Is the full length dead? Interview with Josh Stewart by Village Psychic

[Candied cigarettes]

http://www.villagepsychic.net/blog/is-the-full-length-dead-lets-ask-josh-stewart

[bob george]

i haven't read it yet, i'm just about to.

must say though, how many times can you ask this question? obviously it's dead compared to what it was, but if you're interviewing someone who just released a full length video, they're not dead.

i think 15 minutes can be "full length"

edit: have read it now. as the person below said, still a good read.

[kookdusoleil]

i haven't read it yet, i'm just about to.

must say though, how many times can you ask this question? obviously it's dead compared to what it was, but if you're interviewing someone who just released a full length video, they're not dead.

i think 15 minutes can be "full length"

My thoughts exactly. Still found the interview to be a good read.

[tkp]

"The purpose of the video is to get these guys seen, and then you're gonna rob them of their name title? That trend kinda pisses me off"

The year was 1999. Humanity was in dire straits as Y2K loomed on the horizon, however a new virus had already been unleashed. The death of credit. The Reason was never given, but the Modus Operandi was clear, and Rusty from Maine was at the forefront trying to stop this invasive species that was hell bent on wiping out a key link between scenes.

No longer would you meet a stranger in the streets and catch their name, and the memory of the line they did in that video filmed thousands of miles from your present location would run through your visual brain waves.

Now we zoom in on faces and logos. Trigger happy index fingers smashing down optical zooms. All those print magazines that once provided a point of reference, acting as a guide to how a skateboard trick could be documented properly and with grace, the majority consumed and replaced by the matrix.

The thrill of it all replaced by a "Hey, can you film this vertically?". Stack clips, psssh, the feed never sleeps. Gone are the days when the skaters out numbered the filmers. Gone are the days when the only time a camera came out, was when someone was actually trying to put some shit down.

[Mean salto]

Expand Quote

i haven't read it yet, i'm just about to.

must say though, how many times can you ask this question? obviously it's dead compared to what it was, but if you're interviewing someone who just released a full length video, they're not dead.

i think 15 minutes can be "full length"

[close]

My thoughts exactly. Still found the interview to be a good read.

Sub zero real life and Jump off a Building are both only about 12 mins but they're old. 25 mins with intro and credits would be about 6 parts. I actually don't mind the modern way with 2-4 parts and a montage in the middle. I think the most important part these days is just the pacing, gotta keep people from wanting to look away and check their phones etc

[bob george]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

i haven't read it yet, i'm just about to.

must say though, how many times can you ask this question? obviously it's dead compared to what it was, but if you're interviewing someone who just released a full length video, they're not dead.

i think 15 minutes can be "full length"

[close]

My thoughts exactly. Still found the interview to be a good read.

[close]

Sub zero real life and Jump off a Building are both only about 12 mins but they're old. 25 mins with intro and credits would be about 6 parts. I actually don't mind the modern way with 2-4 parts and a montage in the middle. I think the most important part these days is just the pacing, gotta keep people from wanting to look away and check their phones etc

yeah i like that approach that a lot of releases have now too. it's definitely more enjoyable than single parts and if it's a good video it's the perfect length to get hyped and go skating.

oh, and 'shit cat' is a great name for a video haha

[Crust]

Expand Quote

Expand Quote

i haven't read it yet, i'm just about to.

must say though, how many times can you ask this question? obviously it's dead compared to what it was, but if you're interviewing someone who just released a full length video, they're not dead.

i think 15 minutes can be "full length"

[close]

My thoughts exactly. Still found the interview to be a good read.

[close]

Sub zero real life and Jump off a Building are both only about 12 mins but they're old. 25 mins with intro and credits would be about 6 parts. I actually don't mind the modern way with 2-4 parts and a montage in the middle. I think the most important part these days is just the pacing, gotta keep people from wanting to look away and check their phones etc

Very apt word, "pacing". Well said; I totally agree, if the structure - intro, parts, outro is kept, 12 or 25 minutes isn't too big of a dealbreaker. I'd rather see an "amazing" 12 minute video rather than a "great" 25 minute video.

Love to hear how deeply Josh contemplates it. Already felt it was going to be a great read from the title alone.

[MtnDoucheBag]

They’re not dead to people like me who read extensively and have wizard attention spans.

If you abide by the rule of 3 I’ll watch an hour long skate video.

Also, take time in making the clips look good and consider hiring a sound engineer.

Yeah every clip isn’t going to be pristine, but I can usually tell right away if the filmer for the project doesn’t give a shit and will turn it off.

[TMKF]

josh stewart is whooped, time to put the ole boy down.

[JugeL]

Between this and "what do you think about skating in olympics?" it's tough choice for the most annoying question in skateboarding

[douchenozzle]

I enjoy Josh’s videos but to criticize the barrage of 5 to 15 minute videos as disposable is ironic since Theories and other companies under his distribution have put out tons of these and promoted these for years

[Shortys Hardware]

I enjoy Josh’s videos but to criticize the barrage of 5 to 15 minute videos as disposable is ironic since Theories and other companies under his distribution have put out tons of these and promoted these for years

Exactly...He even launched a board company with a...6 minute video...and followed that up with another video around the same mark...there's probably half a dozen dial tone clips that are around that mark too or less and those companies aren't even blips on the skateboard radar 

[WarmUpZone]

Also on this topic posted this week and featuring Josh Stewart:
Shrinking Attention Spans & The Search For the Perfect-Length Skate Video on Quartersnacks.

https://quartersnacks.com/2023/11/shrinking-attention-spans-the-search-for-the-perfect-length-skate-video/

[Groondor the Orc]

I honestly wish the 1 minute skateboard video was dead. Clips longer than that are a bummer.

[Mean salto]

If youre talking about old videos being longer there's a few things to take into account tho. The average part was much shorter so saying people's attention spans aren't as long might not be true when old videos had a new song every 70 seconds.
When people bought a video that's all they had until the next video so they would of wanted as much on the tape as possible even if the majority of times they put it on they didn't watch the whole thing.
There was also a ton of short videos and bullshit footage dump videos

[WarmUpZone]

I enjoy Josh’s videos but to criticize the barrage of 5 to 15 minute videos as disposable is ironic since Theories and other companies under his distribution have put out tons of these and promoted these for years

I also want to point out that in the Village Psychic article Josh mentions the magic of Daewon in New World Order as an example of how things used to be better. But New World Order was only 17 minutes long.

I think Josh's points about the 'extended montage' style of video not giving individual skaters a chance to shine is valid. I think the length of the video is less crucial than the structure in this regard.

[TheWineClub]

Between this and "what do you think about skating in olympics?" it's tough choice for the most annoying question in skateboarding

Don’t forget HD vs VX

[Kook Me Amadeus]

"The purpose of the video is to get these guys seen, and then you're gonna rob them of their name title? That trend kinda pisses me off"

The year was 1999. Humanity was in dire straits as Y2K loomed on the horizon, however a new virus had already been unleashed. The death of credit. The Reason was never given, but the Modus Operandi was clear, and Rusty from Maine was at the forefront trying to stop this invasive species that was hell bent on wiping out a key link between scenes.

No longer would you meet a stranger in the streets and catch their name, and the memory of the line they did in that video filmed thousands of miles from your present location would run through your visual brain waves.

Now we zoom in on faces and logos. Trigger happy index fingers smashing down optical zooms. All those print magazines that once provided a point of reference, acting as a guide to how a skateboard trick could be documented properly and with grace, the majority consumed and replaced by the matrix.

The thrill of it all replaced by a "Hey, can you film this vertically?". Stack clips, psssh, the feed never sleeps. Gone are the days when the skaters out numbered the filmers. Gone are the days when the only time a camera came out, was when someone was actually trying to put some shit down.

I’d like to see this performed as slam poetry.  Simply beautiful.

[Banned from the room]

i haven't read it yet, i'm just about to.

must say though, how many times can you ask this question? obviously it's dead compared to what it was, but if you're interviewing someone who just released a full length video, they're not dead.

i think 15 minutes can be "full length"

edit: have read it now. as the person below said, still a good read.

Mystic Advisor af too.

I wonder if they asked Josh for the winning numbers too?

The future is Dern bros. They have a timemachineand own the future.

It's why they land everything first try.

[JM]

"The purpose of the video is to get these guys seen, and then you're gonna rob them of their name title? That trend kinda pisses me off"

The year was 1999. Humanity was in dire straits as Y2K loomed on the horizon, however a new virus had already been unleashed. The death of credit. The Reason was never given, but the Modus Operandi was clear, and Rusty from Maine was at the forefront trying to stop this invasive species that was hell bent on wiping out a key link between scenes.

No longer would you meet a stranger in the streets and catch their name, and the memory of the line they did in that video filmed thousands of miles from your present location would run through your visual brain waves.

Now we zoom in on faces and logos. Trigger happy index fingers smashing down optical zooms. All those print magazines that once provided a point of reference, acting as a guide to how a skateboard trick could be documented properly and with grace, the majority consumed and replaced by the matrix.

The thrill of it all replaced by a "Hey, can you film this vertically?". Stack clips, psssh, the feed never sleeps. Gone are the days when the skaters out numbered the filmers. Gone are the days when the only time a camera came out, was when someone was actually trying to put some shit down.

That just made my day, reading that post.

Fuckin’ beautiful.

[Cool Ceith]

Between this and "what do you think about skating in olympics?" it's tough choice for the most annoying question in skateboarding

And a three-way tie with "Was that switch?"

[Suangi]

Whenever a headline is a question the usual answer is no and I think that is the correct answer to this question.

I see the full length going in a slightly different direction and perhaps becoming annual or bi-annual compilations of their rider's footage. I don't see why footage that has already been posted somewhere else cannot be used in a tight re-edit.

There's so much scope for full lengths that I don't think they will ever go

[GOKU]

Fancy Lad full length “Power Suck” coming pretty soon

[whaaaaat]

I am at once nostalgic for the full-length, but also unlikely to sit and watch a new full length. It was interesting in the article where he's seemingly talking about the surprising popularity of full lengths as evidenced by selling out DVD's on their site still but the numbers he's talking about selling are 5, 10, 30, and 150. I know skate DVDs are a nitch thing, but dang those are some teeny tiny numbers.

[backside_frontside]

What's more concerning to me is the slow demise of the career-defining part. There are just less and less of those iconic, career-encapsulating video parts these days. The most recent example I can think of is Yuto's part this year.

Josh is right that a full length allows you to fully flesh out the look and feel of your company and give it an aesthetic identity. You loose that with short edits/montages. When full length videos were the norm, you knew what a Girl video felt like, you knew what a Flip video felt like, you knew what a Zero video felt like, they had an aesthetic and a certain editing style.

This is what disappoints me with Frog and why I wished they'd film a full length. I want to see a cohesive visual representation of what Frog is, with the whole team having footage (even Jalba lol). What does a Frog video feel/look like? We may never no tho and all of the team's footage will be spread out in random edits and stand alone parts.

[yghartsyrt]

"The purpose of the video is to get these guys seen, and then you're gonna rob them of their name title? That trend kinda pisses me off"

The year was 1999. Humanity was in dire straits as Y2K loomed on the horizon, however a new virus had already been unleashed. The death of credit. The Reason was never given, but the Modus Operandi was clear, and Rusty from Maine was at the forefront trying to stop this invasive species that was hell bent on wiping out a key link between scenes.

No longer would you meet a stranger in the streets and catch their name, and the memory of the line they did in that video filmed thousands of miles from your present location would run through your visual brain waves.

Now we zoom in on faces and logos. Trigger happy index fingers smashing down optical zooms. All those print magazines that once provided a point of reference, acting as a guide to how a skateboard trick could be documented properly and with grace, the majority consumed and replaced by the matrix.

The thrill of it all replaced by a "Hey, can you film this vertically?". Stack clips, psssh, the feed never sleeps. Gone are the days when the skaters out numbered the filmers. Gone are the days when the only time a camera came out, was when someone was actually trying to put some shit down.

someone leave a gnar here. Thanks.

What's more concerning to me is the slow demise of the career-defining part. There are just less and less of those iconic, career-encapsulating video parts these days. The most recent example I can think of is Yuto's part this year.

Josh is right that a full length allows you to fully flesh out the look and feel of your company and give it an aesthetic identity. You loose that with short edits/montages. When full length videos were the norm, you knew what a Girl video felt like, you knew what a Flip video felt like, you knew what a Zero video felt like, they had an aesthetic and a certain editing style.

This is what disappoints me with Frog and why I wished they'd film a full length. I want to see a cohesive visual representation of what Frog is, with the whole team having footage (even Jalba lol). What does a Frog video feel/look like? We may never no tho and all of the team's footage will be spread out in random edits and stand alone parts.

totally agree here – it's rare to see videos nowadays that are as cohesive as the first Alien Workshop or Toy Machine ones. I wouldn't go as far as saying that this has totally vanished, but it is absolutely rare. The Asics video was in that direction.

[No Wave Comply]

Josh gave like four teams of your favorite skateboarded Covid 19 lol
And all the 101 videos was like under 15 minutes. Lol
 
4x19= 76

loL

The three 101 videos were actually under 10 minutes long, which is hilarious considering all the hand-wringing over the "death" of full-length skate videos.

PS - This may be the first time I've actually understood one of jinn's zany comments.

[Frank Sobotka]

Thrasher should scrap SOTY and have the inaugural TVOTY (Team Video of the Year), lauding top class videos and celebrating the collective effort of all the skaters, filmers, video editors, producers, team managers etc. as opposed to a skaters individual effort.

I'd rather see less of the short throwaway videos throughout the year if it meant more epic masterpieces spread out. Bit of a pipedream to expect in this late stage of aggressive infinite production on a finite planet, though.

[Banned from the room]

Fancy Lad full length “Power Suck” coming pretty soon

Fuck yeah.

Next time I should send a friend trick. I love FL