Skateboarding is one of those rare sports younger than the art of filmmaking. Its origins, heyday and revival have therefore all been extensively captured on film. This collection of eight skate films highlights various aspects of both the sport itself and the visual culture that emerged around it from the very beginning.
One of the most popular formats of skate videography is a “part,” named so because each video sequence was traditionally dedicated to a single skater (their ‘part’). Nowadays, most skate videos are much shorter, often running 5 to 10 minutes instead of over half an hour. The name remains because it evokes a distinct visual style, shot on a fisheye VX1000 while cruising alongside the featured skater.
Despite the shift towards solo edits, skateboarding remains a collective practice. Individual progress is made possible by the energy and support of a crew. When new spots and variations on tricks are shared online, other skaters will copy and make their own alterations. When a skater lands an NBD (Never Been Done), the trick or spot loses its impossible status: more skaters will attempt, and some may succeed. In this way, the sport develops like an amorphous creature.
Using the city as its playground, skate films also indirectly capture the story of our ever-evolving metropolitan infrastructure. The rhythmic editing style and wide shots of a lot of “parts” are reminiscent of city symphonies as street skaters celebrate the open urban spaces and use benches, stairs, and walls to challenge their creativity. Skate films often serve as an archival instrument for how we look at cities and how civil liberties were altered throughout time. After all, the story of skateboarding is also one of resistance and trespassing.
“No skating, no loitering”: its countercultural movement is part of what made skating so popular. Up until its inclusion in the 2020 Olympics, the sport was not officially standardised, allowing it to quickly adapt to socio-economic or ecological contexts. While professional skating has become more predictable, pushing what is possible, finding new ways to use your environment to express your creativity will always remain part of skateboarding.
Trick Shots offers a first entry point to skate culture in the USA and Western Europe.
