The days of waiting ’til the end of the year for a video to drop are basically gone. It wasn’t long ago we had to lurk the pages of Alliance Wake Mag to see images of Justin Stephens shooting a film in order to get excited for its release…or even know that the release was coming. Nowadays we get to stalk Sean Kilgus as he takes us through the filming process with some behind-the-scenes clips and get amped again for a physical copy to be released (Prime coming soon, yo!). Yet I have to admit there is something absolutely magical about downloading a film like Drop the Gun.
Today, viewing content is all about the convince of my iPad and streaming video directly to my big ass TV 8 ft in front of me. I mean…is it laziness or convenience that makes me glad that I don’t have to get up and put the disc in, or search through dozens of DVD cases to find what I want to watch because I blew it and didn’t put it back in the right case?
It’s both.
Don’t get me wrong. You know I’ll happily get off my ass to put in Push Process DVD or re-do the cables so I can watch Sfumato on VHS. They are classics and their intrinsic value is in their format. I want to watch them in the way in which I’ve always watched them. Downloading and/or streaming wake content to view digitally has simply become the new standard. Let’s be honest – if every wake video from back in the day was digitized rather that put on DVD, I’d bet 90% would go with the digital version. Why? Lazy or convenient? Again, it’s both. Today’s generation want what they want and they want it now. I myself would like to own hard copies of a ton of older films in which I’ve worn the VHS out or simply lost over time, however I too am slipping into the crack of convenience.
Regardless of the format, video was and is king. Today we are inundated with killer web edits from the best riders from all over the world. It’s how we really get to learn about new riders, see what new tricks are being landed, or check out exactly what that new cable park looks like. We are all about the web edit. Spreading out content in a miniseries vs. an 18-minute edit just gets me. It’s like the ultimate tease at the end of a House of Cards episode where I’m like, “There goes my night. Now I have to watch the entire season tonight.” Take Shredtown, for example. These dudes from Texas roll out footage of some of the most unique riding ever seen and we, the collective internet lurkers, were like “Holy sh!t these dudes are fun” and couldn’t wait for the next video. From your 15 seconds of Instagram fame to multiple-part series you are more likely to have higher engagement today more than ever with video. You want to get recognized? Make a video edit. You want to be sponsored? Make a video edit. So this goes out to all the lake crews out there riding with their buddies and who believe that they are killing it. Make a video and show everyone how much fun you are having. Tag all your stuff appropriately and send it to the manufactures and retailers (like us) and I bet you we will share them. Video is and will be the number one way for us to grow and spread the industry of wake. That or when the mental image sharing thing happens in the future.
