Filmmaker: Santino Martirano
This week we got the chance to catch up with Producer and Photographer, Santino Martirano. Santino had just wrapped on episode 2 (see below) of a series called Boundless and he discusses the challenges of capturing some of the most difficult and dangerous whitewater kayaking in North America.
I grew up skateboarding and I think the idea of filmmaking was an easy extension of that. I always had a camera in hand taking turns filming and skating, when I finished school I sold a photo and chased it.
I enjoy location research, planning, and of course on location shooting. The actual act of bringing an idea of any size to life.
We sat in the rain for 3 or so days bringing this together and there were a lot of challenges. From foggy lenses and wet cameras to scrambling up slippery rocks, it seemed like every shot was a challenge.
That being said, Thomas Woodson [ Director of Photography] is an absolute work horse and made it look easy, lugging his soaked gear all over... I'd love to see a spotlight with him next.
I was mainly capturing stills for this episode and chatted about a specific shot with Rafa. The shot was difficult because I was standing on a little mud shelf facing the falls, it was raining, and the mist from the
falls coated everything. This meant I only had one chance to get the shot before my lens was soaked. Once he dropped the falls, I pulled the camera from my jacket and caught it. It was definitely a little sketchy
but there is nothing better than planning a shot and actually capturing what you had in your head.
That being said, I totally failed on shooting Peter Ely's drop right after his. I was trying to clean the lens, smudging water around, when I saw him headed to the falls. So, I pulled out my phone and filmed it on that.
After a few years lodged in the outdoor space, I am working on a passion project documenting the United States skateboard community, culture, and character.... Working title: For The Love of Skateboarding