Putting together a skate video is not easy. I've seen it done. But few have come close to the kind of project Greg Hunt had in his hands when he began Mindfield. You ask anyone right now what they thought of the video and they might make a humorous remark about how handsome Rieder looked or comment on parts they wished would have been longer. But, everyone, deep down, can't imagine a better video this year.
Whether that opinion holds up in this era of vanishing memory, Mindfield has gotten progressively better in the last three days that I have watched it. The video, no doubt, will be a classic that most skaters add to their collection, in part for its amazing skating and in part for the care put into the flow of the whole project. We have Greg Hunt to thank for the latter.—Josh Brooks
It took three and a half years to edit a video with thirteen skaters in it. It seems like a lot. Did you film at least a portion of every one of the guys on the team or did anyone just send in their footage from another filmer?
I filmed everyone on the team—some more than others. We had a couple guys filming full time for us during the last 2 years so they shot a lot of it also.
I'm sure you take pride in the video as a whole, but were there any parts in there that you were particularly proud of because of the way they came together? Anyone's part that you look at and think, "that came out exactly as I wanted it to"?
Every part came together differently. I don't know if I ever feel like a part comes out exactly how I want it but there are some that seemed to fall into place with this video. All of the ams had interesting parts to work on. Grant Taylor's came together really quickly and I didn't change it much after the first edit which is unusual for me. Jakes part took a lot of time—especially with the visual intro—and the song we used for him was amazing but also a challenge to make work. But it came together in the end. Tyler's part came together really fast as well—with the skating and the visuals—but we didn't get the rights to the song until almost the last day so that was a total nightmare. So I'm happy with how all those parts came together. I'm happy with most all of the parts in the video. Everyone worked super hard and it's great to see them getting such a positive reaction.
Did you also have a hand in shooting any of the photos or doing the layout for the 50 page book that's included with the DVD? If so, how long did that take to layout?
Yeah I shot a lot of the photos in the book and worked with Mike Hill as he laid it out. I can't remember exactly how long that took…I believe it was about three weeks altogether. I happened pretty fast.
Skateboarders, especially sponsored skateboarders have an overwhelmingly strong connection to cameras, whether still or video. They're kind of necessary to how skateboarding shows itself. But, are there times, or were there times when you were out filming with everyone and there was a sense that you should just put the camera away and everyone started skated without worrying about getting a trick?
No. I've got a job to do, plus I'm always either filming or shooting photos. Most guys are used to it. I like shooting the non-skate stuff also…there's always something happening. If the mood is weird then sometimes I'll just skate, but that's not often.
I think I read that you worked 50 hours straight editing the video at one point. What are your plans to decompress after all this?
I'm in Norway right now. I'll be out here for a month. I'm still going to work a lot while I'm here, but on different stuff at a different pace. It's definitely nice just watching the snow fall.
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