Hangs Upon Nothing

2012-02-09T15:39:00.001-06:00

korduroy 2.0

2012-02-09T15:25:00.004-06:00

Here's the trailer from Cyrus and crew over at Korduroy.

Really excited to announce that I have been invited to be a contributing maker on the new Korduroy site that is coming soon. The site is looking really cool so far. I think it's going to be awesome. The guys at Korduroy have put together a unique group of artists, filmmakers, photographers, shapers, and writers who will be contributing on a daily basis. Lot's of new stuff coming soon with the launch of 2.0.

the girl and the golden dragon

2012-02-09T03:46:00.004-06:00

Fresh outta the sketchbook. Turbofire to Zenith art and poster concepts. I really have fun drawing this stuff.

4 black waves

2012-02-08T13:18:00.002-06:00

animating

2012-01-30T16:58:00.004-06:00

Making some progress on this little sea films intro animation. I think it's gonna be pretty cool. I've got the sound done for it too, and it's very very simple, and I think a good fit with it. I'm animating straight through this with brush and ink, no pencil lines at all. It's a fun way to animate. Sure takes a while though.! Anymore I really prefer to film or play music than to animate, animation takes forever! Just to get a few seconds worth of movement. But I still dig it, and I think rough hand drawn animation is really cool to look at in motion.

The wind was not very cooperative while shooting these photos, waves were blowing all around.

backlit

2012-01-24T18:30:00.006-06:00

There's a wave today on my made at home lightbox. I like animating with brush and ink. I'm missing a few cables at the moment so not testing this out on my video lunchbox(cool animation testing machine that actually looks like a lunchbox, you shoot frame by frame and it instantly plays back at 24fps...I have the first model that looks like a bomb triggering device/lunch pail). Just going straight ahead with the animation. Hopefully it will look something like a wave in motion!

2D & tubing

2012-01-23T19:19:00.005-06:00

I'm finally getting around to starting on animation of this wave tonight. Well, this is the wave sketch it's going to be based on, though probably it will go in the opposite direction. Going to animate on paper, with brush and ink, good messy fun. If this turns out good, it's going to be an intro animation for Little Sea Films. Hang in there, the new trailer is on the way!!! Thanks for stopping by and checkin out this project.

girls and dragons

2012-01-19T13:11:00.004-06:00

Here's a few recent pages from my travel sketchbook. Inspired by life and imagination. I posted a bunch more on the film's facebook if you'd like to take a look:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hangs-Upon-Nothing-a-16mm-surf-film/246361802068338

full trailer - coming soon

2012-01-06T06:30:00.004-06:00

Above is a frame of Mikala Jones from the new trailer. This is also another poster concept that I'd like to make into an illustration and silkscreen run.

The trailer is five minutes long, and features a new Turbofire to Zenith song. Only thing I have left to finish up is a short traditionally animated Little Sea Films intro.

air drop

2011-12-30T12:14:00.004-06:00

I've been brainstorming ideas for silkscreened posters. One idea is to take actual strips of 16mm and S16mm film, sections used in the final edit, and make illustrated posters based off of them. This is a mock up of the basic design. So, similar to this, same colors, yet hand drawn/printed...

That's Daniel Jones in this one.

the lagoon

2011-12-16T08:21:00.007-06:00

Decades ago hydrogen bombs detonated high above this atoll. It is now home to about 5,000 people. Surprisingly, a recent large scale clean up crew that checked radiation levels reported finding no abnormal levels of radioactivity anywhere on the island. Aside from a leftover monolith of a runway, a few rusting remnants of US and English buildings, and some slabs of concrete, there are few remaining indications this place was once home to a large military presence. It was hard to imagine the man-made violent fury unleashed many times over the atoll in years past.

There is a two lane road that twists and turns its way around a large part of the atoll, with shrubs growing up high enough to block visibility around many of the curves. Americans drive on the right side of the road. The English drive on the left. I heard stories that this difference led to head on collisions.

I wish it was more visible in this photo...the clouds above an atoll lagoon, especially this one it seemed, glow a bit of a greenish blue, reflecting the lagoon color from below. It's very noticeable when you scan the entire sky and compare the difference between the clouds over the deep blue of the open ocean and those over the atoll. On a cloudy or partly cloudy day this can be seen from far off in the open ocean, long before any fringe of land is visible.

This is the lagoon that took the life out of my Canon AE-1 35mm camera as well, the one I used to shoot this photo.

out of the bay

2011-12-11T09:47:00.009-06:00

early 2005

Under the weight of my full pack and tripod, under the scorching midday sun, I'm thoroughly exhausted. And out of water. It's still a long way up back to the main road. I'm alone. I wish I'm somewhere I know, somewhere comfortable.

Off the dirt track to the right I see a trickle of a small waterfall. I walk over to it, throw my pack down, and put my back against the rocks. I let it pour over me and I feel instantly refreshed. The water is very cool. I sit there for a minute and relax. I get out of the small pool and reach down to grab my pack.

I look up and there is a big shirtless man with one eye, and a machete in hand, staring down at me. He's wearing only a lava lava. I'm startled. I didn't hear him approaching.

We say "malo". I then notice he has a coconut in the other hand. He hacks off the top of it and with a big smile hands it to me to drink. My fear instantly fades. I've never been more appreciative of a drink in my life. I thank him profusely and then am on my way again, and he disappears into the bush.

the great caldera

2011-12-06T09:36:00.008-06:00

Standing on the edge of the caldera. Epic.

Shot this with the first camera I ever owned, my Canon AE-1. Saltwater claimed it not too long after this was taken.

Kona Surf film Festival

2011-12-02T23:34:00.006-06:00

A 5 minute Hangs Upon Nothing piece premiered at the Kona Surf Film Festival this evening on the main screen, billed as one of the short films to open the fest. A big thanks to festival director Chad Campbell for making this happen!

There are a lot of awesome films showing there, and it's an honor to be a part of it. Among my favorite shorts showing at the fest is this film called "the BONUS round" from Hilo, Big Island local Cliff Kapono. I love the idea of this film, the title, the music, and the absolute ripping at the end:

Kona Surf Film Fest site

Hangs Upon Nothing page on facebook

turbofire to zenith - now on bandcamp

2011-11-28T10:50:00.008-06:00

Turbofire to Zenith now has a home on the world wide web. We're kicking out the original score for this film. As a start we have the song featured in the teaser trailer, "7 headed golden dragon", on our bandcamp page. As the project goes on, look for the entire soundtrack to be released through our bandcamp page:

http://turbofiretozenith.bandcamp.com/

<a href="http://turbofiretozenith.bandcamp.com/track/7-headed-golden-dragon">7 headed golden dragon by Turbofire to Zenith</a>

blast off hello - full color

2011-11-27T07:48:00.007-06:00

I finished up the gouache painting on this poster concept today. Wish you could see this in person, the colors look better. Overall I'm really excited about this design. I'm going to do a bigger version of this, and hopefully have my friend Matt silkscreen some of these.

I'm probably going to make the lettering a little less goofy, and also work to make the squid pop a bit more from the background. But I want to keep with the feel of this piece. Looking forward to kicking out more poster designs soon.

click here to visit the film's page on facebook

blast off hello - color pass 1

2011-11-25T06:34:00.007-06:00

Quickly painted this up with gouache today. I love drawing stuff like this, and then going for a surf. Ridiculous fun.

click here to visit the film's page on facebook

blast off hello

2011-11-24T10:52:00.012-06:00

Here's a rough poster concept for Turbofire to Zenith. I'm really having fun with this idea. Going to put some color on this next. Want to try to apply some of the amazing colors I've seen out in the water recently during sunsets. Looking forward to making some big versions of these. Also...Turbofire to Zenith is going to have a page on bandcamp soon...

click here to visit the film's page on facebook

rolling hills

2011-11-16T07:18:00.012-06:00

(click drawing if you'd like it biggie-sized)

At the end of a day of amazing waves, glassy rolling hills kept marching in. The clouds were giant. The ocean was a shiny purple grey. The swell lines hit the reef and threw out big perfect barrels. The spray of the waves glowed an orange/pink from the sliver of sun still hitting them. I'd seen and shot so many waves this day I just sat and watched. They were possibly the most perfect looking barrels I've ever seen. Maybe I should have shot some more. I just took it in though.

click here to visit the film's page on facebook

7 headed golden dragon

2011-11-14T14:58:00.005-06:00

There were many, many of these barges, part of a large procession down the river. It was spectacular. This one is the royal barge. The most amazing part though was the sound. The singing and chanting of over 2,000 oarsmen echoing down the river.

click here to visit the film's page on facebook

maelstrom

2011-11-12T07:07:00.009-06:00

The swell has fully arrived, but the winds are onshore. So a few of the guys decide we should go trolling for dinner.

The further out we go, the rougher the seas get. I have visions of pearling. Or of the motor dying and being blown into this maelstrom; the boat splintering to pieces on the jagged rocks jutting out of the ocean angrily in the middle of the froth.

As I shift back and forth between pondering a drift story, or getting sucked down into the angry sea, it hits me that we have no radio on this boat. Flares? Doubtful. Life jackets, I don’t think so. Our first aid kit consists of the few band-aids and half used tube of antibiotic ointment I have packed. Not to mention we forgot a large portion of our food rations at Bill’s house; big blocks of cheese and tortillas. And then there’s our one knife blade.

"Uh, you think we should turn around?" Daniel says. Mikala is in the middle of a story about using a board to roof tie down strap as a leash one trip, Timmy is walking around the side of the boat with a box of beer as if we're at anchor in a calm lagoon, and Dustin is casually talking story too like we could be anywhere.

"Let’s turn the ____ around," I say.

Mikala laughs.

click here to visit the film's page on facebook

articles

2011-11-08T04:51:00.016-06:00

interview feature on Korduroy

GrindTV write up

Contrast Magazine write up

teaser trailer is on korduroy!

2011-11-07T10:50:00.007-06:00

The teaser and an interview, check it out!

http://www.korduroy.tv/2011/filmmaker-feature-jeremy-rumas-hangs-upon-nothing

A big thanks to Cyrus and Reis over at Korduroy.

Also want to say thanks to friends Jason Lukas and Scott Goldsbury for contributing photos to this project, and to the piece on Korduroy. Jason shot the Turbofire to Zenith amp and guitar shots in the above image. Their links are at the right of this page.

speed of light

2011-11-05T15:42:00.005-05:00

Daniel Jones under a rainbow arc of water on a 3 fin bonzer. This board is so sick. It's a one of a kind. Swallow tail with an E-wing, and the old school side fins. It's the dims of one of Daniel's typical short boards, but maybe just a little more volume overall. Beautiful orange resin tint and a double white pin stripe. There's some footage of Daniel on this board in the film.

This is a 35mm shot by Jason Lukas.

this film project on fb: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hangs-Upon-Nothing-a-16mm-surf-film/246361802068338

hurtling towards space

2011-11-01T14:55:00.004-05:00

Turbofire to Zenith poster concept...the band behind the original score of this film. I didn't originally plan on using the 3 primary colors on this one, but I dig how it turned out. Would love to later on do a bigger refined version of this, maybe silkscreen a few.

this film project on fb: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hangs-Upon-Nothing-a-16mm-surf-film/246361802068338

where the tigers are

2011-10-25T08:06:00.013-05:00

This logo design(click image to enlarge) was done by Marcin Zeglinski. http://poduski.com/

____________________

Keoni Jones, dropping into a blue wall. Keoni is on a board that older brother Mikala shaped back in Hawaii. It was the 2nd board Mikala had ever shaped. A 2+1 fin set up with a long fin box in the middle.

I recently told a friend who's from this general area that we went by motorbike two hours through jungle paths to get to this spot. He'd been over here before, but by boat. His eyes opened wide and he goes, "You know there's tigers there..."

I hadn't thought about that possibility at the time. We didn't see any though. I do remember that after we took the motorbikes as far as we could, on foot we hiked over these ridges under arching canopies of bamboo so big it felt like something from Honey I Shrunk the Kids. This bamboo was enormous, made me feel miniature.

this film project on fb: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hangs-Upon-Nothing-a-16mm-surf-film/246361802068338

volcanoscape

2011-10-23T07:40:00.007-05:00

The view from the top of Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Looks like it could be Mars maybe. This was at the end of the day. I shot time-lapse, frame by frame with my Bolex, hitting the trigger button by hand every 30 seconds. It got freezing cold up here as the sun went down and I wasn't dressed for it. There were a few chunks of ice and snow scattered around where I was. I lasted for 30 minutes, and by the end of shooting this, I could barely feel my fingers enough to hit the trigger button.

I went up there with my girlfriend, and we made the drive up in a rented "all wheel drive" mini SUV. I don't think we had the budget for 4WD, and well, all wheel drive is nothing close to 4WD, I'll say that. There is a really good reason the road up there is marked 4WD only, and there's a good reason the rental car companies don't want you driving there. It is steep, loose rock and gravel, and treacherous. The drive up is pretty intense.

The drive back down as darkness fell was frightening. I remember looking down on the clouds as we coasted down, riding the break on and off just enough to stay in control, yet not lose them. I'd never think of doing it again without 4WD. Later on we heard that three Japanese tourists had died in a 4WD vehicle on the way back down, a couple weeks prior.

Chuck Corbett told me a story of how he made the drive up here in the early 80's in a beater of an old station wagon. The last third of the way up he had to drive in reverse because it was the only gear that could make it.

this film project on fb: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hangs-Upon-Nothing-a-16mm-surf-film/246361802068338

Captain Abun

2011-10-20T10:24:00.005-05:00

Captain Abun pilots the boat perched on a little red plastic chair that has been bolted down to the crew’s raised bunk platform. It’s a typical plastic pop out type lawn chair, but with the legs sawed off. The steering wheel looks like it’s from a 1970’s van. The generator sits on the floor next to him. He sits up on this chair, barefoot, with his legs crossed, smoking a cigarette. His shirt says “Short Boarders Fake It. Long Boarders Take It. Knee Boarders MAKE IT!”

this film project on fb: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hangs-Upon-Nothing-a-16mm-surf-film/246361802068338

sketchbook

2011-10-19T11:21:00.005-05:00

Blacky during the midnight ride across the Lombok Strait by Ferry, big swell, and the girl at the point.

call of the jungle

2011-10-12T07:45:00.003-05:00

the jungle, it beckons

this film project on fb: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hangs-Upon-Nothing-a-16mm-surf-film/246361802068338

morning of mikala

2011-10-11T04:33:00.007-05:00

Mikala Jones, setting up for a long barrel. The light here reminds me of some shots from Morning of the Earth. I really relate to that film and the vision Alby Falzon brought to it. Amazing film and one of the inspirations for this project.

this film project on fb: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hangs-Upon-Nothing-a-16mm-surf-film/246361802068338

tonyo!

2011-10-07T03:13:00.008-05:00

is making news again today:

"...Darmaputra Tonyo (IND) the Bali local from Legian has added another scalp to his collection, after taking down ASP World Junior number 2 Nat Young (USA) earlier in the event, he's now eliminated Jack Freestone (AUS) reigning ASP World Junior Champion..."

full article: http://www.aspworldtour.com/2011/10/07/reigning-asp-world-junior-champion-eliminated-from-oakley-world-pro-junior-bali/

october 06

2011-10-06T08:16:00.007-05:00

Here's a poster design I've had in mind for a long time. I finally got inspired to finish it up today. The photo I used as the basis for this is from the first wave I ever shot of twin brothers Tonyo or Bleronk. They were both out, and I'm not sure which brother this is. This shot is from 5 years ago, and they were 15 then. It was messy and onshore, but still these guys were finding barrels. They were both on beat up boards with mixed and matched fins.

this film project on fb: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hangs-Upon-Nothing-a-16mm-surf-film/246361802068338

yeeeeeeeeeeewwww!!!!

2011-10-05T07:41:00.008-05:00

Darmaputra Tonyo, home break.

Tonyo is all over surf news right now. Nice write up here: "In the surprise upset of the event so far..."

They refer to him as "...a small and wiry bundle of energy that never stopped smiling..."

He's even on Surfline: "making history as the first Indo surfer to make it to Round Three at this event..."

Surf media has taken to calling him Darmaputra Tonjo usually, with a j, and it looks like it's going to stick. In that Surfline feature, he's called Tonyo, Tonjo, and Tonya. Tonyo is his nickname, it's pronounced Tonyo, that's how he writes it, it's what he paints on his boards, and that's what his brother and all his friends call him. When asked about people now calling him Tonjo, he just smiles big and says, "It's OK..." He doesn't really care.

this film project on fb: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hangs-Upon-Nothing-a-16mm-surf-film/246361802068338

the boys are stoked

2011-10-04T11:09:00.005-05:00

Demian, Dom, and Bleronk, 2008. On the way to an end of the day surf.

on fb: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hangs-Upon-Nothing-a-16mm-surf-film/246361802068338

over the edge of the world

2011-10-03T03:15:00.004-05:00

Chuck Corbett, twin fin cutback on his prized beat up fish. Chuck surfs with the reckless abandon of a kid, and with style that reflects the era he grew up in. On land Chuck sometimes reminded me a of a cartoon character, bumbling around, usually on some sort of near impossible mission, fully committed. Sometimes he's ten thoughts ahead of where he's at in a conversation. The way Captain Jack Sparrow walks, there's something similar going on with Chuck. There's this wander to his walk, an uncertainty to where each next step might land.

His surfing has this too. In the moment. Spontaneous. Flowing. A bit off balance and wandering at times. But there's this awesome style to it. Usually made me smile.

this film project on fb:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hangs-Upon-Nothing-a-16mm-surf-film/246361802068338

equatorial

2011-09-30T12:46:00.009-05:00

Daniel Jones, hand on the equator. 100th post!

this project on fb: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hangs-Upon-Nothing-a-16mm-surf-film/246361802068338

earth and wing

2011-09-27T12:40:00.004-05:00

This film project has a page on facebook now...if you dig what you see here, please check out:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hangs-Upon-Nothing-a-16mm-surf-film/246361802068338

thanks!

illusion

2011-09-16T11:50:00.007-05:00

During a visit to see Chuck Corbett, I crossed paths with a group of surfers including Josh Mulcoy, Nate Tyler, and the Jones brothers. This is Josh after he kicked out of a wave on a shortboard, this is as he's settling into the water.

duncan and mom

2011-09-15T13:06:00.006-05:00

After a fun day surfing a right point we stopped to visit Duncan's mom in her home village. It was a surprise visit and she was really surprised and excited to see Duncan. I remember when she saw him she put her hand to her mouth and kept saying, "my son". In the first frame of the sequence Duncan is combing his hair with his hand as we walk down the path. Duncan's mom and aunt were really hospitable, their place felt peaceful. It was a wonderful visit.

From the moment I met Duncan on the beach 5 years ago, he took me in like a brother. He's like that with just about anyone. I met all the other local guys I've filmed with through Duncan.

house on water

2011-09-14T15:57:00.006-05:00

There were lots of these floating across the water. They had bamboo swiveling arms with nets that would lower down.

I've been fascinated by some of these trippy lens flares recently. I love shooting into the sun. I love lens flares, old school lens flares. They look really cool in motion. But it's just as cool to find frames likes this one with stuff going on that you don't really catch while watching in motion.

earth rising skyward

2011-09-13T07:27:00.011-05:00

This was awe-inspiring to look down on in person. It's a special memory for me as I was with my parents when I shot this. Doors off on the helicopter, hands on my Bolex, full trust in the seatbelt as we banked through turns.

jurassic

2011-09-12T14:34:00.010-05:00

Mikala Jones. The land of towering trees.

cosmic rays

2011-09-11T04:45:00.006-05:00

...energetic charged subatomic particles, originating from outer space(although it is currently unknown which objects have produced them). They may produce secondary particles that penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and surface. -from Wikipedia.

"i am surf!" - 10 year old raju

2011-09-01T10:03:00.004-05:00

Here's a poster concept sketch based on a ride Raju got recently. The kid gets barreled a lot. Describing himself he yelled out, sort of rapping, "I am Raju! I am 10 years old! I am surf!..." and on and on.

turbofire to zenith

2011-08-29T10:11:00.005-05:00

Original music by Turbofire to Zenith. This is a poster concept I made recently. The idea is this colossal squid rocket is blasting off into outer space, with this cute petite SE Asian gal riding the squid rocket. The inspiration for this band name and this idea is all over the place, from The Neverending Story, to classic Chevy Turbo-fire engines, to Led Zeppelin, to Japanese depictions of rays of sunlight, to how surfing makes me feel.

double d

2011-06-15T23:53:00.005-05:00

Dedik and Deduk. Twin brothers from Seminyak. This shot is from a few years ago. Dedik runs a surf school now: www.surfschoolbali.com

Two of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. Pure stoke. Twins who surf twin fins.

shallow

2011-06-07T13:24:00.005-05:00

Equatorial Pacific. Midday howling trades. Good at sunset. Coral heads. Go right.

sky

2011-06-04T19:31:00.006-05:00

Sunrise, looking skyward.

bright lights big city

2011-06-01T00:40:00.003-05:00

reentry

2011-05-01T20:13:00.004-05:00

Daniel Jones, atmospheric entry.

ARCADE: the Last Night at Chinatown Fair

2011-04-30T20:06:00.008-05:00

This documentary looks really cool. It's about the last night at NYC's last real arcade. It's being made by Kurt Vincent, who edited and produced the recent Lake Erie surfing documentary Out of Place. Out of Place is a really great film with a lot of heart. Some of the characters and scenes in it are just awesome.

Click here for ARCADE's kickstarter page.

Update: Kurt and crew are really connecting with people with this film so far. They have met and are far exceeding their kickstarter goal. Wow.

Also, I have to mention the music in their trailer. They absolutely nailed it with the music. The full version of the trailer's second song, a Clams Casino track - Motivation (Lil B) Instrumental, can be listened to on the film's website: www.arcademovie.com

the next breath

2011-04-22T17:37:00.005-05:00

I never truly felt mortal until I experienced getting worked by a powerful wave. Underwater, reaching a place where I realized, wow, I could die under here. It's only happened to me a few times. When it does happen, there is nothing that matters except the next breath. It's an amazing thing to experience.

kekoa

2011-04-05T23:27:00.005-05:00

Kekoa Cazimero. 16mm workprint. "...best surf trip I've ever been on."

The full version of this 16mm sequence made it into the new Surfer's Journal, vol. 20.2. It's at the bottom of Michael Kew's article(about a different trip of his own), and the sequence spans about nine pages or so.

I wasn't even supposed to be on Chuck's boat for this trip, I almost got left behind. Chuck squeezed me on as crew. I had 7 rolls of film left. I surfed way more than I shot. And helped out on the boat more than I surfed. It was a misadventure, nearly a few disasters, such as the motor-less 60 foot Tuaraoi 360'ing through the channel into the lagoon of the atoll on the way in, just missing the reef.

It was an amazing trip of a lifetime though.

land of the rising sun

2011-03-26T22:29:00.003-05:00

tonyo

2011-03-23T00:11:00.004-05:00

stoked on creating

2011-02-20T22:18:00.010-06:00

Something came to mind yesterday that I haven't really pondered in a long time. Maybe I never really gave much thought to it: why I feel the need to create. By this I'm talking about drawing, making music, and biggest of all: making this film. Do I do this to be successful? Is it for money? Is it to have a career? Is it to gain recognition from people?

I remembered back to when I was a kid. I loved to make elaborate fantasy buildings out of simple wooden building blocks. I loved to color in coloring books. I loved to make things with construx. I loved to draw with crayons...usually monsters or race cars. No one was paying me to do this. I felt no pressure to do it. I made things because it was fun. I made things because it was a great challenge. It excited me. It made me feel good. I was happy to show these things to other people too. I was stoked on creating.

The last ten years I made a humble living out of drawing. Drawing stuff for companies. This can be great, if I'm working on cool stuff, or on something I care about or believe in. But when creating turns into a high pressure grind, it no longer really feels like creating. It feels like a chore, it feels like work. It's no longer fun.

When the biggest worry is what job will come next, and tailoring my art to meet those requirements...it really no longer feels creative. It really is not fun. Am I stoked on this? No. If the only reason I am creating something is to meet the expectations of someone else, it's just not fun. It's not really even art.

I've gotta keep remembering why I originally loved being creative, because I had fun making things. I want to have fun making stuff. I want to return to the approach to art I had as a kid: just create because I want to. Because it feels good. And because it's fun.

Pictured in the frame grabs above, clockwise: Bleronk on his way back down, Daniel Amar, and Blacky.

emerald on the inside

2011-02-18T22:25:00.004-06:00

Caught inside. I got worked a few times this session. Offshore, green, and barreling.

end of the day

2011-02-16T19:17:00.002-06:00

Dylan Amar paddling out. I think that's Blacky dropping into that wave. There were some pretty big ones this day. This session my aluminum housing hit my head hard while getting worked in a closeout, left a nice lump and little gash. It made me realize how easy it'd be to get knocked out with this big heavy housing. I went and reluctantly bought a helmet after this session.

low tide

2011-02-14T23:15:00.005-06:00

A familiar often ultra crowded spot looking untouched and pristine. It's amazing what framing can do. If you didn't know this place, you wouldn't guess there are lots of tourists and shops along the cliff side this was shot from. Jason shot this one.

once upon a time

2011-02-12T21:59:00.007-06:00

Chuck Corbett and his wife Toka built and lived in this house on the lagoon. This is a shot from Chuck's collection.

deep

2011-02-09T02:48:00.004-06:00

If you're wondering...he made it. Mikala Jones, glassy morning barrel.

the long road there

2011-02-03T23:33:00.003-06:00

Passing by a farmer's hut on a bumpy road. Feeling the warm breeze. Eating snacks with msg.

sunlight

2011-02-02T00:03:00.005-06:00

Bleronk. Super 16mm film frame.

the atoll

2011-01-30T23:15:00.006-06:00

On the edge of the world.

This transfer is from a workprint, transferred to HD on a Spirit. This is regular 16mm cropped in on, and I shot this before I converted my Bolex to Super 16.

mikala

2011-01-28T20:17:00.006-06:00

Spit out of the barrel. These frame grabs are from a low quality film to video transfer without color correction, unlike many of the recent frame grabs that are from full HD transfers. Still, I love this sequence. The force of the spit of the barrel sends Mikala's hair flying in that last frame.

go fly a kite

2011-01-25T23:52:00.002-06:00

There's something to be admired about a culture that loves to fly kites. I've gotta think that a group of people for whom making and flying kites is a part of life, well, they seem happy. I feel people like this are just stoked on life. I look up and see huge kites all across the sky, and it makes me happy, makes me kind of relaxed. Some of these are literally up in the clouds.

This is Tonyo and Bleronk's father, during their birthday party. I think Bleronk made this kite. Their father used to surf back in the day, and it is said that he ripped. I wouldn't doubt it at all. It was awesome meeting their family. They were all just like Tonyo and Bleronk. Smiles and stoke.

There wasn't much wind this day, and the kite fell behind neighbors houses a few times, but finally it took off.

bleronk

2011-01-24T23:18:00.003-06:00

barong

2011-01-23T23:53:00.002-06:00

Some of Tonyo's own art on his board. Below this it says "come to papa".

chuck and the ranger

2011-01-22T23:35:00.002-06:00

three people

2011-01-21T21:18:00.009-06:00

click to enlarge:

The photo above was shot by a news photographer who was on the park rangers' helicopter. The type written note Chuck sent back to his parents with the photo.

I asked Chuck to describe what it felt like up on the volcano. Here is part of what he sent me:

"At sunrise we arrived at the foot of the vent, the earth constantly shook, the roar was comparable to a jet at takeoff, and as we got closer we could no longer hear each other. The sight of seeing a volcano up close was beyond description. I took pictures and pictures don’t show what it was like. I got close to take a picture and stopped when I became fearful of catching fire in the scorching heat..."

volcano

2011-01-20T23:25:00.004-06:00

More from the collection of Chuck Corbett. The second photo shows what happens to photographs in the tropics. Many of Chuck's old photos are half withered away. I had to look at this one for a while...that's a tree on Kilauea Volcano, with the fiery lava plume behind it. I will have to dig up the shot of Chuck getting scolded by the ranger I mentioned in a previous post, complete with lava shooting into the sky right behind them. It's even more ridiculous than the drinking shot.

the black wave

2011-01-19T22:57:00.003-06:00

This was my first try at making any art for this film project. This is from about four years ago, maybe more. I was calling the film by a different name back then. I made a series of linoleum block prints that I've mostly used to write short letters to friends on the reverse side. They are all quite different. I used a water soluble printing ink that I found out is not very permanent. I gave one of these to my friends Dom and Amber, and they framed it. Somehow Dom spilled some water on it one day, and the whole image sort of dripped off.

chuck corbett

2011-01-18T23:42:00.011-06:00

Chuck Corbett, Kilauea Volcano, Big Island, Hawaii. Chuck did the day hike in with two friends to the edge of the erupting caldera of Kilauea back in April, 1984. Chuck's friend shot some photos. Just after this was shot, park rangers flew in on helicopter to issue each of them fines, and then the rangers flew off, leaving the three of them to hike out. It took them through the night to get back to their car. Chuck's fine alone ended up being $600.

I don't even know where to start with writing about Chuck. A few books could be written about this guy's life, and they wouldn't be like anything else. He was born in Alabama. He slept through a tornado that ripped the roof off his childhood home. His family soon after moved to California and he learned to surf there as a kid. At 15, he left by himself for Hawaii. By 18 he was in Guam. By 19 he was lost in Kiribati, where he stayed for the majority of 30 years. He surfed the atolls there alone for most of that time. He married a local beauty and they started a family. He left her for a perfect wave and another woman on a farther off atoll.

Chuck is a pretty big part of this film. I spent nearly 8 months total as volunteer crew on his boat so that I could film what his life is like. I had no idea what I was in for. We started in Hawaii, and ended up in Kiribati, sailing the 1000 mile passage during peak cyclone season. I did not want to make the passage during cyclone season, and many experienced sailors said they would never think of doing it. This whole time period was the biggest adventure of my life, and also the most trying experience of my life. This guy it seemed, had gone off and lived the life that most surfers have at one time or another dreamed about. I was really curious to see what this was actually like. It was not what I imagined.

Chuck surfing an atoll reef pass alone, 1984. Also of note, the photo of the young girl in the banner is one of Chuck's two daughters, Annie.

look out the window

2011-01-17T22:21:00.006-06:00

I shot this not long after lift off from Kiribati. Middle of the Pacific Ocean. I love looking out the window during flights, and shooting footage or photos of what's out there. This is a 35mm still, I shot this with an old Canon AE-1...a few months later saltwater took the life out of that camera...it has some electronics in it. This was my mom's camera from the 70's, and she gave it to me as my first camera years ago.

This is the first of a few posts I'll do about imagery in the new collage at the top of the blog.

end of the day

2011-01-16T23:42:00.002-06:00

Raju and Blacky walking out.

moonrise

2011-01-15T23:24:00.005-06:00

Tonyo, end of the day, always stoked. Super 16mm film frames.

throw your hands in the air

2011-01-14T21:33:00.005-06:00

Daniel Jones up top on his Bonzer. Darmaputra Tonyo below. Super 16mm film frames.

peace

2011-01-13T21:50:00.005-06:00

Blacky's board.

spray

2011-01-12T20:04:00.007-06:00

Bleronk, Super 16mm film frames.

I've been noticing that a lot of shots that won't make it into the final film, still have really cool moments. Shots(clips) that I'd otherwise overlook. Now that I'm looking through some just for interesting frames, I'm finding imagery I didn't really think much about when watching through the footage.

The difference between stills and motion pictures is really interesting in this way. With surf photography a photographer can get a cover shot out of a ride that might not make into a movie. With stills, you only need a fraction of a second. That's not really an advantage. It's just a difference. With motion pictures, a shot usually needs to be strong from beginning to end, many frames in succession where the composition is sometimes constantly changing. For a surf film, I think this is most difficult when filming in the water.

There are moments in modern history burned into our consciousness as a result of still photos. I don't think these moments would still be remembered so clearly generations later if only shot with motion pictures. A couple examples that come to mind:

the kiss

and

"General Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing a Viet Cong prisoner in Saigon"

With stills we remember the composition more clearly in part because we only see one frame. With motion pictures, especially when the camera is moving, or what's happening on screen is changing quickly, we don't remember as much visually.

Compare the two different Star Wars trilogies. The first trilogy is full of shots where the camera is not moving much, or maybe there is a simple pan. Such as shots showing the vastness of Tatooine. Those simple shots with strong compositions are burned into my mind forever. When I think about the second trilogy, I don't remember many shots...I remember more of a blur. The one shot that I really remember from the second trilogy was a shot that echoed the famous shot in the first Star Wars where Luke is standing outside his Uncle's house, staring at the double sunset.

I sometimes love shots where the camera is moving. It can work wonderfully. I like the contrast of cutting from a moving shot to a stationary shot, or vice versa. I feel like watching a lot of movies over the past fifteen years or so, that the camera is moving though, just because they can move it through space. And because of this, I feel like a lot of recent films have less shots that stick in our minds because with a moving shot we are likely not going to remember one singular composition from it. It's more of a blur.

bleronk

2011-01-11T22:57:00.006-06:00

Bleronk. Bolex Super 16mm film frame.

Shankar, a surfer from India said to me, "You know, anytime I see these guys, they are smiling! I ride by on my bike, they are smiling, I see them out in the water, they are smiling." He was really blown away by this. This local crew in Bali is having fun just about all the time. It's why they are so fun to surf with,and so fun to film with. It looks like he is smiling to me here in this frame. He might be gritting his teeth, but chances are, with Bleronk, he's smiling.

paradise

2011-01-10T19:52:00.004-06:00

Tonyo at the circus.

monster of the deep pt 3

2011-01-09T20:29:00.006-06:00

And here is how the squid monster turned out. Sablar has the best nickname ever: Bond, as in James Bond. Along with proudly writing his name, he wanted to add the obligatory "tits, I love tits, I love big boobs, etc" that most of these young guys have been writing all over their boards. He asked me to help him with the spelling of all this, and that is what the back of the postcard was for that he used for reference. (the blue and pink writing is not mine)

monster of the deep pt 2

2011-01-08T21:40:00.004-06:00

We had taken a day trip, and it ended up being a lot flatter than we expected. I gave the local guys my paint markers, and they covered their boards pretty quick. I guess they liked the squid, because a few of them started drawing their own tentacled monsters. They kept looking back to my housing for reference. This is Sablar drawing here.

monster of the deep

2011-01-07T13:36:00.003-06:00

This is my water housing for my 16mm Bolex. Minus the handles. My cousin Rob welded a scope on this side to help me line up shots since I can't see through the viewfinder when shooting in the water. This really helped a lot. Had some fun with some paint markers and drew a pink squid wrapping around the housing.

poster

2011-01-06T16:43:00.009-06:00

The long 5 minute trailer for the film is nearing completion, and so is the first run of film posters. Chicago artist Matthew Ginsberg is doing a silk screen print run of 50 posters based on my design above. The idea of the art here is civilization and the earth itself in the form of a breaking wave. Streets, fields, construction cranes, people, ferris wheels, volcanoes, everything, throwing over into a barrel.

Last night a few of us in the revolving lineup of friends that is Turbofire to Zenith recorded percussion for the trailer finale. Mike Regan's booming drums sounded huge. Jason Lukas shot photos and got on the bass. We're recording on the second floor of a barn where Mike and his friend Stephan have a recording/jam space set up. Fittingly, they call it The Barn. It's an awesome space to create music, and it's a big sounding room.

the high line

2011-01-05T02:06:00.003-06:00

Daniel Jones. 5 fin Bonzer.

bolex

2011-01-04T00:46:00.012-06:00

My Bolex Rx-5 from 1967. Wind it up and go, no batteries or electronics. It works like a wind up clock. This camera has survived getting half filled with saltwater, and it is still going strong. WD-40 and some other corrosion blocking oil saved it.

grey

2011-01-03T00:35:00.007-06:00

Bleronk on this one. This was the last wave I shot of this session. Light rain, ominous skies, and fairly glassy. While Bleronk and crew kept getting slotted, I kept getting pounded to the shallow sand bar/reef bottom by these little barrels. Pretty much after every good set the current would drag me away, I'd have to swim in, then work my way back over to Diah and the boys. Diah, a young gal from Seminyak surfs out here, and this was her first time trying it at really low tide.

wallpaper

2011-01-02T00:11:00.006-06:00

Click on the image to enlarge + right click + save, if you'd like this as a wallpaper. Its 1650 pixels wide.

Dylan Amar, local surfer from Padma, Bali. Bolex Rx-5 Super 16mm film frame sequence. Honestly, no correlation here other than Dylan getting barreled, and the look on his face there as he paddles back....but this sequence reminded me of something I saw scribbled on a guard rail in Hawaii a few years ago: under the lip and smokin the crip.

dylan

2011-01-01T00:51:00.003-06:00

This is Dylan Amar, from Padma, Bali. I filmed a lot with Dylan last year, usually while filming with Tonyo and Bleronk, and Blacky, and a bunch of their other friends. They're usually all surfing together. This was such a fun session to be in the water. It was absolutely perfect. The water was so clear this day, diving under the waves with my eyes open...it looked so amazing with the sun shining through. And feeling the power of the wave while diving under, just escaping the lip coming down. Feeling the the entire ocean around me move through. As I would dive under I could feel all the momentum of the water leading up towards the lip of the wave, pitching out into a barrel. To be right there, and to become part of that movement, eyes wide open in such clear water, it was one of the best experiences I've had in the ocean. Its hard to put this into words really. It feels supernatural almost.

turbofire to zenith

2010-12-31T03:09:00.000-06:00

Album cover concept for Turbofire to Zenith. This is the band for the film. A little bit of Morning of the Earth inspiration on this one. We're almost finished with the new long trailer music.

bleronk

2010-12-30T03:23:00.000-06:00

Bleronk, twin brother of Tonyo in some previous shots. These guys are all smiles all the time. This session was really fun to be out in the water for. End of day, rain, and low tide fast little barrels at 66 beach. The current was so strong out there, though everything looks pretty calm here.

Looking at the camera: when I started on this film, I had this idea that I'd film surfers as they lived their lives, and the camera would be invisible. The surfers wouldn't be looking at the camera. That was my idea. I thought this would make the film feel much more genuine. More like sitting in on someone's life, seeing what its really like.

When you have a camera out though, everyone wants to look at it. So that right there makes my original idea sort of hard to pull off. The more you film with someone, the more comfortable they get with having a noisy camera pointed at them. But guys like Bleronk will look at the camera nearly every time I have it out. Every time they pass me by, even if we've been filming a lot. They have fun with goofing off and getting shots.

Somewhat to my surprise, early on when I started getting footage back I realized I was getting some of my best shots when people looked at the camera. If they were comfortable, and looked at the camera, their real personality just shined through. The shots had feeling and soul. I decided well, with this film, anyone can look at the camera any time and its ok.

The moment you ask someone not to look at the camera, they are acting. They have to consciously pretend you are not there. And therefore, you are no longer getting the real person. You have an actor in front of you then.

swell

2010-12-29T05:03:00.001-06:00

blacky

2010-12-27T22:56:00.000-06:00

Blacky, from Legian, Bali.

the old man on the beach

2010-12-27T02:25:00.000-06:00

This old Balinese man was collecting something washing up with the waves in his basket. I'm not sure what. The swell was big, and each wave would wash up over him. He'd stay in one spot for a few minutes, then get up and move a ways down and sit down again. He didn't seem to pay any attention to the surfers out there.

This man was very old. He walked hunched over, bow legged. And he'd put his basked on top of his head when he walked. I often wonder what these old timers must think of all this surfing, and cameras, and dance clubs, and all that is Bali now.

That's Mikala Jones on that wave. I didn't have my Bolex fully wound up on this one so I only got him dropping in. So this ride will make for better stills than a shot in the movie.

darmaputra tonyo

2010-12-25T17:58:00.001-06:00

Tonyo, from Padma, up north in Bali. Out of focus in the foreground are offerings that local Balinese lay out on the beach. Some of the Padma guys helped me dig a big hole in the sand for my tripod so I could get low enough to get these shots.

dusk

2010-12-24T22:27:00.000-06:00

This was after an end of day session in the rain out at 66 beach in Bali. Young Diah from Seminyak was out there with some of the guys from Padma, surfing the left at low tide. Its mostly fast closeouts, and surprisingly heavy with a really strong current when its really low and there's enough swell. When we came in, Diah's grandfather(in the hat), was fishing with his net near the shore. He had all these little fish strewn about on the sand and Diah and him were combing through them.

There's an interesting juxtaposition of old an new along this stretch of beach. Out of frame to the right is a row of dance clubs that go off all night long, and the beach is often crowded with tourists. There are also a few local fisherman who come out at the end of the day and fish from the beach. Diah's grandfather would have lived through the rapid change that happened in his home village. What was once empty rice fields between their family's homes and the beach is now a maze of hotels, villas, shops, traffic, and dance clubs.

In this film frame, left to right, is Tonyo, Diah's grandfather, Diah, Demian, Bleronk, and Dylan.

shade

2010-12-21T15:20:00.000-06:00

down the line

2010-12-17T23:40:00.000-06:00

Hi-res wallpaper, click to enlarge, and save:

Daniel Jones bonzering in Indo.