I've been waiting patiently for more footage from this project for quite some time now. In fact, i first got a chubby about this thing last summer when they released a teaser. Now we get to bask in the warm glow of the first official trailer. Word on the street is that they have been absolutely scoring on the trips for this film, and with the recent addition of Nate Tyler to the team, the high flying antics will definitely ensue.

If you still need some more fluffing to get into this movie, look no further than their latest short film project for TWsurf's Imaginarium contest: UNGU. Joe G and crew are at the cutting edge of awesome right now.

I dare you to not be frothing for this. i dare you!



0000 from Globe Surf on Vimeo.

Recently the good folks over at transworld surf hatched an idea for a contest. Give each brand a color, and see what they can come up with for magazine spread and short film. The teams, Oakley-yellow, O'neill-black, and Globe-Magenta, had the entire month of June to shoot it. Globe's winning entry, titled 'Ungu' which is balinese for magenta, is a tripped out journey to bali where pink painted naked ladies roll around the sand while your favorite surfers fall from the sky.



Ungu from Blake Kueny on Vimeo.

And here are the other entries. I personally feel that Oakley's had much better production value, but was lacking in the hot pink painted naked lady department.. check out more on this at transworldsurf..



Oakley Imaginarium from Blake Kueny on Vimeo.



Oneill Imaginarium from Blake Kueny on Vimeo.

Up until quite recently, surf films lacked the production value, professionalism, and all around clout of the films produced in the snow and skate industries. Very few surf films could even be considered in the same league as snow movies such as THATS IT THATS ALL, or skate films like FULLY FLARED.
This is not entirely due to surfers being dumb.
Waves are a fleeting and limited resource, so paying a large scale film crew is very tough when the nature of the ocean is unpredictable. Also, cameras dont like water very much. And because the surf industry is mainly limited to the coastlines, the market isnt big enough for companies to afford blockbuster budgets on their videos. And lets not forget that in any 'bro' industry, being a talented filmaker is not as important as knowing the right person and happening to have a camera handy. The end result is the good but not great surf videos which have filled our daydreams since grommethood.
On to the now. The dark ages are over. Surf films look like films. Cutting edge cameras are being used. Dollies and the whole nine. Talented people are calling the shots. The cream of the film making crop have risen to the top. The music is eclectic. Surf films are now artistic enough to find widespread acclaim beyond surfing. We are finally making art.
(Oh yeah, and lets not forget that the level of surfing taking place in front of the lens these days is absolutely mind-shattering.)
Below are 3 upcoming film releases which really took my pants off...

Globe's New Film. I love the dark abstract direction this trailer takes. Secret Machine was one of the few surf films ever made that I would consider to be a "film". Absolutely amazing. And this looks even better...



Globesurf.tv - Video Test One: 600 FPS from GLOBE on Vimeo.

The sequel to Sipping Jetstreams, which was truly groundbreaking in terms of cinematography, editing, and production value. The brilliant eye of photographer Dustin Humphery teamed up with surf porn kingpin Taylor Steele for a film of epic proportions. After 3 years of filming here is the trailer for the sequel, Castles in the Sky.



CASTLES IN THE SKY from Sipping Jetstreams on Vimeo.

Josh Kerr is one of the most well-rounded and underrated surfers of our time. He was denied an injury wildcard in a year which saw the ASP mutate into a format which rewards surfing like Josh's. Luckily this still means we get to see a years worth of his antics, but now with some amazing camera work and editing to keep us in awe.



Lastly, we have Julian Wilson's new project Scratching the Surface. Red bull knows how make a film (i.e. THATS IT THATS ALL) And Irons bros productions have seemingly stepped up to the challenge of a project of this size.

The crew over at Transworld never disappoints when it comes to their videos, my personal favorite being Modus Operandi. That's why we over here at Grind TV can't wait to check out what TWS, John Holland and Chris Ray have brewing over there. The film is going to be called Hallelujah, and is set to feature a few of the best young guys out there: Torey Pudwill, Tyler Bledsoe, Ryan Decenzo, Pete Eldridge and Taylor Bingaman.

I just talked to Pudwill and Colin McKay the other day, and both of them stressed how much time filming T. Puds has been putting into this video. It's set to premier this summer, so get ready. Here's a little trailer:

The maple leaf of the Flip skateboards whole world coalition, Mark Appleyard, recently sat down with CCS to talk about board graphics, Extremely Sorry and Werd Life, among other things. He also skates the Flip mini for all you mini ramp enthusiasts.

In case you're a little slow, by maple leaf, I meant he's Canadian, so listen close for any aboots and ehs'. Mark has lived in Huntington Beach, CA for the past decade or so, but you know what they say. "You can take the Canadian out of the log cabin, but you can take the maple syrup out of their accent." Actually, by they, I mean me.