Fred Mortagne

What were some of the difficulties of the Shoot To Thrill weekend?

It was mostly our concept—it wasn't the easiest, so it complicated things very much. But, we liked our idea a lot.

What do you mean? What was your concept?

Reflections, for every single shot, in glass, water, chromed objects, mirrors...so that made everything complicated of course.

What sort of schedule did you keep?

We used a 10am to 7pm schedule. I only chose daylight filming, and we were doing non-skating shots in the mornings.

What was the team’s overall strategy and goals?

We were trying to do something visually interesting, original, and different—something other than what you can usually see in skateboarding. We didn't have the goal to film as many tricks as possible, nor in getting hammers. We focused on the esthetics of skateboarding; the style of it.

Was it hard to motivate anybody?

No, they were all into it. They put in a lot of effort—skating a lot, getting things done, being patient, and re-doing things. It's not easy to skate under these special conditions, and they never complained. They handled it very well. It was a good team, with good guys.

How much did alcohol play a part in your weekend?

0%!!! There wasn't a single beer around during our whole mission—just a few Ming juices got swallowed in!

What do you think is the key to success with this type undertaking?

It’s import to come with something that is not formatted. There's only one reason I hope we win: we didn't focus or worry about getting hammers done, but skating still had an important role, of course. I think skateboarding is too focused on the big action these days, and it's forgetting about the style.

Which other team do you think is your biggest competition and why?

I have no idea. We were not competing, just doing our cool little project. I personally don't do it for winning, just for the opportunity to do a cool piece. I hope it works out in the end! It's hard to wait for the films to be processed!