Tyler Rizzi hooked up this dope edit of Zach St Clair shredding some of his local spots/parks surrounding Markham, ON. Zach kills it and Tyler did an awesome job putting this together. Keep your eye on this kid!
Current Setup?
Panasonic Hvx 200p Century Xtreme Fisheye Cavison support rails and occasionally my girlfriends Cannon t5i.
First setup and what got you into filming/editing in the first place?
First true setup was a Sony Vx2000 with an Mk2 fisheye. (bought it off a guy who used it to film finger boarding…) before that I had this dad cam my dad used for work with a modded fisheye which had way to much vig, but it was awesome!
I’d say what got me into it was probably just having footage/videos to look back on. That and creating something to share with others, and portraying bmx/trips the way I wanted to express them.
Who are some of your favorite people to film and what have been some of your favorite edits/ parts you’ve done?
I generally enjoy filming everyone, friends, pretty much anyone who loves riding bmx and is enjoyable to film, and by that I mean has fun.
As for favourite edits/parts I’d have to put “RVBC AIN’T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT” at the top of that list. To me that trip was everything bmx is about for me, the video just came together so naturally, and still to this day I can look back and enjoy that video as much as I enjoyed the trip. Watching it now, I can still remember every detail of the trip, that is probably my favourite part about it. It is also probably the only video I have made where I would not change anything after watching it a few times, that is saying something, I can usually always find something in my own work that I wish I did differently. https://vimeo.com/50702794
Others I enjoy are:
The Tables and Tribulations of James Van De Kamp https://vimeo.com/45334718
Can you take me there. https://vimeo.com/37151246
Owen Dawson – Division Brand https://vimeo.com/105319109
There’s Cheng! https://vimeo.com/56645416
Coming from someone who’s filmed SD and HD, what’s your take on that debate?
I love both. My biggest thing with HD is texture. When you see SD footage it always has a distinct texture to the film, making it timeless in my opinion, much like old photos, they just have a look to them that is timeless. Now that HD has become the norm, texture in film is becoming more noticeable in certain cameras and peoples work. There is no denying HD is the way to go these days, no tapes, no frame drops, and a very clear visual experience. Cameras are only getting more and more amazing however I don’t think I will ever have a setup I will love more then my VX1000 Mk1 lens tho. I still try and stick to the classic style of filming I grew up watching, low and close, skate style if you may. Like everyone says it’s not the camera, its how you use it, can’t be more true.
As a sponsored rider do you ever find it tough to balance filming and riding? Is it tough for you to get footage of yourself that your stoked on the footy, like that is filmed as well as you try to film others?
No not really, I do find I will either get into filming or riding during a session tho. Its hard to go from filming to riding, my mindset for both are pretty similar, when i’m in front of the camera I am giving it my all and when I am behind the camera I try just as hard. For me it is just as rewarding seeing your friend get a clip and knowing you did your best to make it look good.
Filming is not always super easy, and I feel its hard to answer that question, obviously there is a way I imagine a clip looking, I won’t ever be able to not in vision a way something could be filmed. I think that is a good thing tho. I’m pretty lucky having guys like Luke Santucci and Brad Hill living in the same city as I am. Both of them know there way around a camera very well. Also have a few other friends that are pretty good at filming, I’m very thankful for that.
Any tips or advice you can offer any young filmers out there that you wish you had when you were getting into it?
I feel that most everything I learned about filming was pretty much self taught. More then anything what I felt helped me was watching videos from the filmers standpoint. Put yourself behind the lens in every clip filmed in the video and you will start to figure out what angles work for what stunts. Other tips would be keep the camera steady, don’t be afraid to get close with the fisheye, learn to film lines on a skate and be pride full in what you are doing. But most of all have fun with it!
DAMN I’m stoked on this! My dudes from Moncton, NB went hard on this hefty, all street mixtape. Featuring hidden gems 3rd place winner Matt Comeau, as well as Andrew Phillips, Alexis Leger, Zach Stokes, Josh Gagnon, Chad Wright, Corey Fraser and Kolin Smith. This young gun crew is sure to impress with awesome vibes all around.
Name, age, where your from and where you currently reside?
Ryan Eles, 22, from Sudbury Ontario, currently living in Markham Ontario.
How long have you been riding and what got you into riding?
Riding for about 7 years now. My brother and his friend’s all mountain biked, I thought it looked sick so I got one. Once the skatepark in Sudbury was built I started going there and seeing all the dudes on BMX, it looked like way more fun. I always would bug then to use there bikes then eventually I went out and bought one.
How did growing up in Sudbury influence you and your riding?
I grew up pretty close to the skatepark so I rode there a lot. I was pretty into skatepark riding and box jump tricks before I met and started riding with most of the older dude’s. They would always bug me to about riding street and if I would ever throw on a set of pegs. Sudbury has a limited amount of spots and every things really spread out so it kinda forced me to make best of everything no matter how rideable or how good the spot was. Shout-out to those dudes for making me put on pegs haha.
Do you think there’s a difference between riders who grow up in smaller areas like Sudbury compared to bigger areas with unlimited spots? Do you appreciate things more having had such limited stuff to ride?
Big time. In smaller town’s you can search all day and maybe find 1 or 2 spots. Most of the time your driving spot to spot. It’s crazy to go to a bigger city that your totally unfamiliar with, pedal around and find a handful of amazing setups. I feel like so many people take having crazy amounts of perfect spots for granted. Having limited spots definitely makes you appreciate spots a lot more and I think it make’s you less likely to look past something that could be deemed unrideable or sketchy.
What are some of your favorite cities or towns that you’ve traveled to to ride?
I’d have to say Montreal or Toronto. There’s so many unique spots and so many good people to ride with, you can’t go wrong.
Favorite video part?
I’d have to say Garrett Reynolds in Deadline.
This one comes from anonymous: When are you going to stop lying to yourself and buy a VX?
bahahahahahahahahah when the dinosaurs come back. Thanks Joel
What’s your favorite trick at the moment?
360 Double Tailwhip to footjam…bahaha. I’ve been messin with a lot of tire rides lately. So much fun. But you can never rule out a good crank arm.
Why the move to Markham?
Me and Joel Fortin had been talking about it for a few months during the summer. Basically we wanted to be closer to Toronto for insane amounts of spots but also wanted to be closer to Joyride 150 so that we can ride during the harsh Canadian winters EH!. It worked out that we both got jobs at Joyride and Markham isn’t that far from downtown. It was just the perfect situation and I’m definitely stoked on it.
Your welcome to Federal edit got a good amount of attention and for good reason. How long did you film for it and how stoked are you to ride for Federal?
Thanks man! Really stoked on how everything turned out. I’d say I filmed for about 4 or 5 months for it. And I couldn’t be more stoked on riding for Federal. Everything they make is sooo dialed and I’ve looked up to all the dudes on the team forever. Huge thanks to them for the opportunity!
What do you think of the competitive nature in BMX these days? With more kids seemingly only interested in getting sponsored or winning contests, you grew up in a tight scene, making scene videos and obviously having a positive outlook on riding
It’s crazy man. It just seems like there not having fun. All they seem care about is the tricks that they can do and if there better then the next person. Constantly trying to one up everyone just to prove themselves. BMX is suppose to be about having fun with the homies. Don’t get me wrong, there tons of dudes doing there own thing with there friends, and that to me is way more refreshing then watching some kid trying to kill himself just to prove he’s the best. We made a local Sudbury DVD a couple years ago, and it was so much fun. We didn’t care about how good the footage was or who was gunna see it, we just wanted to put something together that we were stoked on and showed our scene in Sudbury. That to me is whats BMX is about.
What’s your tinder closing percentage?
No comment … hahaha (****note for the ladies, Ryan always swipes right****)
Haha wow, plenty of fish percentage?
hahaha man, I don’t have plenty of fish.
Who are some of your favorite riders and also riders you feel are under the radar?
I gotta say Garrett Reynolds, Bruno Hoffman, AK, Ty Morrow and Alex Donnachie would be just a few. Joel Fortin and Joel Marchand kill it. There are so many Canadian dudes that are slept on.
What are a few cities or spots youd love to ride over the next few years?
I wanna get out to San Diego or Barcelona. Both those cities have the most insane spots. Basically paradise.
What’s the plan for the next year now that you’re in TO?
Pretty much just ride as much as possible with all the homies. Having Joyride super close in the winter is key. Best place to beat the harsh canadian winters. Hopefully go on a couple trips during the summer too.
What’s the best/ weirdest Sudbury story you have?
Not much goes on around sudbury lol. One time we were shovelling out the skatepark in april. And we see these kids, who turned out to be a bunch of scooter kids, pushing this big ass snowblower down the street. Apparently these kids walked like a kilometre or 2 with a snowblower. Other then that theres some classic bar stories, but well leave those classified lol
Thanks for doing this. Any last remarks, shout outs or words of wisdom?
Anytime man! Thanks for hooking this up. Shout out to Joe at Federal, Jeremy at OGC, Jay and Stu at Vans Canada and Mark and Tim at Howey Bros! Stoked to meet and cruise with all the Toronto locals this year!
Also thanks to all the Sudbury dudes (to many to name) for getting me into bmx and for all the good times!
You can still swoop a free copy of the full DVD wherever Merritt products are sold. Get to your local shop ASAP and threaten them with a taser.” Charlie Crumlish
