“So weeee’ve come, to the eeeenndd ooofff the road…”

Who remembers Red Cross? I do. Obviously, I do.

When I started making episode 2 of Red Cross, I was still a little bit uneasy about making a full 20 minute long skate video as a web edit. I’m an old fashioned kind of guy, I guess. To me, skateboarding films are something that are best taken in whilst sat in your living room, with a cup of tea, with a few mates watching before you go out for a skate. The internet, and Youtube, is OK for the odd day edit, or even a collection of footage from a whole summer, but the idea of putting 2 year’s worth of footage up onto the internet for the whole world to see kind’ve scares me. I feel like putting 2 years worth of work onto Vimeo as a simple “web edit” belittles the hard work not only put in by the filmer and editor, but also the talented individuals who have landed tricks, slammed and goofed around for your lense. As someone who films skate videos with a crappy little miniDV cam, and (most of the time) may not follow all rules of professionalism that skateboard filming prides itself on, I should be the last person to be preaching “principles” with my films – but Cannonball Holocaust is different.

I make skateboard videos not for the massive captive audience of the internet, but for the skateboarders who cram into a small living room to check out the latest DVD on a broken PS2. I’m not really into reaching the largest possible audience out there; I have neither the money, means or will to get the kind’ve following some other scene websites/filmers get. I just make skateboarding films because I enjoy doing it, and it’s part of the reason I have continued to skate for 10 years. Filming gives me opportunities to showcase guys who I truly respect, who take a silly plank with 4 wheels and use it to make this grey, brutalist city into something awesome. Filming allows me to grab friends and family who don’t skate, and say “Look, this is how I see the world”. Making these skateboard videos has given me a chance to show people the city I grew up in, through a subculture that’s given me more than I can ever give back.

Ladies and gents – Cannonball Holocaust is officially finished. This one’s for you, Covtown.