Today we have a new exclusive for you featuring Sören Fischer. Now instead of talking to the man himself we talked to the man behind the lens Julian Lopez and asked him all about Sören, how this part was made and if it is important for the filmer to be able to skate. He answered and we laughed a lot in the process. So press play, get to know Sören, and stay for Julian.
Photos by Chris Hartl & Frederik Ludwigs.
Film & Edit by Julian Lopez.
Interview by Roland Hoogwater.
Julian Lopez, welcome to this interview, today we are talking about a part you filmed together with your friend Sören Fischer. First, where are you right now?
I am in my apartment in Berlin.
Funny, we haven’t met before haven’t we?
No, we have not, Wedding is a bit outside of the main skate spaces in Berlin. Neukölln, Kreuzberg, Mitte, and Friedrichshain are not super close. But I like it here and some of my friends moved down here with me so, it is this little community where we skate together and are slowly making a spot map of Berlin.
I will give you a little tip, head east and stay outside of the ring (bahn). Start with taking the U8 all the way to Wittenau.
Thanks, I haven’t been out there, and the U8 is not far from my house!
So where are you from originally?
I am from Munich.
Many people from Munich are moving down here. Is there a problem in Munich?
It isn’t a relaxed city, plus I don’t want to stay in the same place my whole life.
But Berlin is quite a change, isn’t it? You could have moved to Frankfurt, Stuttgart, or Vienna?
Noooooo, I mean I always said Vienna or Berlin but the other two were not really places I was drawn to. It just felt like the best decision was to come to Berlin.
Well, it seems like Munich is losing a lot of cool people to Berlin. Maybe if you are young, Vienna or Berlin has more to offer.
I like the fact that you can live in Berlin and you don’t have to have the most amount of money to do it. In Munich, it can feel like the survival of the richest.
So, tell me a bit about the part. It didn’t scream Munich at first glance.
Why do you say that? Is it his style of skating or is it about the spots?
Mostly the spots and the style of skating it seems to stand alone.
Well, a big influence on Sören’s skating was that he lived in Berlin for a while. He studied there for 4 years and during those years his level of skating went up drastically. So when he came back to Munich 2 years ago he took those skills to the streets. He also wasn’t shy about calling out tricks and spots. He told me what he wanted to do and when. Which I really like.
A filmers dream! You can tell that both of you had an idea of what you wanted. Some of the filming on the lines isn’t easy and you did quite well.
Thank you, we worked on it for 2-years, traveled to Tenerife and Barca for it and in 2020 we managed to squeeze in some trips through Germany. We really gathered some clips.
Funnily enough, this part was first planned to be part of a crew video “The Rulfgang” but we all became older and some people just didn’t have the time to put in the work. Sören did the most and was about to move to Canada so he wanted his footage to come out instead of it turning old. So we decided to hit you guys up. We felt that our project fit into the image of Place.
That is something we are happy about! But back to your filming for a minute, can you tell me about your role models in filming?
For me that Strobeck style is good but it has been done to death. So I wanted to do something different. I looked to people like Dennis Ludwig, I like his work and he has his own style.
I grew up on Girl videos and liked the storytelling in those videos like Pretty Sweet, I think that has had a solid effect on the way I look and make videos.
Sounds like a proper OG SHRN education.
For sure, Soo Hot Right Now is THE shop in Munich and it is the place where you learn about skateboarding as a kid.
When did you actually meet Sören?
In 2011, I went on my first skate trip. The trip was to Berlin and Sören was on that trip as well. But, the real friendship came when he moved to Berlin and we visited him multiple times. That is how he became part of our crew. Fun fact, Sören is also one of the biggest skate nerds that I know. We often write to each other and talk about videos or articles.
I grew up on Girl videos and liked the storytelling in those videos like Pretty Sweet, I think that has had a solid effect on the way I look and make videos.
Julian Lopez about the videos that formed him as a filmer.
Nerdy! So, when did you start filming?
At some point, you look up and you see people ripping and you look at your own skating and feel like someone should document their skating. So that lead me to pick up a camera. I wanted to find my role in the group around me and I found it when I picked up the camera.
People also gather around filmers.
True, I started with a DSLR and once I got a camcorder I felt really stoked to do more. I also became more critical of filming in general, your eye just changes. I had to stop watching certain clips just because the footy was too shaky (laughs).
What about the level of skating of a filmer? Do you feel like if a filmer can skate well that it influences the way he films?
I think it does. look at Jacob Harris or Gustav Tønnessen their filming is so smooth because they feel so comfy on the board.
So, do you prefer Gustav’s filming over his skating?
No, his skating is still #1. But the filming does add to the reason I like him. I also want to give a shoutout to Max Pack and Paul Labadie because their edits for Vans Europe have been really inspiring. A great mix between fun, skating and lifestyle.
So would you say you prefer great skating with bad filming or good filming with medium level skating?
Good filming and medium level skating, because you have to watch the whole thing and bad filming just hurts the eyes. For me the most important thing is that you get to know the people that are in the video. Like in Godspeed, you really felt part of the crew. A connection through video.
Back to Sören, what is your favorite moment in the part?
The Backside Disaster Revert. It is not the best-filmed trick in the part but it is my favorite trick in the part. I like that he loses the hat, that makes you pay attention. Filming wise I like the line with the big 50-50 at the end, I also like the placement in the part. It worked well with the song.
Was the song hard to find?
Well, we did struggle with the music but we found the song quite early on. Deedz skated to a song by the same artist and Sören just played it in the car. It just took us a while to realize that was it. I look for music quite a lot, I often think “Wow, this could work really well for an edit.” But then I try it and it doesn’t work and you have to keep going.
The skater also needs to be happy with it and I am lucky that Sören himself presented the song to me.
I feel ya’! Thank you for this talk Julian and I hope we see each other soon!
