Interview With ‘Round Trip”s Brian Korff
Brian Korff filming with HVX Photo: Matt Lemus.
Interview by: Tim Olson.
Watch Korff’s “Round Trip” edit here!
When did you start skating and when did you figure out you weren’t good enough to get sponsored and picked up a camera?
I started skating when I was 13 or 14, but I was already into camera stuff even before skating. My parents had a hi-8 camera I would use to film dumb shit of me and my friends around the neighborhood, so when skating started I basically had no choice but to be the filmer.
Nathan Alegria | Hippy Ollie? Hippy Jump?
What’s your preferred set up for filming?
My preferred set up? Honestly if I could just film everything on an iPhone I probably would. But for this project it was HVX for long lens and a GH4 with the Canon 8-15 for fisheye. It gets the job done and the footage matches close enough, but I’m still looking for a one camera set up that can do everything I want. I’m really lucky and get to shoot on a lot of different types of cameras for work from RED to Super 8, which all have their place in skating, but for personal projects I just want a set up that works when you need it to and you’re not missing clips building an entire rig.
How did you find the talent in your newest video “Round Trip”? They’re pretty good.
About half of the dudes in the video are from North Carolina, which is where I grew up skating so I’ve known a few of these guys for a really long time. Ron was already out in LA before I even moved out here, so we linked up again pretty much right when I got out here and started filming. He definitely has the most footage and some of the oldest clips.
Nate, I met at Frog Park; he’s from Reno, but had recently moved to LA and was skating there with some of his homies. He actually accidentally started skating my board at the park thinking it was his and I think I got kind of mad about it. He made it up to me though by being really really good at skating so we’re cool now.
Everyone else just met through skating and other homies. Austin, who has one clip in the video, I met from working on the TV show Americas Got Talent which is pretty fucking sick.
Nathan Alegria | Noseslide Shuv Transfer
Any good memorable moments while filming for this vid? Or was it pretty boring?
Shit dude, too many to name. Close to the end of the video everyone was all over the place so I traveled to Reno, Raleigh, and New York to film these dudes. Nate moved home for a little before moving to New York for school. And Ron was in Raleigh for like the last month of filming, so all of those trips really stick out. Ron’s second to last trick, the feeble, was in Raleigh on what we thought was our last day of filming, a few hours before I was flying to New York to go see Nate. That one was pretty memorable.
Ron’s last trick was fucking crazy, too. That was for real the last day of filming, three days before our premiere. We went to this house spot first to try that same trick, but the whole apartment complex started freaking out so we left. We went to a school spot after that to try the trick there, security was on us real quick so we were scrambling for a spot. We ended up at that 3-block out-ledge not really thinking it was the right spot for what we wanted to get, but then he landed it the way he did and in my head I was immediately like “fuck yes, the videos done.”
Some other quick ones: Stevie’s 360 flip battle you see him rip his entire pants and underwear on, some gang telling us we only have ten minutes to skate that spot in Nate’s first clip; Nate’s board going into the river twice on that switch boardslide line; and that security guard really trying to fight Ron after he does that crook in Hollywood.
Ron Parker, North Carolina feeble
Have you ever seen Fully Flared? That was a pretty awesome video. What videos get you stoked to skate and/or film?
I totally still have my Fully Flared DVD, moved that thing all the way out from North Carolina with me. The last videos I saw that got me really stoked was the new Pass~port video and that new Lotties video. For both filming and skating those edits go… Oh, and that new Suciu part—Jesus Christ that thing was freaked.
Do you think the days of the long-format skate video are over?
Oh shit, the real questions now. Dude, it’s hard to say, I don’t think those days are completely over. There’re companies like Toy Machine and Baker that are doing a really good job of holding onto that format and still being able to get everyone really hyped on it. It’s definitely harder to go with that approach, but I still appreciate it since that’s what I grew up on. I think those sorts of projects resonate more with your audience, too; they don’t seem as disposable as a ten-minute video or your 60-second instagram edit. I think eventually it’ll come full circle and everyone will be doing full-lengths again and we’ll look back on this time period and be like, “What the fuck were we doing with our footage?”
Nathan Alegria | New York Kickflip
How long have you held in a pee to get a clip?
Haha. I’ve definitely been riding in the back of the van on trips dying to pee, but don’t want to be the guy that makes us pull over. One clip doesn’t stick out in my head, but when we’re out trying to get clips I’ll get a little too in the zone sometimes and for sure hold it for hours and from spot-to-spot sometimes. Like I won’t eat, drink water, or pee on a full day of skating. The other day Ron and I were looking at spots in West Hollywood and he just takes a piss on some residential sidewalk, and I was like, fuck I haven’t pissed all day. I backed him up right after but used my car for a little bit of cover.
If you could film any skater, who would it be and why?
Damn, that’s a tough one. Brian Anderson has been my favorite skater since I started skating so being able to film him would be insane….but also maybe that skateboarding monkey that can skate pools. That’d probably be a pretty fun session and he wouldn’t be able to complain about the spot, or his board feeling weird, or there being too many cars parked on the road for his run up. Nah, actually I’ll just stick with BA.
Ron Parker | Back Smith Front 180
What’s your gnarliest filming life hammer up to now?
Getting to film Tony Hawk for a Berrics segment was a pretty major life hammer. I got to help interview him and film some in-the-park stuff of him. He’s the nicest dude ever, but it was still pretty surreal to work with him like that.
Tony Hawk calls you to come film his last 900 ever. You shooting that shit long lens or fisheye?
That’s my boy so I’d just ask him what he wanted. Wait, has there ever been a fisheye 900….what about an iPhone 900? I’d probably go with fisheye, and then ask if he could do it again for long lens. I 100% believe he could pull it off twice in the same session if he wanted to.
Have you ever strapped a GoPro to your VX because you couldn’t decide between SD and HD?
This is actually so relevant right now: I’ve never done a VX project before and kind of want to go SD for whatever I work on next, but obviously I have all this HD camera shit. I might just take your suggestion and do both at once.
Ron Parker | Back 360
Anyone you’d like to thank? Anyone you just want to tell to fuck off? Now is your chance.
Obviously, I gotta shout out everyone in the video, Ron, Nate, Ben, Stevie, Ryan, Rico, and Austin for killing it and making the whole process fun (most of the time). Big thanks for Rico and Alba Collective for putting on the premiere; such a rad night. The video wouldn’t be same without the clips the other filmers sent me, especially all the Raleigh footage from Gray, I can’t thank him enough for sending all those Ron clips over. And lastly, huge thanks to The Berrics for everything they’re doing for the video, I’ll see all you guys on Monday.
