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Vi gjorde et intervju med mannen bak «Format Perspective», Philip Evans i en taxi i Malmø. Det ble ikke bra, så vi gjorde et nytt.

Phil Evans. Foto: Bertrand Trichet

Hey man, how are you?
I was out building a DIY spot all day, pretty stoked!

Why did you decide to do this project?
I was basically feeling uninspired with some of the skaters I was filming at the time. I’d just finished a project with my previous video «The Scrum Tilly Lush» which showed eleven different pros from eleven different cities around Europe, all skating how they normally skate and all filmed in Super 8.  Before that I worked a string of jobs through the years that I hated. Powerstation, bank, liqour store, fruit picker, phone company, office removals..quite a few actually. I was looking for some inspiration but couldn’t find any with the guys I was shooting.  Filming felt stressful, the skating did not look fun and it didn’t get me excited to film, it felt serious and pretty crap. One day when one guy was stressing pretty hard I noticed my photographer mate Stu Robinson sitting holding his camera and taking everything in with no stress and I immediately thought he was far more inspiring than the skater I was trying to film.
I knew Stu had some photos of stuff I had filmed so I asked him for them, did a test edit and it seemed to work.  Stu also was shooting a lot of really dark landscapes around Belfast’s ghettos so I knew there would be strong story from a documentary point of view.

«Breaking out of west Belfast» Foto: Stuart Robinson

Tell us a little bit about the title.
Its a little ambiguous, it could be like a photographic format. Medium format, large format, the format you choose. Perspective is your view, your view literally through the viewfinder on the camera, or how you view it mentally, your perspective. Its how the guys look at their own work.

Whats your photographic background?
I don’t have one to be honest, I just film, I don’t shoot proper stills.  I’ve always loved skate photography since I started skating so I was stoked that I would get some insight into how and why the guys do it, that was anyone who is watching the film will hopefully get the same point of view.

Sergej Vutucs kamera. Screenshot: Phil Evans

Why super 8, what did you like about shooting film?
I guess the format of the film flowed together nicely, it seemed to cut its own natural path – the super 8 combined with the photos seemed to fit. Super 8 is dirty and grainy and it made the photos stand out nicely so that just seemed to ‘happen’.

Did you meet any certain obstacles before and under filming this?
Yes, plenty, but if you’re determined to make something you get through them. The initial problem was just getting a budget, but when Carhartt seen what I was doing with it in some detail they decided to come on board and make my life a whole lot easier! I couldn’t have asked for better support as I was given creative freedom and the means to finish what I had envisioned so I guess I was quite lucky with that. Other obstacles were just normal ones that you get when you film skate videos – security, injuries, hangovers..

Other things that stand out?
Yeah, quite a few! Building part of DIY spot in Malmö felt really good. Travelling to the Balkans with Sergej Vutuc exposed me to a lot of interesting characters and ways of living.  Being able to film in my home town (Bray) with Rich was a nice novelty. Meeting the ball of energy that is Craig ‘Questions’ Scott was one of the raddest things – he’s covered in tattoos, has an encyclopaedic knowledge of 80′s skateboarding and is one of the most interesting and entertaining characters I’ve ever met. I’ve been lucky to go on a few trips with him since.

Craig «Questions» Scott, handout. Foto: Alex Irvine

One event that stands out is having to pretend I was not Irish when filming in Belfast.  We were filming in some pretty sketchy ghettos so if anyone heard that I had a southern Irish accent in the loyalist ghettos then I don’t want to think what would have happened..so I just pretended to be Swedish instead, I was «Phil Alv» a documentary maker from Malmö.

Haha, Funny! You also do some design, how did you start doing that, and what is it that you are most pleased with?
I’m not sure if I’d call it design, but yeah, I paint and draw and make stuff. I’ve been able to draw since I was very young so its just something I did but never studied. I’m not sure what I’m most pleased with as I’m quite critical of what I produce and I usually think its crap, but I guess I really like when I get to do a board graphic, its way more of an honour for me than a gallery, although sometimes doing shows are fun. I’m involved in an art collective called Human Pyramids and the shows I do with those guys are usually pretty fun. We’re planning a European show tour this summer so I’m looking forward to it!

Do you have any tips for our readers, skate photo-wise? (Haha, I guess they should just see the film)
I think the best tip from a technical aspect is to shoot as much as possible and don’t be afraid to try different formats, don’t worry about what is popular. The best advice for any form of art is to just pursue what you feel genuinely drawn too, if you try force it it will probably come out fake.

What plans do you have now? i see that you are still getting busy on your blog and various other sites?
I almost have too many plans! I’m working on a web series with Craig Scott where he interviews veteran pros – he really knows his stuff and is not afraid to ask anything so its working out quite entertaining. Last weekend we managed to interview Mike Vallelly, Duane Peters, Justin Lynch and Jeff Hedges, they were all thoroughly impressed with Craig’s knowledge and quite forthcoming with their answers. Apart from that I’ve got the Human Pyramids shows this summer. I’ve also been invited to show my film and speak at OFFSET this year which is a huge honour. What else? I just had a board graphic come out with Semester Skateboards in Malmo and I’ve another one coming out with Lamina in Finland soon. I’m also working on a new video that will probably take a couple of years and perhaps another documentary too..oh, and I’ve been working on an animated music video for my brother’s band for a while too.

Phils design for Semester. Foto: Philip Evans

What’s «core»?
It changes. I think the most «core» thing is when skaters take action into their own hands and make their own fun, weather that’s a DIY spot, a jam, a comp, whatever! Its people making their own rules regardless and its the best thing. You don’t need to purchase a good time. As for companies being «core» I guess most of its is just marketing strategies?

I will say that some brands do support things that I see as more worthy than others and some brands just seem to pursue the cheesiest things. I wouldn’t blame a skater for taking sponsorship off a «non-core» brand though. Skating is a difficult thing to make a living out and a very short career that leaves you with very few employable skills. If I was a pro I can’t say that I could afford to say no to some of the brands that are throwing around money at the moment.

But you wouldn’t take a job filming for a large corporate company?
No. For the moment, there’s not a lot a money to make in skateboarding, even less in Europe. Even if an energydrink sponsor approaches a skater/ filmer/ editor, they have to take it, they have no choice. I’m really lucky that got to work with brands that aren’t lame, that let me do what i want to do. I hate to be like… I want to have an idea, I don’t want to just film. I want to direct it, shoot it, edit it, not just a brand guy. When I approached Carhartt, i was really lucky. I had shot some sections already in Malmö with Nils Svensson, supermellow guy… I showed his section to them and they said ok, let’s do it. That was cool, they knew what it would look like, and it was the way I liked it already. But then again, you have to realize that people don’t give you money for no reason, the guys there are fucking cool. Not in a cheesy brand-way. They were really honest with the things they didn’t like, but artistically I could do what I wanted, and that’s the most important thing to me. As long as I can pay bills, it’s cool, whatever. I get to do what I like to do, and that’s way better than doing a shit job.

www.formatperspective.com
www.humanpyramids.net
www.aulpups.com
www.flickr.com/photos/wallnut

Sjekk ut flere arbeider her, bla «The Scrum Tilly Lush»

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Tagger: Alex Irvine, Bertrand Trichet, carhartt, Format Perspective, Malmø, Nils Svensson, Philip Evans, Richard Gilligan, Sergej Vutuc, Stuart Robinson