In the canons of surf and snow film, snow may have a small advantage – but only just – in terms of POV-like footage. Mostly because of Follow-cam lines that are typical in any great winter flick these days. The explanation of which goes without saying – top rider A follows top rider B down a line giving the viewer a whole new perspective. Surf has occasionally wandered into follow-cam territory, but the footage is overwhelmingly static – from the channel or a beach – unless shot via drone. It’s precisely the challenges of the dynamic on-wave-behind-your-buddy shot that we don’t often see that spurred Santa Barbara’s resident filmmaking savant, Morgan Maassen, to take a crack. The video you see above is Maassen’s entrée.
“Here is a short film I partnered with Nikon to make using the Nikon D7500,” says Maassen of the short. “A continuation of a longstanding photo series I’ve been working on photographing surfers while I surf alongside them… While the weather was wet and wild, Trevor Gordon and I found a few magic moments in our hometown of Santa Barbara, to share some perfect rides together.”
