Why Surf Films Will Never Win An Oscar | StabMic Ep. 22

“I used to just drift through the world and have all these magic moments surfing. Now, I try so hard to make them happen, and it’s just so rare. I can’t believe how lucky I was.” For those suffering from Dane deficiency, some numbers: in the average StabMic episode, Dane accounts for roughly 15% of the single-camera shots. This time, he's north of 50%. Which is to say: this is the most Dane-heavy conversation we've ever released. For the starving, for the long winter, for the Reynolds romantics, here's your feed in full. First, a few bones from the carcass before we hand you the entire beast. Y2K is out. “It’s cool to get inspiration from the past, but to completely replicate it is weird.” On the fear of being stuck in the past: “Sometimes I wonder if I'm playing in a dated format, making surf films. But making 15-second clips for Instagram just doesn’t excite me.” On the architecture of a good surf film: “You’ve gotta create some sort of a narrative or a storyline. A lot of the time I like to edit body positions to match, from frame to frame. It’s not like a Marvel movie or anything, but you’re definitely carrying the viewer through it. It needs context. In my opinion, what makes a film is carrying from wave to wave, from song to song. It needs some sort of arc.” “I feel like I’m sounding like a kooky artist or some shit. Like I’m making surf films more complicated than they are.” On music: “Say using a Rolling Stones track - the viewer already has that song embedded in their psyche. They already have an emotional connection to it, so the surfing doesn’t look fresh.” On the Instagram torture chamber: “It’s kind of maddening. Like a hot chick that's having a margarita at sunset at a nice pool… you're just like, cool. Really glad for you. Stoked for you. What the fuck!” On the creative process: “There’s no playbook for making things work… you’ve gotta trust your feeling. It’s a lot of feeling.” Alright then. Grab a fork. Dinner is served.