FIELD NOTES
Meanderings from beneath, between and behind the lens.
“CIRCLES: AN ODE TO SHREDDING”
Words, 35mm photography & 16mm frames by Dana Shaw.
“Circles: An Ode to Shredding” started in 2017, when I reconnected with a group of friends I grew up surfing and skateboarding with. I was at a point in my life where I was creatively drained and searching for something to reignite my ability to make work again. At first, I decided to bring a 35mm still camera with me on skate sessions and point it at the same people I learned to shoot with. After about 6 months of doing that on every session, I started to see that it was all adding up. There were these little scenes of textures and memories that looked like little windows of time, so I decided to assemble a photo book out of the images.
After a year’s worth of shooting stills and photo book edits, I started to have a series of dreams where I would see fluttering gestalt images that felt familiar. It was like I was watching abstract memories of mine that I hadn’t lived yet. Glimpses of these memories were being shown to me very quickly, and then would disappear in a flash. After about a month of those dreams, I was shooting in the ocean and my buddy paddled into a wave, high lined by me and kicked out smiling. I had this crazy feeling of dejavu, like I had been there before. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I realized that it was from one of those abstract dreams. That kept happening to me but in a variety of settings and with a handful of new friends I was meeting at surf and skate spots. It started to become a major theme when the waves turned on or if somebody got a clip they were stoked on.
Not long after that I was given a Bolex 16mm camera kit by an old friend and when he placed it in my hands everything started to make sense to me. The photo book I started was actually the beginning stages of a new film idea, and the abstracted images being shown to me were bursted shots from a reel of 16mm film on an edit sequence. Paying attention to those signals spun me into a 5 year obsession to create a feature length 16mm film, and that film was meant to be about the friends I was inspired by from those experiences. “Circles - An Ode to Shredding” became a way for me to communicate what I appreciate the most about the simple nuances of riding waves, skateboarding, their poetry and the stories they tell.
805 BEER - “CONVERGENCE”
Words, 35mm photography & 16mm frames by Dana Shaw.
Perry Gershkow and I were standing in the dunes checking the surf, and waiting for the tide to clean up over a few sips of coffee. As we were shooting the shit, he mentioned that 805 Beer had come to him with a film idea and he was going to be Directing it. He started to fill me in on the concept, and that it was going to feature Nate Tyler, Conner Coffin and Greyson Fletcher. All of them have set a pace in their respective niche of surfing or skateboarding through the years, as well as their family members. The goal of the film was to tie each of these guys together through their love for surfing and dive deeper into their own personal development beyond thier public personas. As he was describing what he hoped the film could be, I started to see fragments of it in my mind. What started out as a quick conversation, ended up being a week long brain storm between us over text threads. I really wanted to be a part of the project as Editor, and I was also craving some time on the road with one of my best friends and my Bolex.
Somehow I was able to convince him that rolling 16mm would be a good idea, and that the strength of both of our abilities could make something we were both really proud of. Perry is an excellent director who always has a vision for something deeper, and his ability to capture images through his eye is impeccable. I’m drawn to verbal histories and lore that surrounds the surfing and skateboarding communities, with an emphasis on art forward filmmaking. It seemed like a perfect fit to have Perry as Director / DP and yours truly as Editor and 16mm operator. He ended up pulling me on, and together we began chiseling away at the puzzle of what became a series of some really fun surf trips and experiences. 6 months, five strike missions, a boat trip, rationed beers, legends, some waves, a few skateparks, RED cameras, 1300 feet of 16mm film and a whole lot of luck. That was the recipe to make this film, and it was an honor to be a part of it.
The editing process felt seamless to me, because I had been on each shoot rolling 16mm, thus I was able to start dropping in with each person to better understand each of their stories. Taking those experiences into post was a blessing, because I had already basically cut the film in my head on location. By the time I got back home, I’d assemble each vignette as we experienced it, and I already had an extensive understanding of each sequence we had and what we needed. Cutting this film was a dream but shooting for black and white was the real challenge, especially in locations that naturally lend themselves to beautifully saturated color. It’s never fun to strip all the color away from rare 90’s Leica lenses on cinema cameras. All of that said, it ended up pushing both of us to think long and hard about each setting. It forced us to go back to the basics and thoughtfully consider high contrast shadows, separation, line and contour in each frame. Taking those decisions into consideration for each shot, helped push this film to be an intimate and powerful portrait of these subjects and the environments they call home. At the end of the day, working on this film with the team at 805 Beer and Perry was such a rewarding experience. These types of projects don’t come along all that often, and having the trust and support from a Director is priceless. As they say, “Team work makes dream work!”
Last take of the project, A.K.A "The Martini Shot" - 16mm selfie of Director / DP Perry Gershkow & Myself.