How to film Action Sports : With Dave & Andi of Family Creative

Action sports has always been a big part of our lives, after working various creative jobs I (Dave) took the decision to push forward into the industry with my own thing. What sets this industry apart from others I’ve worked in is the people – everyone you meet is passionate about what they are doing whether they’re making ends meet or not! I guess it was the strong sense of community that has kept me around for as long as I have been! Community was also one of the early values when starting the business, I wanted to bring together our own, unique family of creatives – hence our name , Family Creative.

We started out working on all sorts of different work, from app design to videography and it wasn’t until a few months down the line that we made the decision to trim off our other creative services. Making the decision to focus on just videography within our areas of passion Sport & Music didn’t come without its challenges. There’s nothing to say that you can’t make a career out of what you love, keep at it and things will start to happen!

Here are a few ways to up your action sport videography game!

You need to know the sport – you can try and pretend, but you will probably fail.

Action sports is all based on movement, style and technique – our job as videographers is to be innovative in the ways we capture that. Developing an eye for composition and learning to anticipate how the shot is going to look all comes down you knowing how the tricks/riders! if this is what you want to do, then you probably know the sport so I wouldn’t worry too much, if not bung on the latest shred flick and take some notes.

Whitelines : Battle of Britain (Freeze Festival) from Family Creative on Vimeo.

Working with riders – they’re not your puppet

It’s about working in partnership to get that shot, riders will eventually look like the star of the show but for the majority of time they will be waiting for you, falling over, walking back up the mountain/ramp/staircase – some serious mental battles will be gone through at that spot! It’s key to have an understanding of where their heads at – remember you’ll be taking them to the hospital if you push them to do something outrageous for camera – although, everyone knows a good bail is worth the pain if caught on tape!

When everything’s already been done, what shall I do?

Video content is the best way to connect to people these days, it’s everywhere we look so there is no excuse for lazy, unimaginative content. Walk into every situation with a plan, at least some creative ideas you want to try out – Remember, everythings been done so draw influence from the edits that excite you and make them your own! Sometimes shoots can unfold in an unexpected direction but at least you had something planned!

Snowboxx Festival – Games – 15 secs from Family Creative on Vimeo.

Why just do it once? Variety is the spice of life

These days you can only get away with a single style shot if the riding is, quite simply, outrageous. Think about the different kinds of shots that will compliment each other, following shots, static shots on a tripod, maybe a bit of aerial footage with a dash of slow mo in there – but not too much! Technology has advanced so much over the last few years that cameras are getting smaller, more durable and easier to use so there isn’t no excuse anymore for those bad quality clips. Oh, one last thing, keep it steady – warp stabilizer can only help so much!

Famliy creative have taken on the mammoth task of bringing together everyone in the UK Snowboarding community, young and old, to create a cinematic documentary about the scene! Check out the behind the scenes footage below.

Our Kingdom – Behind The Scenes – EP1 from Family Creative on Vimeo.

If you would like to ask Dave or Andi about any further methods in the world of filming then get in touch with them at www.family-creative.co.uk

Take a look at one of our edits from last winter.

YEEAAW from TTR Group on Vimeo.