If you are a cycling enthusiast, especially fixed gear cycling, then the names Colby Elrick and Macaframa will ring a bell. Macaframa , Colby Elrick and Colin Arlen’s brainchild, is a stylized film creation that pushed filmmaking methods in new original direction with the well recognized famous backdrop of San Francisco. The hard working, talented filmmaker, Colby was gracious enough to answer a few questions
Can you tell me a little bit about your film background, or how you got into filming?
Well, I kinda just jacked my grandpa’s camera when I was about 14 or 15 so my friend Matt and I could film each other skateboarding. He had some kind of media class a year or so later in high school that we would make skate videos for, and they would air on public access, haha. Not gonna lie...they were pretty fresh for public access. Then a couple years later, some friends from St. Louis flew out to skate for a couple weeks. I filmed them, and put together a 20 minute-long video. No computer, just a Hi 8 and a VCR we rigged. I'm pretty sure I didn't even have a computer then- some hood shit. After that, I didn't really film for a few years, just skated all the time, until I jacked my knee up. Because I couldn't really skate, I decided that I might as well do something to keep me around skating. I had a little money saved up, and got a VX2000 with a death lens, and started filming all my homies. Started sending stuff to 411vm, and to my surprise, my footage made it in on the first try. From there on out, I just filmed full-time, sending stuff in for different videos and companies, making shit money for all the damn work I put in... but I can’t complain because it was fun, and it led me to where I am now. No school, self taught. Thanks Grandpa! Rest in peace.
I met Colin through skating. We had mutual friends that we skated with, and we started skating and filming all the time after that. He didn't look like a Frenchie douche back then. He used to think he was Nate Jones (haha.) These are the link to Colin’s part we made about 6 years ago now. Funny stuff!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APLdBsEYf5g
When MASH came out it was one of the first films about fixed gear cycling in an urban city. Afterwards it seemed like the flood gates were opened and several other films came out. How did the idea come about for doing Macaframa?
Well to be honest, we actually started filming that first promo before we saw the MASH trailer. That’s why we just let it sit on the computer for so long. We didn’t think anybody gave a shit, or would want to see it. Once we saw the MASH trailer, we were hella pumped on it, thought ours was wack, and pretty much thought we were done working on it. Then one night, Colin was indulging on some medicinal marijuana (for his flaming case of hemorrhoids, which he has yet to cure), and decided to try to figure out how to use compressor (a video compressing program). He figured it out and put a piece on youtube. I woke up the next morning to my friend Chris Wilmore texting me, "Shits blowing up!" I obviously had no clue what he was talking about, but once I saw the hits we got, I made a Myspace page for Macaframa. We didn’t start filming for another year and a half after that. Our camera was broken, and we were poor folk. But to answer your question, it came about as pure fun, nothing more.
When I (and my friends) saw the short clips you and Colin Arlen made and posted on Youtube we were so stoked to see it. What was the feedback you got based on these short films?
Everything was really positive. We kept waiting to put something out, and have everyone just hate it. But for some reason that never happened....well not until that little fiasco with the dvd presales. Which wasn't completely our fault! We're slow, but the printers were much slower! and we had no clue what the fuck we were doing. But yeah, other than that everything was great. Thank you to everyone that has supported us along the way.
The stylized directing and framing in Macaframa are beautiful. Was that a main point or an emphasis in creating Macaframa?
It was definitely what we were going for, but at the same time, that’s just naturally how we shoot. So, yes and no. We also thought watching someone ride a bike around the city would get kinda boring, so we figured making the scenery, as well as the biking, a little more visually stimulating would balance it out. I think it worked?
When you where filming Macaframa, was it important filming the cityscape of San Francisco as well? It seems that the film is not only about cycling but about the Bay Area itself, as if it’s another character alongside with the riders.
Yeah, without a doubt! We wanted people that haven’t been to SF to get a feel for what it would be like to ride here or whatever, and to show how beautiful the city is, even in the shitty parts. There are tons of historic buildings with amazing architecture, and all kinds of weird shit. We just wanted to do the city justice, you know? Just be thankful you got to see the city, without having to smell it (ha ha!)
Now that several films about fixed gear cycling have come out, what new directions are cycling films going to need to go in order to distinguish themselves from what’s already been done?
Hmmmm good question.... I really have no clue. Style is all I can think of. The personal reflection of someone’s style, whether it be the film maker or the rider, translates big timeon film. For example, if you’re a douchebag filmer and your rider's tight, you’re going to have lame filming, editing, and music with some good biking. But it’s just going to make the rider seem less than what he really is, ya know? Basically just screws the rider over. Same goes for the other way around. Great filming and shit riding doesn’t work either. So I think if people put some thought and time into a project, it would be legit and it would be different from the other films, because you're using your own thoughts and ideas......hopefully. I’ve only seen a few fixed gear videos, so I’m mainly going off my experiences from skateboard videos, MASH, Bootleg, Death Pedal- all very unique and you can see the different styles come through them, in filming and riding style.
Besides film making, what other hobbies do you enjoy?
Skateboarding for sure, I’ve been doing that since I could walk. I like biking obviously. Lately, I have been trying some different riding styles from my normal steez. Got me a super fixie (haha.) Nate hooked me up with his MKE proto frame, and I was extremely hesitant about it at first. It just kinda sat there for a while, but once I built it up, I understood why all these kids are jumping on the band wagon. Shit is hella fun, I can’t do tricks, or even ride backwards, but it’s really fun smashing through the dirt and jumping stuff, and cruising the streets, hitting curb cuts and such. It gives me the feel I had as a kid when I BMX’ed. (dirt track riding). Still ride my track bike all the time, too, don’t trip. I’ve been shooting photos a lot. I use a tight old film camera my grandpa gave me, and it's pretty fun. I’m going to be doing that a lot more. Make a little book or something. I’m also a big fan of basketball playing and watching. Another really fun hobby I have is hanging out with my girlfriend Desire haha haaaaay HOW YOOOOU DOIN!
What other film endeavors are you working on?
Well we have quite a few. We just did a commercial for Leader bikes, featuring Massan. It’s looking good and should be out around the time you read this. We are going to be putting up a bunch of new lil shorts on the blog from time to time with these new cameras we got, just so you guys have a reason to check the blog haha. Then we have 2 projects I can’t talk about, but one will be out somewhat soon, and then the other is set for late summer or late fall. That one is something that I think OGs and the kiddies will love. That’s all I’m going to say about that. Besides film stuff, we have some clothes we are going to trickle out there soon, as well as some actual bike goods.
I assume this has been already asked to death, but what are the plans or status of Macaframa 2?
You are correct. Well the project I mentioned above won't really be Maca 2. It’s a Maca project, but nothing like the first one. So we are going to handle these 2 projects, and when we feel the time is right we will start on part 2. It took us over 3 years on the first one, so I don’t think we are totally ready to dive back into that again, right this moment. Ask me in the fall and I will have a better answer for you haha. For now, we are going to have some fun working on some other stuff.
Well thank you very much for taking time in answering some questions, kind sir. It’s been a pleasure. I (and everyone else into fixed gear cycling) look forward to the new projects you will be coming out with and shall be supporting it 100%.
For more information on Macaframa and related projects, please check out the website below.
Photos courtesy of Jason Maggied, Jason Rosete, Tsuchiya Yasu and Colby Elrick
No comments:
Post a Comment