An Introduction and Briefing

I have really been hitting this idea in my head for a long time now, and the more I think about it the more I believe that I should get started on doing it.

I'll start off with some basic things regarding restrictions for it.

First off, I won't be able to actually go to any events like Rendezvous or Fast Fingers until I am in college which won't be for another year and a half (I'm a junior in high school). And I won't be getting a decent computer until Christmas 2014 (yes, not this Christmas, the following one) which means I will be restricted on my editing of any footage until then.

With that stated, the traveling, editing, and overall effort for this project which I am about to explain to you all will be impossible by myself and will eventually have to become a team effort (and I mean, this is a rather friendly forum of people who cooperate fairly well for an internet community).


Now, what am I talking about...

Ever since I saw the Youtube segmented documentary that is nearly 5 hours long known as "The Smash Brothers" I have been amazed. It was the best documentary I have ever seen, and it was about something as silly as the competitive play of Smash Brothers Melee over the years since its release and now. It chronicles the people and places and events that transformed the entire community of competitive Smash Brothers into a well-known and professional event in several national and international tournaments.

If you haven't seen this massive documentary and if you are fan of Smash Brothers please, please, do the producers of the documentary a favor and check out East Point Pictures:

https://www.youtube.com/user/EastPointPictures?feature=watch

Now, getting to my idea...

With the team of talented film makers here on Fingerboard HQ I believe that this could easily be possible. My idea is to perform the exact amazing feat that East Point Pictures accomplished and do the same with the fingerboarding community. However, as I stated before this won't actually be put into production for another year or two. But, I want to get the word out of my idea and get this popularized around the forum.

My goal with this project would eventually be to travel to several popular fingerboard events and take footage of not the fingerboarding, but of the fingerboarders. The interaction between all of the folks at the contests, something that all other fingerboard videos has failed to do. The events, the relationships, the rivalries, the things that make up our community but have not yet been documented by something such as this.

I would love to be able to get in touch with popular fingerboard riders and be able to interview them whether it be over cell phone with a voice recording or in person. Interviews are what make documentaries on things like this so great. People want to see the famous owners of companies and teams.

I have searched all over Youtube and I still have yet to find a decent documentary that is more than five minutes long. My objective would to be to make a several part film of at least 2 hours long. Two hours dedicated to the fingerboarders. Full of footage of fingerboarding but also of the people that have made this hobby what it is.

That being said, all of this will have to be accomplished over several years time but that is what will give the documentary a story, rather than clip after clip of people shuv-it-ing into a boardslide. I know this will require a massive team of editors and skilled filmmakers (specifically folks in Germany and other European countries where I would be incapable of traveling to) but I know that this complex idea could easily be accomplished given the diversity of our community.


Please, I would appreciate feedback on my idea. Any/all suggestions would be helpful to creating a better focus for this project.

I really really like this idea. It would be really interesting to watch this video.

I support  

Even though Mike isn't the only influential person in fingerboarding but this trailer was put out a while ago. Not that it really tells you anything about it lol. I'd assume it's a somewhat real documentary.

I'll get some filmy type stuff for you @ my event on the 7th.

Awesome Taylor... Maybe since you're the first one submitting any sort of footage I'll use your event's footage for a preview type thing or for the finished product's intro.

Ya this would be awesome. I thought of Mallory Curtis throughout most of this because she recently just uploaded a video, basically a short documentary about her life and how she started Unique decks.

Mallory also uploaded this near 20 minute documentary that is really cool.

I love this idea!!

I really like the idea of having a documentary on the history of finger-boarding if that's what you are talking about.

Here is something that most of you guys won't even probably believe...

I started fingerboarding when Tech Deck started as a company around 1999. This was when I was in 7th grade. I'm now 28-29 and I'm been fingerboarding this whole time.

That means that I've been fingerboarding for around 15 years. This is longer than some of the people here have even been alive!!!

When I first started fingerboarding I didn't even know real tricks were possible. I didn't even know how to ollie or kickflip until years later. At that time You Tube didn't exist yet. This was when people connected to the internet with a phone line 56K.

Nobody really knows me because I've never really posted a fingerboard video. Recently I bought a Canon T2i camera and after I get a break from school stuff I plan on making a youtube channel and some fingerboarding videos.

There is also high probably that I will be hosting the next Texas Rendezvous 4 in Houston Texas in summer 2014.

So if you are having a documentary then I'd like to share some things regarding fingerboarding history.

your 28 and 29 thats crazy hahaha

Sounds like an awesome idea

Yeah I like this idea and definitely would like to be a part of it. 

Be prepared to spend hundreds on hard drives, if you're going to collect all of our footage.

Great tread, posi vibes

While the idea is cool and all, i think this project will be nearly impossible to pull off.


Here are some of the problems:

1. Right now it seems like you want to create a documentary out of a huge footage pool, collected over a few years. Let's say you get a lot of support.. Then this footage pool will be MASSIVE, and you won't have a chance to get a decent overview.
So instead of just collecting footage now, get an idea of what you want to tell with this documentary. Where is your focus point? Make a temporary script/story board.


2. You mention you will need a lot of editors. And while it's a cool idea and all, i don't think that the chances are high that you can create a team of editors from all over the world and reach a consistent professional outcome. Even the camera folks have different filming styles, so just editing the footage from a lot of different people can be hard if you want a professional outcome.
The ideal way to do it would be for the same few experienced photographers to travel the fingerboarding world and take video of it.. This won't be possible, so you will have to settle for the less ideal option. But I'd recommend that instead of just having a lot of (random) people send in footage, you hook up with some good photographers around the world, and use them as sort of a "main filming crew".. you can still use footage from other people, but having most of the documentary filmed by the same guys will make the consistency higher.

Also, make sure that the main crew are people that study/work with film making.
And send them some reference clips, so they know how you want the footage filmed.


3. If you want interviews in your documentary (which i assume you do), you'll need good microphones on the cameras used.


So yea.. i don't remember if i had more points now, but if i do i'll be back haha..

My main concern is that this is going to be a lot more expensive than you think, and I'm not sure if you have the experience/skill to pull it off. (no offense intended) .

cache716 wrote:

your 28 and 29 thats crazy hahaha

What I meant was...

I'm 28 as of now and I turn 29 in just a few weeks.

Thanks for the input Mikkel. It will be a hasty effort to pull this whole thing to together and I know it will be several year project.

I think your idea of having a smaller team of me plus a few others from places I wouldn't be able to travel to to film in those areas would be good.

And yes, I recognize how costly this might get which is one thing I might have to monitor. I don't plan on making this into a high budget blockbuster. Perhaps I could use cheaper quality cameras to produce a more vintage feel to the entire film.

And pureskate, if what you say about your time in the community is true I would gladly involve you in numerous interviews to help progress the story from the beginning.

I don't know yet about much involving this idea. I appreciate the input from all of you guys though.

Hmm....but 1999 is like 12yrs after we used to make diy fingerboards and ramps..

This diy wooden fingerboard below is like one of the decks I made back in 1993 when I was 13/14yrs of age..

Bakko are those trucks reshaped TD's?Nah but the shape looks like something i've seen before on second thoughts.

What. That is so rad.

neztek wrote:

Bakko are those trucks reshaped TD's?Nah but the shape looks like something i've seen before on second thoughts.

Haha..way back then it was still a few years until teckdecks were invented, so had to make these kinds of diy trucks out of a couple plastic curtainhangerthingys and wheels and axles from different toy cars laying around. Simply cut and sanded it and glued it together, then painted it with enamel paint. We made even simpler diy trucks than these some time in the late eighties, they where simply bent steel string with melting beads as wheels..

All this started of course because of the part in the Bones Brigade Future Primitive video where Lance Mountain fingerboards in the sink and a seed was planted so to speak worldwide (even if he didnt realize it at the time). Some local skater kid had seen it and soon some of us picked up on it. So the Lance Mountain bit of fingerboarding history is a big reason to what made fingerboarding evolve worldwide and made the term fingerboard more common as I know we were not the only ones into this back then (yet this was a big and awesome surprise to me all these years later when I stumbled across the internet fingerboarding community because I didnt know there was so many others been doing the same thing all these years). The pre teckdeck keachain decks is also a big part of it, I remember I had a Lenny Psycho Stick graphic one but it was kinda heavy and the diy decks was better for fingerboarding..

Years later when teckdecks came along it made it possible for fingerboarding to reach the public worldwide and things got more technical wich again made it possible to evolve into where we are in fingerboarding today..

Hello dude.

First I have to say that your idea is soo sick man I am also planning on such a documentary for about half a year now and next to mine I would love to help you with yours
I know that we don't know each other but I would love to get connected with people like yours who have the same love . Filming . I am not the best but the daily work on filming and getting tips from other people make me better and better I know how hard it is to film stuff for 2 hours alone next to a little film school visit I am doing my own little films but my main focus is to get my documentary done
I am from Germany and can be something like a translater for you I know all the German good riders and their names . I don't know them personal but I can talk to them with email and stuff like that to get them know what you are planning on . So you don't have to talk in German .

I really would like to be a part if that project on filming and stuff .
I have the equipment and also the editing thing so maybe I could also travel to you in my vacation ones in the next years .

I Am Louis Schulz and would love to work on this project with you and some others
Contact me. I would be so happy

sounds like a good idea. You're gonna need a lot of hard drives,patience and some good editing skills to pull this off though. I am always down to edit and stuff since im quite good at editing in general

Hey man I know I look like a newb around here cause I lurk mainly and don't post a lot but I've been fingerboarding since 2000 and have been in the scene since 04'. I also know a lot of the stories and the people that were around before me personally so if you need any help with this I can help you out man. You can either contact me here or my Email, just PM me for that.

Jacob Piller wrote:

Hey man I know I look like a newb around here cause I lurk mainly and don't post a lot but I've been fingerboarding since 2000 and have been in the scene since 04'. I also know a lot of the stories and the people that were around before me personally so if you need any help with this I can help you out man. You can either contact me here or my Email, just PM me for that.

I know you! 
I assume you'd recognise my name too?!? 

Good to see you still lurk, get stuck in posting and help us vets remember good times

Yep I remember you Joe Fullager. How could I forget you and your amazing style, such an OG