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Dorkin' in York 10
With Dorkin' in York 10, Mark Eaton went about trying to "capture the feeling of riding" instead of making a "best of" Dorkin' video, and I think he accomplished this quite well. The video has parts with Mark explaining the history behind the Plywood Hoods (the riders who "star" in the Dorkin' videos), and has footage from the early days (Hoods and non-Hoods, riding and breakdancing). Most of the older stuff is from previous Dorkin' in York videos (including old Velodrome and Riders include the main Hoods — Eaton, Kevin Jones, Chase Gouin, Brett Downs, Mike Daily, and Dale Mitzel — as well as some of the many riders who have appeared in previous Dorkin's: Dave Mirra (who kids might be surprised to see flatlanding), Jay Miron, Joe Rich, Luc-E, Leif Valen, John Stapleton, and others. Watching the old footage shows you how far ahead of their time Jones and Chase were. The more recent stuff proves that they're still progessing and pushing flatland forward. Chase's cross-footed jumplash combos and on-the-pedal rolling tricks — all done brakeless — is nothing short of amazing. Jones does many tricks he invented (which is almost all modern tricks), including a pedaling wheelie into a deathtruck on the pedal, never using the back pegs at all. The editing throughout the video is great; older, classic stuff is nicely mixed in with newer footage. Musically, there are several "Eaton Mixes" throughout the video (only Mark can get away with mixing Big Daddy Kane into Steve Miller). Dorkin' 10 really does come off as a "riding video" rather than a video of riders and tricks. If that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, just see the video and you'll understand.
Modus Operandi
My favorite video right now isn't even a riding video: it's Transworld Skateboarding #10, Modus Operandi. Skating's rad, and this video has some incredible stuff from Marc Johnson, Brian Anderson, Mike Carroll, and Chany Jeanguenn (among others). There's burly leaps down stairs and off ledges, crazy gaps, and sick handrails (the long-ass handrail in the intro is so rad). But I prefer more technical stuff (probably because it's more similar to flatlanding — which I do) and this video's got plenty of that, too; crazy manual, grind and kickflip combos that I didn't think were possible outside of a video game.
But probably the main reason I like Modus Operandi so much is the quality. The editing is so good and spot-on. I could watch this video's opening over and over — I never get sick of it. Everything goes with the music, right down to when they land a trick. The filming, cinematography, and music throughout the video are all great as well. The only real complaint about Modus Operandi is this: it's ruined most other videos for me. I have a hard time watching riding videos (except for Nowhere Fast, Props productions, and Mark Eaton films) without thinking it's not up to snuff. That may be unfair to the kid making a video (as opposed to someone with editing experience and pro level equipment), but it sure shows what kind of stuff you could be getting for your money. Check out Modus Operandi if you can, even if you don't skate.
Infinite Pieces
I've heard nothing but fantastic reviews of Infinite Pieces, Chad Johnston's latest flatland video, so I was pretty excited to see it. Unfortunately, I think I may be the only person who's disappointed with it. I liked his past videos (especially Linkt and Connect), but this one didn't do it for me.
Let me first say that the riding is some of the best flatlanding you'll see anywhere. With the riders from around the world that appear in this video — Martti Kuoppa, Michael Steingräber, Matti Röse, Dan Rigby, Alex Jumelin, Morisake Hiroya, and many others — you'd expect that. (Martti actually has two sections: one at the beginning and one at the end.) There's stuff being done in flatland today that just shouldn't be possible; extremely difficult links that are just the beginning of an even more difficult string of tricks. But here's where I have a problem with Infinite Pieces. Music's a personal choice, and I know there are people out there who like the style of hip hop in this video, but it just drove me nuts: no bass, no flow, just fast talking over a beat. The other problem is with the filming; there were so many basic principles of shooting that were broken — poor lighting, shooting into the sun, not zooming in — that it was annoying. Attempts at artistic shots (shooting with trees and plants in the foreground) just didn't work out. Part of it is because videos like Dorkin' 10, Modus Operandi (see reviews above), Nowhere Fast, and the Props/Road Fools series set the level of quality a lot higher. Infinite Pieces isn't on the same level as those, and as a result it was difficult for me to enjoy.
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