The Mediated Culture of Skateboarding Videos

## Skateboarding videos as a visual media genre

### Basic elements

Skateboarding videos (commonly referred to as "skate videos") are a form of cinema that reflect the extreme sport of skateboarding through the actions and branding of its athletes. Skate videos are generally produced by specific companies or organizations within the skateboarding industry for the purposes of brand promotion or commercial distribution of the video itself and/or its related products. These videos showcase the exploits of skateboarders as they engage in their sport and often have their own uniquely applied production qualities that individualize and rarify the athlete, his/her team, and the brand constituency.

### History and early productions

The visual media genre of skate videos was created in the decade following the major cultural development of skateboarding in America at the end of the seventies. As skateboarding culture progressed into the 1980's it experienced dramatic increases in its gained recognition as a budding extreme sport, commercial applicability, and cultural relevance with children and teenagers. During this time many skateboarders officially became "professionals" and began traveling the world to compete and demonstrate their talents to the public. Many early video recordings from this period primitively showcased the sport, yet some producers effectively created production platforms that genuinely conveyed aspects of nuance in directing and applying specific storytelling values. You may click the link to this Skate Video Library in order to see original examples of both early and slightly younger productions. Take note of the dated qualities presented in relation to storyline, popular culture cues, and the types of media being used. Also, how these qualities noticeably shift as the production of skate videos becomes more advanced and presentation-oriented.

### Skate videos in the new century

With the introduction of the Internet and new digital video technologies the entire medium of skate videos has been redefined and reinvigorated within the culture of skateboarding. Skate videos are now higher quality and more dynamic than they have ever been in the history of the sport. Individuals are now also able to view and find videos and connect with peers, athletes, and industry representatives in more ways that have ever been available in the past.

## Aesthetics

Contemporary skate videos express a range of valued aesthetics through their arranged presentations of the sport within the visual and auditory mediums they occupy. Newer videos generally adhere to industry standards that reflect aspects relating to the pace and order of scenes, quality and difficulty of trick lines, and relative intensity of the production as a whole. However, each producer and skater has the opportunity to provide a distinct cultural reference point through their chosen production methods, style of skating, and personal attitudes. In his writings on digital media spreadability, Henry Jenkins refers to production methods such as these that actually have the ability to define "insiders and outsiders" within cultural communities. The facilitation of insider understandings and preference within skateboarding culture is what has largely driven the surge in skate video production advancements over the last thirty-five years. Refer again to the Skate Video Library in order to observe the aesthetics contained within each of the videos that span across years of skateboarding history.

### Shifts in theme and stylistic preference

Over the the years skate videos have evolved from simple recordings to company-sponsored production and with the introduction of the Internet the genre has seen an integral revolution in how skate video content is being created and distributed to consumers. In relation to the existing variety of aesthetic qualities observed in skate videos is a cache of packaged themes and stylistic preferences on attitude and behavior. Video producers often generate an specific attitude that reflects their opinions and attitude on skateboarding, thus creating a niche for themselves within the culture. Examples can again be found in the Skate Video Library.

## Participatory culture within skate videos

Thanks to recent technological advances there has been an explosion of available media content online within skateboarding culture. The average skateboarder or skate enthusiast can now very easily express themselves through online channels by either rearranging and/or sharing their favorite skate video content over the web. This in addition to having the ability to literally create skate videos themselves.

### Participatory factors

Skate videos no longer exist only in the realm of the VHS or DVD media platforms since the creation and recent increase in prevalence of the Internet. Websites like Thrashermagazine.com, TheBerrics.com, and Skateboarding.transworld.net have emerged as major cultural providers of digital skate video content in the last decade. These online environments support many increasingly creative processes within the skate culture and make the viewing, creation and sharing of content easy and fun for individuals.

### Media acceleration tools and networking processes

The presence and activities of media platforms such as Thrasher and Transworld have an accelerating affect upon skateboarding culture with all of their dynamic skate video contributions. Enormous amounts of hard work have become dedicated in developing platforms such as these and making sure that they are easy to view and use in circulating and share their favorite content. These platforms also serve the important purpose of archiving video content and information so that it can be searched and accessed at time and by any individual. The institutions are present on Instagram as well and thus cater to audiences by presenting compressed clips from the overall video with an accompanying link to see the content in full.

## Screencast video

Screencast Tutuorial Make sure you adjust the resolution so that you can see what I point out!