Theories: Sam Jones & “Connetication”
[4 Mar 2017]-Intro/Questions: Lino Gonzalez
Whether the medium is DVD or Youtube, the feel of a full length style project that someone spent time on is always good. Sam Jones recently released his “Connetication” project which was filmed over the past year and a half mostly in Sam’s home state of Connecticut. I asked Sam a few questions about the video for our series of quick “Theories” interviews…
-Given that individual edits are commonplace, what made you want to make a full length style video?
Well, this was originally going to be a 5-7 minute mix style video that myself and my good friend Josh Foisey were going to make with riding from Javaun, myself and a few others. I ended up filming a lot with a few people early on, then started riding with a couple of the younger guys from my scene who were motivated to go out and find new stuff to ride. From there it just molded into a longer style video and all the guys were down to keep filming for it.
-As with any CT video there is a good amount of Uconn clips, are cops there still a bitch to deal with?
It definitely was pretty hard to ride there a little white back, but recently it’s been a bit easier.
-Noticed a healthy amount of new spots. What is your preferred method of finding new stuff, are you a IG/street view lurker or do you keep it old school and ride/ drive around?
A solid mixture of both. Generally, Javaun and myself would spend some time on internet/google maps during the week. On the weekends we would try to have certain spots we would want to go to, then just drive around and explore those areas. Our good friend Kevin Job helped us out with finding some fresh spots as well.
-I know you have ridden with skateboarders quite a bit over the years, are you influenced by skate videos or filmers?
I don’t watch skate videos too often, besides local ones, or a few that my skate friends will show me, but I definitely like the way certain skate lines are filmed. There has been a lot of awesome local skate scene type videos from around the area with some friends in it that I am psyched on.
-What’s the deal with that roof/storm door setup you barspun? How did finding that come about?
Javaun had recently gotten hurt and couldn’t ride but he was still down to go pedal around on his cruiser bike. We actually had no real plan that day but I brought my camera bag with me and we stumbled upon it tucked away off a side road.
-Since the video is SD/4:3 I gotta ask if you are a hardcore VX/SD guy or do you not really care?
I don’t really have a strong opinion on it. I appreciate both. I wanted to buy a camera 3-4 years ago, and a DVX setup was a somewhat cheap option that looks good so I got one. We are probably going to be filming HD for our next project.
-You rode to a classic Pete Rock track, and the rest of the music in the video has a smooth groovy feel. Is that a reflection of what you listen to on a daily basis?
For the most part, yes. I definitely wanted the music to reflect everyones riding and style well, but at the same time be the type of stuff I listen to.
-Did Javaun attempt to ride down any ladders for this video?
Thankfully no, haha. He almost did at one point, but thought twice about it this time.
-Are you into any conspiracy theories?
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Thanks Sam