Category Archives: Video

http://vimeo.com/68441496

A full-length video from the Skworl crew out of Minneapolis. “This is the result of over 2 years of having fun riding bikes and hanging out with friends.” Just in case you aren’t sure if you want to watch it, I wrote a short summary to help you decide.

The first clip and intro song really set the tone for the whole video- playful and spirited, generally good times.

Eric Holley has first part, and while it’s not the old Holley murdering handrails in the rain, it’s still an amazing section.

Mark Schlegel has good-looking 360’s and does a few crazy wallrides toward the end of his part.

Mike Gelle, the co-creator of the video, rides a freecoaster (no surprise there, most filmers/photographers do) and does a noteworthy halfcab on a nice looking spot.

Cole Nelson keeps it real with some sprocket grinds and even a disaster stall to fakie.

Friends section- that hair, right?! Damn. I like this song a lot and this section is edited well. Those last handrail clips almost made me piss myself. Psyched he finally pulled it.

Mike Olsen/Trevor Thompson split part- besides the obvious similarities in bike setups, one can conclude by the structure of the section that these two are probably really good friends. The song fits nicely- the piano intro with that first doubles clip really sets the mood for this light-hearted section.

Boden Berg does a bump jump off the wheel of a beach cruiser to bonk on the basket, along with a slew of other mainly entertaining tricks. Someone who would keep a session fun.

Lee Mies has a variety of moves and does a couple stunning nosebonks. Not afraid of gaps.

Nick Anderson closes out the video with a bang doing some astounding hard 180’s and rail moves with an awesomely peppy style. I love the two ice 270’s on that bank to sub- it looks like he could easily keep spinning out.

Then there’s around five minutes of outtakes, really funny stuff- the clip of the two guys doing a nollie to manual off that dock and both falling made me laugh out loud.

All-in-all, a very entertaining video from the Skworl guys. You can tell these guys have fun, or the editor did a great job of making it seem like they do. No insight into the meaning of the name, though.

Plus there’s an extra section in the DVD that is just as entertaining as the video itself, with some riding that somehow didn’t make the cut. It’s clear that they worked on this video for a long while and had a hard time narrowing down the best clips. Any DVD extras usually give an insight into the team as a whole, with B-roll and outtakes, and this is no exception. Humor and crashes in equal proportions. DVD’s are available for purchase from the filmer/editor Nic Gironda ($10 domestic, shipped) by emailing him at nic.gironda@gmail.com.

The video opens with Chris Carter and his signature “hit everything” style, banging his pegs on all surfaces grind-able (some un-grind-able) hopping into tree stumps and nearly-vertical walls. His bike is in shambles the whole section but he wouldn’t have it any other way. The song selection is perfect for the riding- some sort of Fantasia piccolo, xylophone and string quartet ensemble that plucks with every bump and polejam. His rap outro segues into Marc “Stretch” Meeuwwissen‘s part, filled with incredible balancing acts on rails and in hang-5’s. Dude is like 6’ 1000″ and uses it to his advantage to hop astronomical heights and distances. He can spin like a madman as well. His last clip is simply crazy.

Casio spits a quick sermon about the existential uses of cellar doors and clocks a few new-aged old-school clips of his own.

Pat Quinn, a true grind-god, scrapes every part of his bike on unwaxed surfaces throughout the greater New York area. His part follows a loose formula of “spin-grind-spin” or “grind-spin-grind”. The second to last clip- an overcrook 180 out over an L- is astounding. Dude might look like he’s flailing around on some grinds, but he has precision when he needs it. His ender is an NBD, I’m almost positive.

Jason Byoun- the one skate part- is sort of an interlude with a mellow jazz bebop track, where he pretty much uses his skateboard the same way the team uses their bikes- wallrides between cellars, polejams and big hops. He even has a few riding clips. It seems he fears very little and has no trouble adapting to extracurricular activities.

Jeremy Anderegg, a North Carolina resident, may not look the part of SAF, but takes to the streets with the fury of an NBL pro getting amped for his next heat. His gap-to-wallrides are impressive to say the least. It’s funny to see his brakes come off halfway through the section. He is clearly 100% in control of his bike throughout his part. His last clips are some of the greatest in the video.

Next up are a couple mix sections, which include some Ben Hittle clips for good measure. Riders throughout the Tri-State area and beyond are featured in a few hip-hop montages. The street riding comes in waves between intermittent mini-ramp sessions. Still, grinds prevail and cellar doors are implemented in ways the original designer could never have foreseen.

Evan Gallagher has a shorter part featuring some truly dirty and technical grinds to a folksy-buddist rendition of the Beatles on acid. I don’t even know how to describe one the grinds in his part- whatever the horizontal equivalent of a 60/40 feeble is…

Eric “Ewip” Whitescarver comes flying in from camera-left with amazing feats of wallrides and crankarm usage. There are a few spots in his part that have been absolutely killed in the past decade, but he still finds a way to produce an original clip. The Hoder guest clips complement the section perfectly. Ewip can ride transitions of any varying degree, click tables past flat and hop on any bike with pegs and still keep up with the pack. Two of his last three clips were filmed the day before the video premiered, showing a great dedication and tenacity that can be appreciated by any entity making a video. I can almost guarantee that Ewip will be a household name by 2015.

I’m sure it was a tough choice between Ewip and Eric “Rosie” Schalles having last part, but Rosie ties the whole video together with a style that mixes Carter’s jib-ness with Ewip’s fearlessness. His section can most accurately be described by the namesake “Street As Fuck”. My favorite part of Rosie’s riding is that he will always get the halfcab off a curb if it is in viable distance. This section is filled with some of the steepest handrails to be found in New York and New Jersey- kinked, curved, 60/40- it’s all-inclusive. Technically he has a three-song section and not one part is less-than-par with the whole video. Truly an amazing section to close out a spectacular video.

You won’t find any progressive filming techniques or fancy editing styles in here. Besides a little bit of slow motion and basic graphics, it’s a pretty straightforward DVD- filmed mostly with a fisheye and published using iMovie. Again, DVD’s are available ($10 shipped in U.S.) from Nic by emailing him at nic.gironda@gmail.com. “Searching Acronyms Forever” will make a perfect addition to your collection and should easily earn a spot on the top shelf next to the LFS video…