Clouds and Drones for the #First Skate Revolution

Skateboarding in Budapest had its heyday in the ‘90s but, with only one skate shop and nowhere to skate, it only went – excuse the pun –‘downhill’ from there. Luckily, Hungarian skateboarder Balasz Jassek and Vodafone came up with a plan: organise the #First Skate Revolution in Budapest. To get kids away from their iPad screens and back onto their boards, they’ve not only brought back a derelict skate park, but shot a skate video that ‘breaks free from the usual style of skateboarding films’.

Vodafone & Balasz’ First Skate Revolution

Balazs’ #First Skate Revolution:

Since its humble origins as ‘sidewalk surfing’, skateboarding has always been about being individual, about self-expression and – most importantly – about being creative. ‘It has never been about what you can do, but how you do it,’ is a quote by LA skater Arian Chamasmany that sums it up pretty well. From finding the most adventurous spots to ollie, managing a killer kickflip or finding your downhill style, skateboarding is more than just a sport. But how do you keep that magical 360 flip nosegrind down the rail of the city hall with you forever? By filming it of course! Like a spray can belongs to the street rebel, video belongs to skateboarding.

Vodafone & Balasz’ First Skate Revolution

Vodafone & Balasz’ First Skate Revolution

In The #First Skate Revolution – The Full Story Balazs says,

When you start to skate, you suddenly see everything in a different light. Everything that seems to be normal architecture and things you haven’t noticed suddenly become interesting. Every crack in the road, every corner, every ugly post-communist structure, suddenly becomes a little pretty.

It’s exactly that – the art of capturing that special perspective, the beauty of that otherworldly view and participating in the subculture’s style that is the essence of skate videos. It might have started in 1978 with Hal Jepsen’s Skateboard Madness and further developed with Spike Jonze’s Video Days in 1991, and evolved in 2014 with deeply stylish films by, for example, Takahiro Morita of the Tokyo Z-Boys, but the urge to ‘collect a memory’ was always there. The Sony VX 1000, the Mark 1 Century Optics fisheye lens – also known as the ‘Deathlens’ – or more recently of course GoPros have been utilised to their capacity to perfectly capture the art of skateboarding. But what if drones did the tricky angles for you? It would look like this bad ass video by The Science of the Sick!

Vodafone & Balasz’ First Skate Revolution

Not only have Octocopters been used to record the first skate revolution, but drone technology has the potential to revolutionise skateboarding videos entirely. If you can afford it, the creative freedom to shoot from any angle you want to is yours. On top of that, Balazs also used Vodafone Cloud technology to connect with the hundreds of ‘revolution skaters’ across Budapest by taking photos – without worrying about data storage – to check the skate spots before putting them into context for the actual shooting of the film.

If used for the right reasons, the right technology can mobilise a revolution. In this case, it’s Balazs’ and Vodafone’s #First Skate Revolution, an initiative to give creativity back to the community!

Words by Christine Hogg

What do you think? Does drone technology enhance innovation and creativity in skateboarding videos? Share if you agree!

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Vodafone & Balasz’ First Skate Revolution

Vodafone & Balasz’ First Skate Revolution