Sports Basement - Bryant Street Grotto San Francisco, CA
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A DEEPER SHADE OF BLUE Surfing, 90 min adeepershadeofblue.com Opening Night Film
This is not a surf movie, it is a film about surfing's deepest roots: in the subconscious; in ancient lore; in the craft of surfboard building; in man's perpetual quest for a joyful relationship with the natural world. In eleven interwoven chapters, today's leading surfers are linked to those who came before, for a deeper appreciation of what it means to be a surfer and the soulful underlying power of modern surf culture.
Since the '60s McCoy has promoted, distributed, written, produced, directed and photographed dozens of surf movies. Along the way he has innovated the technology of capturing underwater imagery -- including the invention of specialized housings that allow cameras to be operated underwater.
But perhaps his greatest contribution is an underwater jet ski that lets the cameraman follow the action beneath the waves at a speed of up to 10 knots. McCoy perfected the system over two years of practice in Tahiti and now uses it (holding his breath for up to 90 seconds) to capture never-before-seen angles from the impact zone, where waves smash onto the offshore reef.
With "Blue," McCoy also made the transition from 16mm and Super 16 film, switching to lighter Panasonic HD cameras that record onto pocket-size P2 cards. Liberated from having to go back to shore to swap out film reels, he's now able to stay on the water for up to six hours.McCoy shoots with only one assistant on the water, plus a cameraperson who captures additional points of view from the shore. "If you do it right you can make it look like you've got a crew of 20," he said.
"Blue" used locations in Hawaii and throughout the Pacific. Its $1.8 million budget was provided by "a private investor who's made a lot of money from surfing," said McCoy. "It was over budget and behind schedule, but when you work hard on a production you want to get it right."
Like other McCoy films, "Blue" uses music with lyrics that he incorporates into the storytelling. The filmmaker has built connections with several musicians - including Paul McCartney, for whom he recently created a music video for the unreleased "Blue Sway," written 20 years ago. "I'm fortunate to have developed good relationships with artists who have allowed us to license songs within our budgets," he said.
This is a big picture of a memorable story, beautifully told. It is a film about feeling good to be aliveand it will make you feel good.
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Location
Sports Basement - Bryant Street Grotto (View)
1590 Bryant Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
United States
