetry in Motion

By: The Monkey

The Monkey — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 06:16:09 -0800

Brilliant - and not quite what I expected from the wording.

By: CaptMcalister

CaptMcalister — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 06:47:34 -0800

not real.

By: itchylick

itchylick — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 06:54:36 -0800

Photoshopped even.

By: HuronBob

HuronBob — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 06:58:10 -0800

CGI, I'm thinking.. the complete lack of reflexive response from some of the bystanders seems almost impossible... If you're that close to an explosion, you ARE going to flinch a bit......

By: srkit

srkit — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 07:27:25 -0800

not surprisingly, this is the work of spike jonze. apparently, he directed other elements of this DVD as well. these links give a little more information. a related post from last year.

By: mistersquid

mistersquid — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 07:35:23 -0800

Yeah, the stuff is obviously composited. How can hair and clothing, for example, not respond to the concussive waves of the explosions. That said, I find the whole glorification of adolescents and quasi-adolescents on skateboards a sad condition of contemporary North American culture. Skateboarders are so end-of-century and so fucking TIRED. Maybe these folks will ollie right on through the apocalypse. That said, the filming, framing, and NLE techniques required to make the film are somewhat interesting. That is, I'm not bagging on the post but the noting that the attempt at some kind of urban angsty adolescent sublime leaves this full-grown adult yawning.

By: ardgedee

ardgedee — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 07:38:28 -0800

dude got something in his eye in that one bit there, I think.

By: Science!

Science! — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 07:49:28 -0800

Awesome.

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 08:04:23 -0800

This would be so, so expensive to do with CGI.

By: Ricky_gr10

Ricky_gr10 — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 08:27:01 -0800

Very cool. Not sure how they did it, but it looks mostly "real" (read: lots of special preparation and editing but not entirely done in post-prod). Does that make me naive? Wait, don't answer that!

By: awenner

awenner — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 08:43:57 -0800

One day someone's going to be able to write a fantastic piece on the zietgeist of the '00s, and how so many of the terribly wrenching things that happened found their way into other bits of pop culture detritus. I watched this and immediately thought of roadside bombs in Baghdad. Even if that wasn't the intention (and I'm nearly positive it wasn't) it's interesting to think of the unconscious reasoning that took Spike Jonze here. Cool.

By: Burger-Eating Invasion Monkey

Burger-Eating Invasion Monkey — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 09:02:22 -0800

The wikipedia article seems to indicate that it's largely 'real'.

By: CKmtl

CKmtl — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 09:20:59 -0800

Huh. I was expecting shaky guffaw-filled amateur video of some dumb kids blowing up stuff with firecrackers. Pleasantly surprised. Well played, loquacious.

By: generalist

generalist — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 09:27:10 -0800

There's a history of skateboarders and foolish (awesome) fire activities (skip to 3:15 for the relevant scene). I find the whole glorification of adolescents and quasi-adolescents on skateboards a sad condition of contemporary North American culture. I find the whole glorification of adults and quasi-adults throwing balls around a sad condition of contemporary North American culture. [NOT BALLIST]

By: Frasermoo

Frasermoo — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 09:37:16 -0800

i pray to the gods that a few million kids watch this and realise they can infinitely improve their super mario speed run videos by overlaying some better music rather than the grungey shitty rock they seem to force on their viewers.

By: mnsc

mnsc — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 09:41:05 -0800

One of the wikipedia references, an interview with Ty Evans, has some background story. Looks pretty much real, as in non-CG, to me. Prop obstacles of course but no fancy post-prod techniques.

By: mathowie

mathowie — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 09:53:47 -0800

I wonder what kind of fake concrete they used -- it seems tough enough to skate on but blows up into pure dust with (I'm guessing) small (and safe) explosives.

By: Quietgal

Quietgal — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 09:59:02 -0800

Can someone explain the physics of why the board follows the skater up into the air? I see how stepping on the tail behind the wheels would make it pivot, but why does it leave the ground? It's almost like it sticks to the skater's shoes when he springs up.

By: danb

danb — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 10:05:18 -0800

Quietgal: that trick is called an ollie. The Wikipedia article has a decent explanation of the execution:

The front foot is moved slightly more towards the center of the board. The skateboarder quickly drags his front foot up as he jumps, and as he or she is about to take off he/she kicks the tail of the board down, while rapidly picking their back foot back up quickly. The kick gives the front end of the board upward momentum, and as the tail hits the ground, it rebounds making the board completely airborne. When the board takes off, its nose is much higher off the ground than the tail is. The skateboarder slides his or her front foot up and forward on the griptape. The movement between the shoe and the board levels the skateboard and takes it further off the ground. Then as the skater descends, they land on the bolts, preferably, and then bend their knees to absorb the impact.

By: god hates math

god hates math — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 10:07:20 -0800

That's awesome. I mean, I could already watch skate videos all day long. High-framerate slow motion skate videos? Even better. I'm having this vision of performing minimalist electronic music with ultra-slow-motion skating being projected behind me. Beautiful.

By: BeerFilter

BeerFilter — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 10:13:56 -0800

The 3rd question in the interview here has some decent background on the intro.

By: generalist

generalist — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 10:22:16 -0800

By: generalist

generalist — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 10:23:49 -0800

Ooh thanks Beerfilter. No CGI! Suck it, haters.

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 10:44:00 -0800

SKATEBOARDING IS NOT A CRIME but exploding shit usually is. :(

By: Escapetank

Escapetank — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 10:54:10 -0800

that opening 360 kickflip is revolutionary. the entire intro is exquisite but that moment is truly a cut above. SICK post

By: Quietgal

Quietgal — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 11:06:28 -0800

Thanks, danb and generalist. I've seen plenty of skaters practicing ollies (now I know what to call them!) and never could figure out what magic they were doing. It's amazing that you could get enough rebound from that tail-stomp to lift the whole board into the air, even though skateboards are pretty springy. I love watching skaters, in a peeking-through-my-fingers-ow-that's-gonna-hurt-if-he-flubs-it kind of way. This was a fun video - too bad the skaters in my neighborhood don't have slow-mo instant replay cameras set up whenever they practice!

By: maxwelton

maxwelton — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 11:30:48 -0800

Quietgal, you could start blowing them up, which will get them part-way there. I admire the athleticism of the skaters and their willingness to take risks, even though the latter is just part of being 15 and thinking you're invulnerable. Just take a youtube look at "pwned skateboard" to see stunts which really don't go right and involve limbs bent at funny angles, etc. That stuff makes me shudder.

By: lupus_yonderboy

lupus_yonderboy — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 12:13:00 -0800

So is it real or not? The attached article talks about putting a lot of work in the pyrotechnics but doesn't say for sure that there are no CGI effects. Ultra-slow motion does make physics look strange... Which frame if any really proves that it's a fake?

By: grimcity

grimcity — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 12:44:28 -0800

It's sort of real... Spike and Ty set up a bunch of fake yet realistic looking obstacles and then blew 'em up. The movie itself is really good... it's from a shoe company called Lakai, and the flick itself is called Fully Flared. One of the best skate videos for sure, definitely the best of 2007. /skater

By: empath

empath — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 13:49:42 -0800

dugg for the soundtrack.

By: ZachsMind

ZachsMind — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 13:57:36 -0800

So. Okay. Yeah. I'm sure this was hard to do. People can argue over how much of the effects were done "in camera" and how much is computer enhanced in post. Either way, this is not easy shit to do. I'm not questioning that. It's impressive. While watching this I kept finding myself thinking about The Jackass Movie. This has already been done, but with a gigantic shopping cart. Don't get me wrong. It's cool. It may even be badass. It's not Jackass. This cute little slomo skateboard video with random explosions takes itself a bit too seriously, which leaves me disappointed.

By: loquacious

loquacious — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 15:42:24 -0800

As grimcity has noted - the obstacles being destroyed aren't actually concrete but realistic looking imitations. Carefully engineered styrofoam and balsa or pine wood, I'd imagine. The explosions are real, and as far as I can tell they are not composited. To simulate the concrete dust explosions one could use colored talc or other substitutes. This all means that the explosions can be fairly small but visually impressive from all the ejected dust and foam chunks, the shrapnel non-lethal and the danger greatly minimized.

By: ph00dz

ph00dz — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 15:51:18 -0800

There's no denying the sickness.

By: seawallrunner

seawallrunner — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 17:44:36 -0800

<>I watched this and immediately thought of roadside bombs in Baghdad. me too. Evening news, Middle East ...and Koyaanisqatsi. Beautifully rendered, athletic, well edited - but the rundown sun-bleached location and explosions inarguably reflect the ongoing events of 2007.

By: KingoftheWhales

KingoftheWhales — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 18:49:04 -0800

If any of you are interested, Nike SB just released their skate video, Nothing But the Truth, which can be found here, on google video.

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 19:21:52 -0800

The Jackass Movie? oh-kay. Meanwhile, I was reminded of this. Slow doesn't mean serious.

By: CaseyB

CaseyB — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 19:55:20 -0800

I can't imagine that it's all CGI. If it is, the smoke rendering, interaction, and compositing at 3:47 is godlike. The last one does seem likely to be a composite. It must be "safe" pyrotechnics, but you wouldn't know it from the skater's reactions. They look honestly scared!

By: gottabefunky

gottabefunky — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 21:57:42 -0800

Ah to be young with joints of stainless steel again...

By: Cathedral

Cathedral — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 23:09:45 -0800

Ah to be young with joints of stainless steel again... Yep. My knees are shot from skating, but it was worth every fucking second. Even the sadistic cop seconds...

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:38:37 -0800

not real. ...Photoshopped even. ...CGI, I'm thinking.. I guess "real" isn't real enough for kids these days. And those pieces of shrapnel hitting the guy in the face? CGI, man! Computer Generated Incendiares! the complete lack of reflexive response from some of the bystanders seems almost impossible... If you're that close to an explosion, you ARE going to flinch a bit Unless it's a set, and all the "bystanders" are, in fact, completely aware of what's going to happen because they've rehearsed it a million times beforehand.

By: generalist

generalist — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:12:47 -0800

I admire the athleticism of the skaters and their willingness to take risks, even though the latter is just part of being 15 and thinking you're invulnerable* Guy Mariano: 30 Rick Howard: 32 Eric Koston: 32 Mike Carroll: 32 Marc Johnson: 31 Cairo Foster: 31

By: 235w103

235w103 — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 09:16:19 -0800

Jonze did the intro to "Yeah Right!", another Girl Films video, and his use of slow-motion combined with really well-placed close-ups of the boards and feet of the skaters really made me realize how intense and involved these sorts of tricks are. I didn't know about Fully Flared, I'll have to pick it up!

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:16:58 -0800

It's sort of real... Spike and Ty set up a bunch of fake yet realistic looking obstacles and then blew 'em up. Yeah, my guess is that the "concrete" is styrofoam (note that the chunks are white) and balsa wood, and the pyro is packed with a lot of white dust.

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:19:57 -0800

(Or, on preview, exactly what Loquacious said. Dammit!)

By: clearly

clearly — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 02:28:35 -0800

Cool. Another good skate video uses Invisible Boards

By: churl

churl — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 21:06:22 -0800

Sadly upon returning to this post to show it to a friend, the link was dead. I found it here, though, if anyone's still interested.