Featuring:
Kernius Trakymas, Jonathan Hidma, Jonas Ganzeveld, Lois Aznar Viudez, Liam Boticellij, Wikke Olivier, King van den Ban, Wisse de Weerd, Isha Wiechers, Leo Crochin, Emile de Vos, Geerten Harmens, Miko Tjon Ajong, Giosuè, Rakim Foy, Gabriele Fegez, Léa Shamaa, Finn Sceats, Tobias Zoomers, Hannes Drißner, Pedro Neves, Sam Gerbens, Bert Idenberg, Jerrico Garcia, Odin Mcfarlane.
Before we get into talking about the filming process, I think it's important to explain the title of the video from the start. Despite the first word being a slur in historical anti-Romani contexts, the title is far from that, and much more innocent. It's actually a reference to one of the robot characters in the science fiction movie franchise, ‘Pacific Rim’.
Choosing that name as the title also has a random origin story, from a conversation the guys were having on a session. King v.d Ban told me that on one of the days of filming with a big crew, they were talking about the movie ‘Pacific Rim’ and how these robots would be fighting Kaijus, a race of genetically-modified amphibians (some good ol’ street session discussions). Then, King said the words “Gipsy Danger”, the name of a robot, otherwise known as a “Mark-3 American Jaeger” (whatever that is). Somehow, those words carried really well through the sweaty ears of everyone that day that it felt right to make it the title of all these clips they'd been stacking for months. And there you have it, the origin story of the title of the video. Speaking of, the lettertype for the title and the moving characters were made by Eno Brussee. S/o Eno for the sick visuals!
Jonas and Jonathan tell me that the first song in the video is a mix of tracks by Quest & Enrica Falqui, which they found on their set for Rinse.fm. In it, there's a distorted voice in an electro/techno song about Den Haag (very fitting for a video shot mainly in Amsterdam). Either way, the combination of grimy sounds with dark clips shoots you right into the bitter cold Dutch streets with a collection of night and garage sessions.
I sat down with Jonas and Jonathan to talk about the filming and editing process after the second screening at PARK, Amsterdam. With a beer in hand and a sjekkie in the other, sitting outside with Jonathan fingerboarding lighters on the table (I must say, it's quite the noise distraction when listening back to the interview tapes), we spoke about the music, the spots, the main ideas, and the skaters.
Lea: Tell me a bit about the filming and editing process. You both worked on the video, how did you balance that?
Jonas: We had a big portion of the first part of the video already edited and we started getting more clips and filling it in by what works.
Jonathan: The vision was always to have music produced by homies and Liam had a really funky sound that we used. We happened to cross a Billy Hoogendijk set for Close Friends radio and he used Stereolove Brazilian funk remix and by coincidence it was in the same exact key as Liam's tune. They beat-matched on top of each other.
Jonas: Yeah, there were actually just so many moments when things just fell together and making minor adjustments so it works.
Lea: How about the premiere? How was the crowd reaction?
Jonathan: It was insane, people were unhinged. Super ignorant vibes. Ignorant in the sense of skaters who really don't care.
Jonas: The Arnhem boys definitely started the yells every time. They were great.
Lea: How old is the oldest clip in the video?
Jonas: I think Lois’ crooked on the white ledge. We had footage before but I bought a new camera a year ago and [Lea: you wanted to use it.] Yeah. But yeah, it's like a year old. It was pretty fucking cold during filming but we tried to catch the feelings of the streets on the video, just grimy and cold.
Jonathan: I guess, music-wise, Moin had the classic traditional rock feel but even still progressive and new age with their electronic sounds.
Jonas: I've been obsessed with that band for the past 2-3 years. It's nice to skate to it as well because the drums are very heavy.
Lea: Dude, Kernius’ ender though. Can we talk about it? Was it really a joke at first?
Jonas: He's definitely the biggest player. Yeah, we sent a picture of it to him with a “💀” because you're sending stuff to people but if they get hurt, [Jonathan: you don't want to be responsible for that]. Yeah you don't want to push them too much.
Jonathan: Kernius is a tank. Wisse said that every time he watches him skate, it looks like his last day on earth. [Jonas: Wisse was also great with seeing something and trying it with big tricks. He doesn't care]. Yeah, he's a tank too.
Little fun fact: I asked King and Wisse which spot took the most effort to skate and they agreed on the ledged triangular rail (you’ll know what I’m talking about when you watch the video). They skated that spot just four days before the premiere, located next to De Nieuwe Anita in West. Before filming, they both said how they would pass the spot on separate occasions and imagine the trick possibilities for a long time before actually approaching it.
Jonas: I feel like a lot of things came naturally. Also, just the missions we had just started with a spot in mind and we ended up somewhere else at the end of the day. Definitely, the main mentality of the video was just trying to find spots that weren't skated as much and to open up the spot. Even just the centre of Amsterdam is very weird and rough and you can't really practice for it. You got a lot of pedestrians as well. But we wanted to show the city through how we see it.
Jonathan: You know, Anthony Pappalardo is like a visionary spot hunter. In ‘Fully Flared’, all the other parts were super techy but his New York part was ahead of its time. If you look now, all the skaters in NY are running up his spots. Even though he may have done the simplest trick there, he did it first. Instead of going to Leidseplein and getting overwhelmed by everything there that's been done.
Jonas: We were actively trying to avoid ABD's because we're not like ‘super good’ so that's our strong point in hunting new spots to skate. It's also a great way to bike home. Like “Oh I haven't seen that corner of the street before” and then you find some weird sort-of skateable stuff. We had a kind of a vision but it's also just what Amsterdam can give you and liking how the city looks and seeing what works. It just comes to you when you do it.
Prior to finding a spot to skate, people would discuss it during the mornings of the day itself at the 'Gypsy Danger’ headquarters, otherwise known as the WhatsApp Group chat. The selection process of choosing a spot was very democratic too; either people sent in their personal spot preferences, saying what trick they had in mind there and they'd decide on a general area in Amsterdam and start from there.
Lea: How many more new spots do you think you can find in Amsterdam after all these random finds?
Jonas: Much more. It's not infinite but there's definitely more. Next video will have much better weather and many more day clips. That's a challenge, for me, because I’m better at grading at night and there's also much more elements you can play with. But we'll see.
One of the first filming sessions I joined for the video was on a really cold, dark, and windy day and I remember just being impressed by how long all these guys could stand in Amsterdam's low temperatures, watching someone battle a trick. With hands in their pockets and shivering shoulders, they guided tourists away from the obstacle being skated and watched the attempts for hours until there was a make, or not…
For a little backstory on the ender, we pulled up to the spot initially as a joke, until Kernius started waxing the ledge and going for his attempts. And, jeeez, it was crazy to see him do that in real life. Luckily, it was a clear sunny day with little people walking around the area, so we were able to sit there for a while. Since there was an alleyway under the stairs, people were passing by every 5-10 minutes, walking next to the wall, unknowing of what was happening above their heads. I must admit, I was on the edge of my seat each time he went for it while someone walked under him, not knowing if his board would fall on the stairs or shoot out to the other side and hit somebody.
Fortunately, that didn't happen and right when the daylight was about to fade away completely, Kernius took a sip of beer. The words ‘serum’ came out of his mouth as he described the beer cleansing his body and mind. And with the next attempt, he landed the noseslide. For a solid 3 seconds after he touched the ground, there was a moment of silence because we couldn't believe our eyes. And before you knew it, Kernius was on the floor with Wisse, Lois, and Jonathan pouring beer into his mouth.. and then into his eyes…