“(De.Piction)” is a short film created by Maryland native Aaron Subehan and Stevenson junior film and moving major Ian Bair that depicts skateboarding through their eyes. The film itself captures the art and beauty that skateboarding has to offer, showcasing a close-knit group of skaters showcasing their talents.
Skateboarding has been around for decades, giving us the careers of greats like Tony Hawk, Bam Margera, Ryan Sheckler, and even Shawn White. Skateboarding requires not only talent, but dedication, a lack of fear, and a thirst for adrenaline. For many this is an important escape, as it bonds people together and provides an opportunity to show off their creativity through tricks. That is what the short film “(De.Piction)” brings to viewers.
It is not only a fitting title for a short film, but also the name of the group that the film follows.
“De.Piction is a crew of friends from the Frederick, MD area who love skateboarding and having fun.” said Subehan.
Bair spoke on what De.Piction means.
“To me, De.Piction is just a name Aaron picked to represent the homies we skate with, honestly. I don’t really know the deeper meaning behind it, but when I think about De.Piction I think of all the good times and memories I’ve made with my friends,” Bair said.
Subehan and Bair made the film for their community of friends that also skateboard, giving them a platform to show the world what they can do. With the film’s runtime of 22 minutes, the style of editing and cinematography keeps audiences engaged by not only showing the tricks that they can do, but also the emotions that follow when they land that certain trick. The clips give audiences a glimpse into the dedication and countless hours of practice that skating requires.
Subehan’s idea for the film came about naturally, along the path that many skaters and aspiring cinematographers follow.
“I used to make little Instagram videos of all of us skating. Technically, I still do make these videos but we wanted to make one on a larger scale where everyone can have their own section to really shine and showcase their talents,” Subehan said. “With the Instagram videos, I was able to practice and figure out how to really move the camera to make sure I capture the trick the best way I could, so I guess it genuinely made for good practice for when we wanted to work on this full length skate video.”
Bair, who skates within the small community with Subehan, said “It was something I’d always wanted to do since I started skating, so it felt incredibly gratifying to work on something like this, especially since Aaron had already been working on it for a little over a year when I started filming for it. Originally, I was only going to get a few clips for the big montage section in the middle, but I kept going out and filming with those guys who’ve become dear friends to me now.”
As an FMI major and skater, the project was the perfect storm for Bair.
“Being able to help Aaron with the editing process was another dream come true, it felt like the perfect opportunity to allow both my passions to intersect for a project I’m incredibly proud of,” said Bair.
The film’s style is what you would expect to see in older skateboarding films with the use of a fisheye lens and vintage camcorders. It brings a nostalgic feeling to those who grew up with these kinds of films and the niche genre helps to keep such camera equipment in use to this day.
Earlier this year, “(De.Piction)” screened at a local skate shop called Embark on Market Street in Frederick, Maryland. Locals came to view the film before it premiered on YouTube. On Feb. 2, the film was screened at Frederick’s Art Counsel as a part of their “Movie Knight” event which occurs every first Friday of each month.
“To me this film represents everything I value about skateboarding. It’s not about how good you are, not that everyone in the video isn’t incredibly talented. But it’s about being able to do what you love with your friends purely for fun. We tried not to take things too seriously and I think that genuine joy comes through in abundance throughout the video,” Bair said. “Speaking from experience, I know how intimidating it can be to get into skateboarding, but some of the nicest people I’ve ever met are skaters, so I hope something like “(De.Piction)” can shift the stigma and inspire more people to pick up a board.”
“(De.Picition)” is now available to watch on YouTube.
“The message is whatever you want to interpret it as,” Bair said. “It’s your own depiction on how you wanna see it. You can view it as a skate video, a video of friends having fun, an action sports film, whatever you choose to view it as. We just wanna make cool stuff that we enjoy and that hopefully it resonates with other people too.”
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