Final Piece

This is a potential ad-campaign idea for Gravity Skateboards, inspired by the artwork of Ralph Steadman from "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" Instead of Hunter Thompson and his Lawyer sitting in the front seat of the car, Gravity riders Brad Edwards and Sergio Yuppie are. I drew this in Adobe Illustrator.

Proffesional Interview #1

I'm Stephen Serrano, s dot serrano ya diggg.. I work at a skateshop, Mission Skateboards, I'm super hip bro, I wear glasses so can't wear sunglasses tho.

How long have you been skating?

I've been skating for about 11 years.

Where are you from?

I'm from Sedona Arizona, its a pretty kooky place, but its really pretty.

What kind of differences do you see in the skate-scene in Sedona as opposed to San Francisco? Are kids everywhere the same?

Here in San Francisco theres actually a scene, The scene is funny tho, to sum it up its either youre in or youre out. Theres also the unspoken rule of when youre in you don't even speak a word to people that are out, Theres also alot of unspoken rules of what you can and can't do on a skateboard... Where I'm from theres just people that skate at the local skatepark and do whatever they can do , theres a little bit of imitation of skate industry, but its like three years behind tho. As far as the unspoken rules, I don't really try to follow them, I talk to some kooks at video premieres and do front blunt to 5050's on the big wall at sneath lane in my video part.

As far as kids, yeah they're pretty much the same everywhere, out here they know a little more tho. haha.

What makes you stay in SF?

Theres not much going on in Sedona Arizona, so I would be doing nothing there. I might as well be here and I got a job too, and get to go skate and film and shoot photos and stuff ... It's cool fo sho, fo sho.

Now onto Mission, which is a more hardcore skate-shop and less boutique-like than most other shops in SF. Give us some history and general info on Mission Skate Shop..

Well the owners are Thorin and his wife Abigail, Thorin was a part of the OG embarcadero posse with people like James Kelch, Mike Carroll and Henry Sanchez, Those guys used punk everybody down at the EMB, So pretty much we aint no sucka's over here at Mission. So we just sell primarily hard goods, stuff from Deluxe Distribution, Street Corner Distribution and some other brands but to blunt were not really trying to sell all over print shirts and fitted hats to kids.

How has the opening of the Potrero Skate Park changed business at Mission?

We now get alot of random out of towners coming through , on a one time only basis, its cool more business.

What are your responsibilities at the shop? What do you do when business is slow?

Umm.. Sell as much product as possible, Do some inventory, Kick bums out. When its slow I lurk hard on the internet, youtube , myspace , myzion.tv and consume as many dollar fifty tacos as possible.

What product do you sell the most of? Shoes, clothes, boards, wheels?

We sell alot of Anti Hero ,Real and Think boards, Nikes, Spitfire wheels, pretty much, we are super awesome.

Has skateboarding in SF changed since you've been here?

The new potrero park has made things a bit hesh gnar gnar, slasher steez .. um third and army's got a flat bar now, changed the flow there, things are generally more hesh now, than when i first came here.

Do you think the greater public will always think about skateboarding as something vandals and troublemakers do or are skaters starting to lose their bad reputation?

The Ryan Sheckler show has made things a little better, hahaha. But skaters will always be punks, in contrary though you can goto spots and not get punked now, skaters just vibe now, weak. I'd rather have somebody be straight up and try to rob me than have somebody stare me down and vibe me over and over again, I just rather keep things out in the open you know?

What is your favorite terrain to skate?

I like stuff like ledges down 6 to 8 stairs , I like little handrails and I like skatepark street setups.

If you could change anything about skateboarding, what would it be?

I would change everything/anything haha.. I'm working on it.

Week 12

I've now completed m 12 weeks of interning with Gravity Skateboards and I've learned quite a lot, I've spent most of the time in front of the computer, improving my final cut pro skills. I've spent time learning about creating graphics and will continue to work on this. Looking for jobs on Craig's List, it's apparent that graphic designers are in demand, it's not easy to create a unique graphic in this logo-saturated world. I gained insight into the skate industry, I understand the tight-knit way in which the scene operates. I can't say I can commit my life to skateboarding and that I'd never want to work in another field, but for now it is important to me. Whether someone is a regular video-game player, a golfer, a computer programmer etc. , one feels that everyone else should be aware of the most recent happenings in that particular field. I know that this is not true, the average person's knowledge of skateboarding usually stops after Tony Hawk and the X-Games, but for me I do get the feeling that the daily happenings in the skateboard world really are important and significant.
I'm planning to continue my video-editing work with Gravity which may include editing there next full-length video- Flow II. This summer I'm planning on interning at Thrasher Magazine where I'll see another side of the skateboard industry. With the economic climate the way it is I'm not planning on getting a permanent job there, but at least I'll get more experience. Ideally I'll find a job working on websites, taking photos, making movies, or designing ads and graphics in the skateboard industry that will make me enough money to pay the bills.

Week 11

This week I got lucky when a surf shop near my house had a big sale with a skate-ramp demo. I didn’t have any idea, but the owner of Aqua Surf Shop is friends with Roger Mihalko, one of Gravity’s main team riders, and asked him to come skate in the demo. I spent the day eating hot dogs from the barbecue, listening to the live music, and filming the great skating that took place. I used a friends HD camera as well as my own Canon GL2 with a fisheye lens and cut the footage together the next day. I spent a few hours editing to an up-beat reggae song and came up with this video. Working with the high definition footage is fun, but exporting HD and regular DV in the same video is difficult. It took some trial and error, and I’m still not an expert, but I’m happy with the compromise between 4:3 and 16:9 that I achieved. Since the main rider in the video I made is a Gravity skater, I used the same graphics that I use at the end of the Gravity podcasts. I would have sent the video down to San Diego to be uploaded from Gravity’s youtube account but I decided I’d rather have it up on my own youtube page for now. An interesting note about youtube- this is the first time I’ve uploaded a video and noticed the “insight” options, there are many new features that let owners of videos see the times in which their videos are watched, what age group, what countries are watching their videos the most etc.

Week 10

Once again it’s been a slow week with Gravity, I’ve been doing my best to keep busy with the remaining video I have to edit and coming up with some new graphic ideas; but I have not received any instruction from Gravity since last week. I’ve finished the videos for the Carve 46”, Spoon 45”, Bertleman, Hi-Grade Wheels, and the Shred-Ranch but only the Spoon 45” has been posted to youtube. I’ve finished my Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas inspired Gravity artwork and have been trying to sketch up what it would look like as a board graphic or ad in a magazine. I’m not necessarily the best artist but I feel that I have a good eye for what is aesthetically pleasing and intriguing to the casual observer. When someone looks at a video/advertisement/website there is only a split second where the viewer decides whether or not to continue watching/browsing before he or she will move on. I like to appreciate the ads/websites etc. that are able to grab my attention in this way and hope to learn from each one. Hopefully someday I can lay out an ad for Gravity that will really catch the eye of someone flipping through a magazine.

Week 9

It has been a slow week of interning with Gravity, I’m in the process of editing the 27” Mini video and re-editing the High Grade Wheels video. I’m still searching for the proper song and editing style combination but I’ve got a feeling the only way I can make it up to par will be with some new footage. I’m in the same predicament with the 27” Mini video, I’m attempting to make a cool video that will grab the attention of kids and ideally get them to buy this skateboard, but without the proper footage it may lead to the opposite result. When I was in San Diego attempting to film their top-ten bestsellers, the 27” Mini was one of the boards that none of the team riders ended up riding very much, so while I have dozens and dozens of clips for other boards, I have only 3 clips of the Mini to use. In the future if I have a certain amount of different footage to obtain, I’ll give myself a much more regimented schedule and make sure to not spend too much time filming one thing while neglecting others, because in post production it’s nice to have extra footage to work with.





Another One of the graphics I've been working on...

Week 8

I’ve been e-mailing back and forth with Michael Bream, the owner of Gravity, trying to find a good style in which to present the new series of podcasts. These new videos will be embedded on www.gravityboard.com next to their respective skateboard in the products section.

Gravity Top Ten Bestselling Boards:
Ed Economy
Carve 46
Spoon 45
Larry Bertleman
MiniCarve
HyperCarve
Burning Spear
M-27
Brad Edwards 40
Bruce Logan

At this point I’ve come to realize that of the 10 videos we had planned on producing from my first trip to San Diego, I’ll only be able to make 5 good videos. I could make 8 or 9 with the limited footage I have but in order to keep my artistic integrity I’ve decided to wait until I can get more footage to make the remaining 5. I am frustrated when I edit a video and it’s not received as well as I had hoped, but at the same time I enjoy the motivation. If I did not receive criticism, I would most likely to create similar art pieces all the time rather than branch out and discover my potential. I need to always keep in mind that just because I like something doesn’t mean the greater public will, but at the same time I believe in having one’s own unique style.

Week 7

For the past few weeks I've been working on designing new graphics for Gravity, they have an upcoming wheel line and next fall a new line of pro-series board graphics will come out. I work mainly with illustrator and photoshop, I appreciate the trial and error that these programs afford me. I'm interested in working in graphic design more in the future, I'd like to arrange the layout of ads in magazines and design the look and flow of websites. In Bill Buxton's book, "Sketching the User Experience" he talks about how image and design are oftentimes more important than the product being sold. The different demographics advertised to in skateboarding are interesting to me, there are old-school skaters, punk rock skaters, beer-drinking 'hesh' skaters, hippie skaters etc. and for each of these groups there are different brands and pro skaters that exist. Gravity has a solid position it its own niche which would most likely be classified as "old-school and longboard skating". I've only been aware of Gravity for the last few years but I've always liked their board graphics and the look of their ads. With all the boards, wheels, t-shirts, stickers, and all the other product Gravity sells, there is a demand for new graphics that have a "fresh" look. I've been working on drawing a rendition of Ralph Steadman's piece from "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", substituting the bodies of Hunter Thompson and his lawyer for Gravity team riders Brad Edwards and Sergio Yuppie that could perhaps be used as an ad-campaign or board logo. I've also spent some time in Photoshop and Illustrator coming up with other potential graphic ideas that I'll include.

Week 6

For the last few days I’ve been editing the “Shred-Ranch” podcast that I filmed last week. I’ve found a lot of architecture/building related graphics in illustrator and I’m pretty happy with the intro that I’ve come up with, I chose a song by the Beastie Boys and picked the best two minutes of footage to include. I showed the video to the guys over at Gravity and everyone is excited about it. For Gravity, this is a step in the right direction as far as connecting with more potential customers. The TV show “Built to Shred” has become very popular and having that name alongside Gravity Skateboards doesn’t hurt at all. I’d like to bring up the idea of advertising in the mainstream skateboard and surf magazines to see if the potential spike in sales would outweigh the cost of placing the ads. Gravity only runs ads regularly in a few magazines for cost reasons, but I think reaching a larger audience is important to the company.

Week 5

This weekend was the most fun I’ve had working with Gravity yet! I took another trip to San Diego to exchange footage, film some more, and discuss my internship. The owner of Gravity, the sales manager of Gravity, 3 team riders, and myself took a trip to Jeff King’s (star of FUEL TV’s show ‘Built to Shred’) house to skate his backyard skate park. Just going there was a treat in itself, he has created a skate oasis in the middle of San Diego and it’s on an extremely invite-only basis. I filmed and took photos of the team riders which I’ll be turning into a podcast for Gravity. I’ve already been going over the footage and am excited to edit, making a short video out of lots of good footage is so much more fun than taking bad footage and trying to make it look good in post-production. I know in the real world of filming and editing major projects, it is always a team effort, but I really do enjoy doing every step of it myself.

a photo I took of Brad Edwards

Week 4

I’ve been working hard on the footage that I filmed last week and have already finished 3 videos. I started by separating the clips according to which board was being ridden, then spent time looking for approprate music to edit to. I’m trying to keep a uniform look but at the same time have the videos all be different and worth watching solely for their skateboarding content. Once I’ve selected a song I try to create a logical order of clips (a basic formula I like to think about is to start with a ‘hook’ clip, then start with the easier tricks and finish the video with the most impressive clip). Music is a huge part of the feel of a video, so using very different styles of music will give the series variety. I’ve decided on one punk rock song, on reggae instrumental, and a classic guitar instrumental. One of the videos has already been posted: and has been well received on silverfishlongboarding.com and with youtube’s user comments and ratings:

Week 3

Over the weekend I was in San Diego working for Gravity, they bought my plane ticket and as soon as I arrived on Thursday I was driven to the factory where I spent the time observing the daily operations at the Gravity factory. The main lobby where the receptionist works is covered in old skate-posters, photos, old skateboard decks, and other paraphernalia. When you walk into the offices you're greeted by 4 or 5 dogs that populate the workspace. Gravity recently acquired Randal Trucks and have since been extremely busy running that company as well. Even competing longboard companies will buy Randal trucks to put on their boards before selling them as completes. In the Randal office there are blueprint-style mock-ups of new wheels and trucks that are being designed. Along the walls, a set of trucks from nearly every other company is on display so that one can easily see the differences between them. In the sales room, Kevin and Doug talk loudly into bluetooth phones with skateshop owners around the world, filling orders and talking about all the new product they have to offer. In the factory, there are stacks of boards 20 feet high, huge silkscreen machines, rows and rows of new wheels. Some of the workers in the back may spend all day just putting bearings into wheels or griptaping new decks.

The next day, we gathered as many team-riders as possible, threw the top ten bestselling boards in the back of the van, and caravaned to a few skateparks in Oceanside where I spent the day trying to film every single board for at least a few minutes. Breamo, the CEO of Gravity, and I did our best to set up a regimented schedule of places to go and boards to film, but there are many variables in skating. It is not easy maintaining a professional attitude when skateboarding is such a relaxed and fun sport by nature. I'd oftentimes feel tempted to put my camera down and skate around the park, but I resisted and got some good clips.

On Saturday we once again gathered as many riders as possible and drove out to Pala Indian Reservation. Here we spent half of the day at a skatepark, and the other half of the day on a hill. I got to use a brake-board (a skateboard with a handbrake) to film the downhill skating and ended up getting some really good footage.



Filming skateboarding is sometimes harder than it seems; the co-ordination involved in keeping up with someone skating 15 or 20 mph, keeping the camera stable and pointed at the subject, and not falling and destroying your equipment feels like a stunt in itself. I've already gone over all the footage and have begun naming and categorizing all of the clips of the hard drive that Gravity gave me for this purpose. I'll start editing now and hopefully the videos will be uploaded and embedded on the Gravity site soon.

Week 2

I’ve worked out a schedule with Gravity to come down to San Diego and work on a series of podcasts. The goal will be to complete 10 videos featuring Gravity’s top ten bestselling skateboards. These videos will serve the purpose of giving customers a chance to see the board that they might purchase in an up-close and personal way. These podcasts will be part skate video and part commercial, I’ve been researching videos by “Loaded”, a competing company who has been very successful with their online campaign. Gravity’s CEO and I decided that the key ingredient in these promotional videos is giving the viewer the feeling that if they bought that skateboard and only that skateboard they’d be able to skate like the riders they see in the video. I have a flight booked to San Diego in the beginning of March when I’ll start filming these videos.

Week 1

Finding an appropriate internship that met all of my personal expectations was not too easy; I wanted something in the skateboarding field where I would be required to do some sort of creative work. Although skateboarding by definition is an individual art form like dancing, there are many non-creative aspects to the industry. It seems that this day and age, the most important thing to company leaders is making money in these “hard economic times.” This money-oriented business frame hurts the artistic and creative aspects of this industry that are so necessary. I entered this job/internship market with the perspective of a student who wants to preserve the “fun” part of the skateboarding industry. I am optimistic in that I feel the internet will support the continuing surge of skateboarding’s popularity, it is already as popular a National pastime as football or baseball, (relative to how many kids engage in the sport) and skaters are shedding the criminal reputation that was once always associated with boarding. After applying to intern at Thrasher magazine, I decided to wait until summer for this particular company. (they’ve got a full stable of interns for the spring already) I turned my eyes south to San Diego and contacted Gravity Skateboards about interning via the internet and monthly trips down to their factory.