APPROACHING LINES

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LONDON SURF / FILM FESTIVAL

The coolest film festival in London… actually the coolest film festival anywhere. 

Vince Medeiros, Founder TCO London, Huck, Little White Lies
London Surf / Film Festival an annual celebration of the cream of international surf, film, art, culture.

THE IDEA

To produce a celebration of the cream of international surf, film, art, culture, bringing to the UK the very best surf films from around the globe accompanied by talks from surfing’s leading lights.

Founded by Chris Nelson & Demi Taylor

THE RESULT

Founded in 2011 by Chris Nelson and Demi Taylor, 2020 is the 10th Anniversary of the London Surf / Film Festival.

Attended by 2,000 surfers and creatives, it is the largest celebration of surf culture in the UK, a must attend event.

Hosted at iconic and underground venues across the capital, LS/FF curates 4 nights of sell out premieres – a hand picked programme of the hottest films from around the globe to inspire, enlighten and entertain.

Accompanied by talks with waveriding’s most inspiring heroes and icons plus gallery shows, live music and more, LS/FF elevates and navigates the intersection of surfing and culture.

LS/FF generates some 5 million press impressions annually.

THE APPROACH

We wanted to produce an international festival that celebrated the very best of contemporary surf / film / art / culture / while rooted in the heart of the UK scene. Celebrating and elevating the intersection of surfing and culture, London Surf / Film Festival is a community, a destination event for surfers and surf creatives from the UK and beyond.

Founded in 2011, this annual 4 day event has grown to be the largest celebration of surf culture in the UK. Bringing to the UK the very best movies and projects, we work with the most exciting and relevant filmmakers and creatives from across the globe. Hosting packed out premieres, gallery shows, live music events and audiences we work with some of the most inspiring names in surfing – from world champions like Stephanie Gilmore, icons like Rob Machado, big wave chargers like Albee Layer and Paige Alms and creatives like Alex Knost and Lee Ann Curren.

Alongside the international programme, we established The Shorties. The short film competition is at the very heart of the festival and exclusively showcases emerging and established homegrown talent.

WE DO

We produce the event from inception to delivery, from programme curation and talent management to sponsorship, PR, marketing and activations as well as hosting live talks and Q+A’s with filmmakers, surfers and creatives at the event. LS/FF is an Approaching Lines Production.

London Surf / Film Festival an annual celebration of the cream of international surf, film, art, culture.

LS/FF is an essential cultural happening, a meeting of minds from all sides of the surfing sphere… it is the must attend for anyone serious about surfing in the UK.

Roger Sharp, Editor Carve Magazine

More than just a film festival, LS/FF fully embodies the spirit of surfing – the comradery, the tales of scoring or not; it is the pinnacle of the surfing calendar.

Jason Lock, Editor Magicseaweed
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LONDON SURF / FILM FESTIVAL

GO PRO

GO PRO – FILM – SCREENWRITING

GO PRO

> WATCH HERE <

We’ve all had it, that “cosmic moment” – paddling up the face of a wave, looking at friend thinking, ‘If only I had a camera!’

Nick Woodman, GoPro Founder

THE IDEA

Screenwriters Chris Nelson and Demi Taylor were commissioned to tell the story of the emergence and subsequent impact of GoPro in a 25 minute documentary that blended a fast, irreverent VO with insightful talking heads.

Directed by Peter Hamblin

Produced by Hamblin Imagery x Red Bull Media House

THE RESULT

Go Pro documentary premiered as S01 E01of the award winning The Ripple Effect Series to a global audience on Red Bull TV written by Chris Nelson and Demi Taylor.

THE APPROACH

In 2002, Nick Woodman launched GoPro, an action camera that he hoped would prove enough of a success that he and his friends could earn enough of a living to support a life  surfing on the California coast.

We were brought on board to write the Episode following the initial research and interviews had been undertaken. We brought to life the story of Go Pro founder Nick Woodman’s and how an old leash, an elastic band, a disposable camera and surf trip around the world would spark a revolution in both the technology and media industries, launching a brand that would go on to employ over 1500 people and sell over 16 million units.

Bringing together an energetic and sharp voice-over with multiple talking heads, we created a script and guided the narrative from paper edit to completion.

Go Pro documentary - The Ripple Effect Series written by Chris Nelson and Demi Taylor

This is Bhutan. Lying between Tibet and India, this tiny Himalayan kingdom is home to big mountains and even bigger ideas. Eschewing mainstream economic philosophy, Bhutan measures prosperity not in GDP but by gauging ‘Gross National Happiness’, defining progress not in dollars and cents but in passion and fulfilment. Something that Nick Woodman has invested heavily in.

WATCH
GO PRO

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TWITCH

TWITCH – FILM – SCREENWRITING

TWITCH

> WATCH HERE <

It was like day 4 when the SWAT team kicked the door in. That’s when the pranks started – they wanted to see it live on JustinTV. They came in guns drawn, we were going, ‘Don’t shoot us please.’

Justin Kan

THE IDEA

Chris Nelson and Demi Taylor were commissioned to tell the story of the emergence and subsequent impact of Twitch in a 25 minute documentary that blends a high octane VO with astute and perceptive talking heads.

Directed by Peter Hamblin

Produced by Hamblin Imagery x Red Bull Media House

THE RESULT

Twitch documentary premiered as S02 E01of the award winning The Ripple Effect Series to a global audience on Red Bull TV written by Chris Nelson and Demi Taylor.

THE APPROACH

In June 2011, Justin Kan and Emmett Shear launched Twitch, a website that would become the platform for eSports and live streaming, driving a revolution in how consumers use the Internet. 

We spoke with Twitch founders Justin and Emmett to learn how a series of pivots and an attempt at 24 life streaming sparked the idea for Twitch – the platform that turned computer games into eSports, driving an industry that now out performs both music and movies. We also integrated the tales of key players involved in the journey, posing the questions that would bring the story to life.

Bringing together a fast paced and insightful voice-over with multiple talking heads, we created a script and guided the narrative from paper edit to completion.

Justin Kan Twitch Documentary - The Ripple Effect Series premiered on Red Bull TV written by Chris Nelson and Demi Taylor Directed by Peter Hamblin

Gideon Yu came and said, ‘Your business is fucked. It had grown and grown and grown and then it was flat and anything that’s flat on the Internet is fucked, because the Internet is growing… so you’re shrinking in terms of market share.’ That gave us the kick in the pants we needed.

Justin Kan
WATCH
TWITCH

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MORPHEUS MALIBU

MIKI DORA – EDITORIAL – CHRIS NELSON

MORPHEUS MALIBU

MIKI DORA – DA CAT THAT WALKED BY HIMSELF

Dora was Da Cat, a name awarded for his grace and style on the water. But the moniker was more apt than anyone new at the time. Dora was a loner, sometimes friendly, often charming and always unpredictable.

Chris Nelson on Miki Dora

THE IDEA

Chris Nelson was commissioned to write a series of insightful features on surfing’s greatest cultural icons.

THE RESULT

Written by Chris Nelson, the four page features ran as a series across seven issues of Adrenalin Magazine accompanied by original artwork by Paul Willoughby.

Featured surfers included Miki Dora, Tom Blake, Mark Richards, Michael Peterson, Kelly Slater, Tom Curren and George Greenough.

THE APPROACH

Chris was commissioned by Adrenalin to write a series of features exploring the lives and impact of iconic surfers and their influence on the wider surf culture. Drawing on his wide surf knowledge, Chris brought to life these surfers tales through a series of deep dive, four page essays exploring the social, historical and cultural contexts with a distinctive, stylised narrative.

HAWAIIAN AT HEART

TOM BLAKE

Tom Blake paddles, feels the momentum shift then pops to his feet, trimming his ten-foot redwood board out on the face. The significance of this moment isn’t immediately clear, but the envelope has been pushed, the boundaries have changed and a new era is coming. Surfing has a new outpost, and its name is Malibu.

Chris Nelson on Tom Blake
George Greenough's Quantum Theory Wave Mechanics exploration of a surfing icon by Chris Nelson

THE INNERMOST – GEORGE GREENOUGH’S QUANTUM THEORY WAVE MECHANICS
The Wounded Seagull // Mark Richards: Progression in the Form of an Extra Skeg exploration of a surfing icon by Chris Nelson

THE WOUNDED SEAGULL – MARK RICHARDS AND PROGRESSION IN THE FORM OF AN EXTRA SKEG
Morpheus Malibu - The Story of surf Icon Micki Dora for Huck Magazine by Chris Nelson

Miki Dora – Da Cat that walked by himself (an excerpt)

The first thing I notice is the wave of nausea. Peripheral vision bleaches from total blackness through a spectrum of pain until a piercing harsh white fills my field of view. As my brain is slowly becoming accustomed to the blinding light, a beaver-skin hat enters stage left and blocks out the sun, allowing me to focus on the face peering down at me. The huge fur hat is balanced by the grey beard. Tanned, aged skin is wrinkled in the glare, his young eyes are edged with concern. “You OK?” he says kneeling. “Missed my fucking landing,” I reply, propping myself up on my elbows. Dora unclips. “Take your time,” he says. In the three days we’d been in the Alps, there had been a lot of silences, comfortable and uncomfortable, interspersed by a collage of stories and thoughts. He sits down in the snow. “You know I like golf? They got me a round with Kelly Slater. Afterwards he gave me a brand new set of Callaways. When they’d gone, I threw them in the lake.” Another enigmatic story tossed into the staggeringly beautiful Alpine valley below. A challenge – interpret it as you will. If you get it, good. If you don’t, I don’t give a damn.

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QUIET REVOLUTION

QUIET REVOLUTION – EDITORIAL FEATURE – CHRIS NELSON

QUIET REVOLUTION
ON THE NORTHERN ISLE

> READ <

The officer snaps his pad closed and turns on his heel, kicking sand off his immaculate leather shoes as he heads back towards his car. “I’m coming back again tomorrow,” shouts the neoprene clad figure as the officer starts the engine of the Nissan Cedric patrol car.

THE IDEA

Chris Nelson took a deep dive into the previously unheralded and unknown surf culture of Hokkaido, Japan.

THE RESULT

Written by Chris Nelson, the article was a 9 page feature Huck Magazine’s Counter Culture Issue. hotography by Richie Hopson.

THE APPROACH

Chris was commissioned by leading lifestyle publication Huck to write a feature for their Counter Culture Issue. Travelling to Hokkaido in Japan, Chris drew on contacts and friends to find and spend time with the very first local surfers, hearing tales of how these pioneers first took to the icy waters. Facing hostility from the police and, in order to increase numbers, they recruited new surfers from the local motorcycle gangs. Chris took time to establish contact and build trust, tapping into local knowledge and sourcing incredible archive imagery. The resulting 9 page feature in Huck Magazine weaves together interviews and anecdotes as well as personal insights bringing to life the previously untold story of this unique scene.

Chris Nelson explores the surf culture of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost prefecture for Huck Magazine

“Winter sees the whole island transformed into an almost featureless amalgam of monochrome hues as deathly winds slice in from the Siberian plains with the clinical sharpness of a Samurai’s cold Katana blade.”

READ
QUIET REVOLUTION

Every time Noboru and his crew would come across a motorbike gang they would corner the boss and sell the stoke of surfing to them with an evangelical zeal that would shame a New York ad agency. “It was a bit scary, having to talk to these gang bosses,” says Noboru. “Not all the bikers could swim, but one of them tried surfing and said to all the others, ‘Surfing’s cool!’ so then others tried it, you know. Until that time there was nothing to do around the costal towns like Muroran or Tomakomai, and people didn’t like bikers, but bikers started surfing, surfing is better really, so you could say we were a movement for good.”    

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