How French Fred Innovated Filming With éS’ ‘Menikmati’

20 years ago, skate videos were big-budget affairs that were years in the making. It was during this golden era that filming techniques that have become staples in skateboarding were still being invented. The rolling long lens is a prime example. French Fred Mortagne recalls how it came to be in a new interview with SOLO reflecting on éS‘ Menikmati two decades later.

How did you come up with the rolling long lens? The “Frangle.”

I wanted to try to be innovative, and I also wanted to have some sort of cinematic shots, like the dolly shots in movies. After a few useless tries, sitting on my board, standing behind a fence, and creating some motion with my body and board, I figured out that a skateboard could be a perfect dolly system, without the need of anything else, except smooth ground! I started to practice on certain sessions when the conditions were gathered. But when it came to film like this for real hammers, I remember Koston telling me “you are not going to film my trick like that aren’t you?” He was scared. But I knew what I was doing, and reassured him that I praticed enough, to be in control the whole time. I knew this was a game changer. The result was epic and new.

Take a trip down memory lane here.

Image Via Jody Morris / SOLO