The wait is finally over.
After a four-year period, the makers of the cult skateboarding video Beerstorm have produced a sequel.
Filmed around Calgary and Vancouver, as well as featuring a couple of Cochrane skateboard enthusiasts, Beerstorm 2, is the result of three long years of work and play, which concluded with the film being shown at as special screening at the Globe Cinema in Calgary on Aug. 20.
“Most of the video was filmed in the last year with the exception of the odd clip,” said director Liam Glass. “We mostly partied the first two years and pulled everything together in this last one, kind of like what happened with the first one.
“We always seem to get serious when the deadline starts looming.”
Many of the people who were involved with the first video had a part in the making of the sequel. Due to people moving and other aspects that go with the passing of time, it gave the crew an opportunity to shoot in Vancouver.
“A bunch of people moved out there, so it was a perfect opportunity to shoot in Vancouver,” Glass said. “It’s the main reason we started in that direction.”
For skateboarder Stephen Graham – who represents the Cochrane contingent of the video along with Riley Sykes – doing a sequel was something that was never in doubt.
“We’ve always just filmed, so we thought why not do a sequel?” he said. “It was cool because it was a lot of the same guys, so everyone knew each other.”
With the experience of his previous work in the rearview, this time around Glass believes the overall quality of the video is better than its predecessor.
“The level of skating is exponentially better,” he admitted. “The first video was the first one I had ever done, so I didn’t really know what I was doing filming wise. Now I’ve learned a bit and it’s better quality.”
The fact the quality is better however, doesn’t mean there still isn’t the gritty, run and gun style that was evident in the first video.
“We were never going for that high-level quality of production,” Glass said. “We like to have fun, not everyone drinks as heavily as they used to, but we just like to hang out and skate.
It’s supposed to be a fun time, that’s what the whole point of the video is. I don’t want to do an over-the-top cinematic video, to me that’s not what skateboarding is about.”
How much the skateboarding scene has exploded in the last couple of years was one of the reasons Glass did a sequel, to showcase street spots in Calgary people can skate at.
“It wasn’t so much about the spots as it is the skaters,” he said. “There isn’t as much industry here as there is in Vancouver, Toronto or Quebec City, but we’re trying to bring that culture back.
“We’re building a lot of momentum right now, I’m stoked for my friends and them getting their names out there.”
As for what the future holds in store, there may not be a Beerstorm 3 anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean more projects aren’t in the works for Glass and company.
“We’re definitely looking at some smaller projects,” Glass said. “I don’t know if we’ll do another Beerstorm sequel per say because we’re all moving on to different things.
“It’s changed a bit but we’re not going to stop filming and skating, that’s for sure.”
To see Beerstorm 2 and other projects by Liam Glass, visit www.vimeo.com/user5316559.
