Interview: Henry Genualdo Kingsford.
An interview with filmmaker Tom Pickard about his upcoming video mission, Particles.
Discuss us by your transfer from London to Hastings a few years again.
I’m initially from Bexhill-on-Sea, which is the following city on from Hastings, however I moved as much as London in 2009 and lived there for 13 years. After Covid, me and my girlfriend had been form of over London and the price of dwelling. There was no actual purpose for us to be there any extra due to distant working, so we began desirous about transferring out. Bristol was on the playing cards as we had some buddies there, however then Richard Moore from Supply BMX in Hastings hit me up about pushing the skate aspect of issues there and requested if I might be focused on heading the mission. On the time, I used to be dropping the love for digicam and directing work, which was my principal job, so I believed: “Why not make a change, transfer to the coast, see how issues go?” We moved down in Might, 2022.
Briefly, inform us about Jumble Sale, the video you made for Supply again in 2022.
Jumble Sale was all about displaying the scene and all of the completely different skaters and kinds locally, getting folks skating collectively and creating some hype within the native space.
And for functions of readability, am I proper in considering your new video Particles is an impartial mission?Sure. It is a video that comes purely from me. It’s not a Supply video; it’s a video by Tom Pickard. The Supply has clearly supported, however that is me filming outdoors of labor hours with individuals who I respect and are prepared to skate some fairly crusty spots.
How did the Particles mission come about? Al (Hodgson) mentioned that Chris Collins was a catalyst.
I carried on filming after Jumble Sale, however to be trustworthy, there was not a lot traction. Slowly, I began getting clips of Sonny Wright and Sam Allison right here and there. In a method, Chris getting on board did heighten the mission, as a result of we began hitting a great deal of new spots in Kent and witnessing Chris’s strong capability on a skateboard. So it did step up a gear, nevertheless it was actually when Al Hodgson acquired correctly on board that the video turned an precise idea and began coming collectively.
I do know you had fairly particular objectives when it comes to the sorts of spots you wished to movie. Inform us about this.
I didn’t need to retrace previous spots or shoot ones that had been milked. I wished to search out new spots or make the most effective out of what we have now. I wished to point out that there are all the time extra spots to search out if you happen to look exhausting sufficient and that the tougher you attempt, the extra satisfying the end result.
What geographical space is roofed in Particles?
I wished to maintain the areas related to the skaters, so East and West Sussex and Kent, however there are some clips from Surrey, Essex and Cornwall too.
Have been you impressed by some other filmmakers’ work, when it comes to the spots you select to doc, but in addition how the movie seems to be?
Most likely subconsciously, however there wasn’t actually any particular video. Josh Stewart has all the time been an inspiration to me as a result of the Static movies have continually showcased contemporary, new, cutty spots in a really underplayed however pure method. (Dan) Magee’s Conor Charleson half Slight Inclination acquired me hyped as a result of it was a bit completely different and there have been some actually distinctive spots in there. You might actually really feel how tough they had been – nice texture ranges! When somebody like Conor is skating a spot that you’ve by no means seen earlier than, it usually means that he’s the one person who’s touched it, so you recognize it’s a really exhausting spot to make one thing out of. That is what I really like: the thought of wanting tougher, figuring out the spot, persevering after which lastly strolling away with one thing.
Give us a rundown of the principle folks in Particles and the way they got here to be concerned.
So there’s Sam Allison from Brighton, who I met by Jordan Marowitch. Sam is a rad child with an previous coronary heart. His Dad skates, so he understands the roots of skating and doing it for the suitable causes. Sonny Wright from Hastingsis additionally a younger one, however the nicest child I do know. I filmed him for Jumble Sale and form of simply carried on. He loves skating and being a part of the crew – excellent vibes. Mike Nicolls is an previous West Sussex head initially from Worthing, however now residing in Hastings together with his household. I randomly met him once we performed Somnium on the store. Al informed me about his appearances in previous Brighton movies and steered I movie with him. This discovery of an previous OG gem led me on to a different true OG: Matt Ransom! It was exhausting to pin Matt down originally as he’s such a lone, spur-of-the-moment form of man, however after some time he was actually behind the thought of discovering spots and began getting on it. I’ve all the time liked Matt’s skating and I knew he had extra in him. As I mentioned earlier than, Al Hodgson was integral to the mission as he’s such a power of nature in the case of spot looking. That man is on a mission and I used to be fortunately asking for pins on a weekly foundation. He actually lifted the idea and I’m very grateful to him for this. Chris Collins got here into the image early on. I met him on the Jumble Sale premiere and began seeing ins and outs of him on social media. I simply thought he was sick, so I messaged him to see if he can be focused on filming some stuff and he was into the thought. He’s such an excellent man and could be very concerned in varied scenes in Kent, all the time serving to folks out, going to jams and supporting small crews and homies. I favored the thought of getting varied skaters scattered throughout the south, showcasing spots native to them.
Al talked about to me that the timing of Particles was excellent for him, as after engaged on Somnium and Gradient, he wished a break from filming and skating in Brighton.
Yeah, Al has actually exhausted Brighton spots and I feel he was lacking the journey of simply getting out within the sticks and discovering new issues. It was good timing, as Harrison (Woolgar) was hyped on filming a Brighton video (Headz) and had that younger spark that’s wanted to present a scene video traction. We clearly filmed in Brighton, however I attempted to remain away and never tread on Harrison’s toes (an excessive amount of).
We’ve established that carefully-chosen spots are central to the mission. How did you go about selecting places?
It initially got here from the place the skaters had been primarily based, however then step by step expanded. Like Kent, for instance. Via Chris and going to some video premieres in Folkestone, I noticed native spots and naturally I wished to hit them up, particularly in the event that they had been fucked or haggard and wanted work. Then there have been the staple spots that we return to for movies that somebody can all the time work out new methods to skate, just like the Buckshole Reservoir financial institution in Hastings or the Newhaven lighthouse. The brand new finds had been an important although, as a result of skating untouched stuff is all the time the dream. Al discovered a spot behind a phone alternate constructing and it was excellent. Figuring out you may have a spot like that, which might be showcased and skated by completely different folks within the video, is what you want.
Discuss us by the way you went about discovering new spots (as in spots that, so far as we all know, hadn’t been skated earlier than) for the mission?
So for me, it’s usually simply biking or driving round, or often, phrase of mouth. I search for spots on Google Maps every now and then, however I don’t actually have time to try this recurrently. Once I was in London, I might all the time cycle an extended route or take a unique path, simply in case I discovered a spot, so I simply carried on doing that down south, however with extra driving than biking. Al is a spot fiend. He’ll go to locations particularly to verify for spots. He’ll be on Google Maps for hours, looking. He has a greater nostril for spots than me.
The spot with the handrails and banks by the A23 has an fascinating story behind it. Inform us about that.
I used to be driving again from Bristol very late, struggling to remain awake, and Al all of the sudden jolted up and began shouting. A automobile had come off the street and he had one way or the other observed that it had knocked over a handrail, probably leaving a financial institution down some steps open to skate. He went there the following day and the automobile had been cleared away, leaving the financial institution open. We needed to clear it up, nevertheless it was fairly rattling excellent. Then, on one other go to, Al wandered throughout to the opposite aspect of the principle street and located one other financial institution, which was about 3 times larger than the small one. It was fully lined in brambles, mud and particles. Myself, Al and Matt cleared the entire financial institution and once more, it was excellent: good run-up, good run-out, and with a cover of bushes over the entire space! We knew that each banks would look pretty on footage and in images, so over time we stored going there with completely different heads. There was additionally an evolution to the spot as a result of ultimately, they put in a brand new handrail on to the small financial institution. We had been fairly stunned about that, however in true Chris trend, he skated the handrail.
Are you able to speak about among the older, maybe semi-mythical spots within the area you visited and in some situations, excavated for the mission?
I had a listing of locations I wished to hit that had been skated some time again, however had been form of forgotten about, just like the Denge sound mirrors or the ocean partitions alongside the Kent coast, however after I discovered about spots additional afield, just like the Crabble financial institution in Dover, it was so satisfying to search out them, clear them up and make them skateable once more. The Crabble financial institution, as an example, is all the time moist as a result of it’s a pure nook the place rain can collect, however due to this, and the truth that it was as soon as a ’70s skatepark, we needed to hit it. One other one I used to be tremendous hyped on was in my dwelling city of Bexhill. South Cliff is a richer a part of the city, with massive homes that again on to the promenade. The promenade has banks that go as much as folks’s gardens – I feel they had been used to carry boats right down to the seaside. We used to skate elements of the spot once we had been younger, however there was one steeper financial institution that we by no means touched as a result of it was all the time lined in vegetation. I realised how good it might look on digicam, so we cleared that up and acquired a load of tips on it. Clearly it was exhausting to skate, however once more, the extra you place in, the extra you get out. This mission undoubtedly made our spot goggles stronger as a result of that was the impetus.
The Newhaven lighthouse has had some memorable appearances in movies through the years. How does what has occurred at a widely known spot like this earlier than, inform what you doc there and the way?
This was a tough one as a result of the lighthouse clearly labored very well for the video, however had been skated to demise. I knew I wished to go there, however needed to be cautious about tips, so I actually took Al’s lead on this as he knew all of the ABDs. I simply wished Al to have a trick there as a result of it’s considered one of his favorite spots and he has showcased that place very well in his Orwellian World Panorama again catalogue.
Have been any Particles missions notably memorable for any purpose, good or dangerous?
Someday we hit coastal spots alongside by Camber and St Mary’s Bay. It was an excellent impromptu crew: Jordan was over from Cornwall and Sam, Chris, Matt and Lizzie (Heath) had been down. We hit a bank-to-drop first, after which headed in direction of a seawall additional alongside the coast. En route, I acquired a puncture in a really desolate space and all of us pulled over close to a home surrounded by fields. As me and Chris had been getting the spare wheel out, Matt identified a picket mini-ramp within the backyard of the home. This brightened everybody’s temper. After altering the wheel, all of us headed over to the ramp. We spoke to a stunning girl who informed us that that they had made the ramp for her children and that she was hyped on us skating it. We had a very enjoyable session. This was an ideal instance of the kind of completely happy accident that may happen when venturing out road skating. I additionally had a whole lot of actually memorable missions with Al, which all the time meant lots as a result of he understands precisely what it’s prefer to be behind the lens.
Inform us about a few of your favorite clips within the video.
The apparent one is Sam’s wallride on Brighton’s promenade. He tried it so many occasions over three completely different periods and slammed tremendous exhausting, time and again, due to that tiny run-out. I wished him to roll away from it a lot as a result of he’s from Brighton and it’s fairly an notorious spot. When he did, I’m fairly certain I shed a tear. Chris’s Lewes roof ollie and Brighton rail feeble had been insane as a result of he did them one after the opposite, on the identical day. That was undoubtedly the gnarliest day of skating I’ve ever witnessed first-hand. The entire South Cliff clips are favourites as a result of I really like that spot a lot: the way in which it seems to be on digicam, the way in which the tips work for the financial institution, and it’s proper subsequent to the ocean.
How would you describe your total expertise engaged on Particles? From the surface wanting in, it appeared like a good way to spend a summer time, however I do know initiatives like this may be traumatic in some ways.
On the entire, I really feel that the mission has been actually rewarding as a result of we have now a strong crew and everybody will get alongside and has the identical purpose. Filming all through final winter was fairly brutal, however I really feel like that course of actually helped form the principle crew and pushed everybody to benefit from this summer time. The one stress got here from a number of ankle accidents that Chris needed to take care of alongside the way in which, however that man is a beast and might one way or the other get better in a matter of months.
Particles was accepted at this yr’s Vladimir Movie Competition. How vital is that this kind of recognition for you personally, and for the mission?
I simply actually respect impartial movie festivals. I’ve been to a fairly a number of previously with quick movies and I discover it very inspiring to be with like-minded individuals who share the identical values as you. I’ve all the time wished to go to Vlad, however by no means managed to, so I took the chance this time round with a mission that I’m actually pleased with.
What are your plans after Particles wraps up? Do you may have any new initiatives in thoughts?
To be trustworthy, I don’t know. I’m unsure if I’ve one other skate video in me. I’m method too previous for this shit. Sorry.
