Town and Country Surfboard Factory with Ryan Sugihara, Craig Sugihara, Dennis Pang, Gavin Hasegawa, Ashton Goggins, and Jamie O'Brian. Photo: Mimi LaMontagne
The summer between my junior and senior year of college, I got to experience something that changed my perspective and built my confidence as a cinematographer.
Red Bull’s No Contest Off-Tour was headed to the South Shore of Oahu, and I had the chance to be a part of it. Working with Stab, up until then, I was used to being behind the editing desk, but this trip pushed me to step out and go on my first larger shoot.
"Amazing content, story, and edit. Mahalo to all that made this happen." – @bwhit716
"Bunch of legends in these clips!" – @eddie.moonshine
"Such an Epic video! 🤙🏻🤙🏻" – @jacklandon9739
2023 World #1 Kai Sallas with #2 Kaniela Stewart
One of the most exciting parts of the trip was shooting long boarding. I didn't have too much experience filming long board before this, but i couldn't have asked for much of a better spot than here.
The girls and guys had such a smooth, fluid style that was completely different from the fast-paced short boarding I had been used to. It took some time to adjust to the slower pace, but eventually I found the spot and was able to link up some shots.
The link up of the session. Photo: Cameron Winkelman
After a whole day of shooting, we ran into a major issue. Matts card reader broke.
He was shooting on the Sony FX9 with a XQD memory card. Sony discontinued the card and reader, making it almost impossible to find. We hit up two or three camera stores, but no luck.
Then, by chance, we found a local guy who rented us the only card reader on the whole island. He saved the days worth of footage, and with a cold Kona Big Wave in hand.
We celebrated the small victory and I learned the hard way that having backups upon backups is essential, but even more important is making friends who can help out when things go sideways.
The savior of day 2's footage.
Speaking of extra help, here’s Kala holding it down on a windy day.
Looking back, this trip was a huge turning point for me. Matt taught me more about cinematography than I could have ever learned figuring it out on my own. I grew as a filmmaker and gained a whole new appreciation for the art of shooting.
I got to meet so many incredible people. Im glad I've finally met some of the Aussie Stab crew and part of the Red Bull team, While also experience working with Red Bull. From the surfers to the crew, I’m grateful for the connections I made.
Im happy about the final shots, but it was about the whole journey, the hard work, and the learning process along the way. I can’t wait for the next adventure.
Just a little pink after a long week. Jack of Town's stoked he got some clips too :)
This is also my first little post. Hopefully its half as good as the Talk Tuah Podcast.
bye.
