A Parallel Planets piece by Unknown
Even in this modern age, skateboarding will always
be seen as reckless, punk, and violent. The clichés and the narrow-mindedness
when it comes to this form of art will always be tough to disregard despite the
extensive culture that has been celebrated all around the world.
Opinions, whether subjective or objective, will
continue to grow yet it won’t stop skate parks and skate shops from popping up
every now and then. Skateboarding is a culture, sure it’s a mode of
transportation too, and it will never stop thriving in whatever age or state we
are in.
I’ve tried skateboarding
before and admit that it’s no easy feat. Stepping into that board, getting a
grip into your feet, and cruising (or magically, for beginners, doing a trick)
requires utmost caution especially for the faint at heart. Skateboarding is not
for pussies. It’s something you can do only if you’re ready to fall, get hurt,
and in a city where parks are only meant for picnics, get caught.
The intense passion and
effort one gives for the sole reason of riding with extreme freedom and bliss is
something to recognize. Others may see the sport as just another reason to be
cool but for a greater audience, skateboarding is an expression of a kind. It’s
where people find home, simple with just a pair of shoes, a good old trusty
board, and a great set of friends to ride with.
Until we met a group of
skateboarders called Filmer Hands. Coming from California, Filmer Hands was
founded by Zack Lopez whose interest is directed into the arts. Formed around a
year ago, Filmer Hands’ main objective is to hang, skate, and film the group’s
session as documentary to the skate culture they are in. Young, and at times careless,
the group who started small eventually expanded into a bigger number with
members coming from different parts of the USA.
Filmer Hands usually
shoots at night where streets are less busy and cops are done with their
donuts, slowly relaxing into the evening. It’s hours like these when Zack and
his friends can cruise freely and Ollie on ramps without any care. Not to
forget the agenda of capturing these tricks into cinematic frames, distinct and
pleasing to the eyes.
Once contented with
their night ride as shot into video, Zack meticulously stitches the clips into
a short movie which is posted into the group’s Youtube site. This has brought Filmer
Hands to a larger audience not only in California but also in other parts of
the world.
Skating and filming both
at the same time may sound easy but its coordination and technicality isn’t a
piece of red velvet cake. From getting ticketed to being (slightly) hurt, we
interviewed Zack for a better understanding of Filmer Hands’ beginning and
work. It’s an interview from a thousand miles away and we’re glad to share it
with you. Read all about it and watch Filmer Hands’ amazing videos below.
Hi, Zack! Can you please tell us about Filmer Hands? How and when did
this group start?
Hi! So I started filmerhands a little over a year ago. My friends and I just wanted to bring together smooth stylish skating and filming, something we could control and make our own.
Did you really intend to incorporate filming with skating? Why?
Filmerhands main drive has always been skating; it’s what brought us all together. I started filming skating in highschool, but had to sell my camera around 5 years ago.
During the last few years
I would see friends progress through their skating but no one up to par has
captured it the way I felt needed. So in December of 2013 with the last of my
money I decided to go on craigslist and find a new camera which turned into
finding two cameras for a crazy good deal.
How is the skate community in Southern California?
The skate community in
California, let alone Southern California is HUGE. The weather is mild all year
round so progression never stops. I mean this is where it all started, I’ve met
so many skaters that moved out here to pursue their dream.
How many members are there in Filmer Hands?
Right now the core group
is only about 10 people deep, but we have a lot of homies down for the cause.
It’s just hard to film with some of the guys because Southern California is
pretty big and we’re all pretty spread out.
How do you guys get together? Do you plan it or just hang
spontaneously?
Half of us has been friends
for over 5 years and I’ve met a lot of people this past year by just being out
skating, filming, hanging out at the skate park or just doing whatever. I
mainly film with two people and we usually film any chance we get. Skating is
pretty much all we do. With the other guys that live a little farther, we try
to plan some stuff out [in advance] but usually we’ll plan it out the night
before. Lol
Do you ever get in trouble skating and filming?
Because it’s hard to skate
some spots during the day – due to businesses being open, traffic, pedestrians,
security, the sun being too hot, parking and everything else, we usually end up
skating at night. A few of the guys I film with are 17 (and they look 17) so we’ve
been stopped and kicked by security a few times because of that. We don’t
really have too many problems with the law; they usually have better things to
do than hassle us anyway.
But I should add that I
do have two bench warrants that I was blessed with because of skating. I was
given a ticket for “being in a park after hours” in Glendale and completely forgot
about court back in June. The other ticket I got was for “reckless operation of
a skateboard” in New York City on a national monument and since I was just
visiting I couldn’t make the court date in January. What sucks about both of
those tickets is that we weren’t even skating when the cops showed up! In
Glendale we were just walking through but since I was with my underage friends
they sat us down for two hours and since I was “the adult” they felt it was
necessary to give me a ticket.
Saw your videos and I must say they’re pretty neat. Do you mind if I
ask what camera/s and lenses you use?
Thanks! I need to finish
editing some more. I’ve been sitting on a lot of footage lately. I film with a
Panasonic DVX-100a, a standard definition camera, and use a MK2 Fisheye for my
lens. Nothing special but something about standard def and skating just makes
sense.
Who usually shoots and edits the videos?
I pretty much do all the
filming and editing. Sometimes I’ll get help, which is always appreciated, but
most of the time it’s just me. I am always trying to involve other friends who
also films but everyone has their own projects and a lot of us live really
spead out from one another.
Any major accidents you guys got because of skating and filming at the
same time?
Nothing major from
skating and filming at the same time – sometimes I’ll fall, sometimes a board
will hit the lens, sometimes a board will break the lens, close calls with cars
or boards to the face, but that’s what make skating fun.
Please tell us something about Filmer Hands’ merchandise design.
So during and after high
school, I have done a little silkscreen printing as well as graphic design and
I was lucky enough to have been given some screen print supplies from a friend
who was moving. So I’ve just been trying to put it to use and also get our name
out there.
I designed one graphic (a
friend did the other) and I print everything myself. We will hopefully be
putting a new graphic out in the next month or two.
Filmer Hands’ latest video “3 Four Lokos” is the most extreme I’ve
watched so far. How is it based on a true story? Please tell us more about
this.
Haha! 3 Four Lokos was a
bunch of footage I never used for a night back in summer. Like I said, I’ve been
sitting on A LOT of material. It was just me and a few friends roaming the
streets of DTLA from 12am to 3am, breaking TVs, skating empty parking garages,
holding onto cars.
What’s next for Filmer Hands? What should we look forward to?
Well, if I ever get to it,
hopefully some more edits! I have some stuff I filmed on trips to San Francisco
and New York City as well as LA.
What we’ve really been
working on secretly is our first full length video. We’re actually in the last
few months of filming and I hope to premiere it sometime in March. It will
mainly be featuring full parts from Cyril Palmer and Christian Momdjian, as
well as smaller parts from other friends we;ve had the opportunity to skate
with throughout the last year.
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From skating to shooting, to spreading the passion all around. No doubt, Filmer Hands is up to no obligations because it's all about having a good time with their skateboards, cameras, and friends.
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