Hi Ben. Introduce yourself in a few words:

Idiot with a camera.

Tell us more how the idea came to create PILCHARD PRODUCTIONS?

My Granddad on my Mum’s side of the family did a lot of filming, with all the different formats through the years; 8mm, VHS, MiniDV. He was into making short videos on all kinds of different subjects and sending us family films from visits and sometimes we would borrow his old video cameras too. My Dad is also into photography and had a few Pentax 35mm cameras which I was always borrowing/breaking a lot. So using cameras, taking photos and making films was a pretty normal thing.

I had a paper round and worked in a few pubs washing dishes in my early teens, saved enough to eventually buy an old Pentax Super A from 1985 off eBay to start taking photos on 35mm, and a Sony TRV16 MiniDV handy cam for filming. I was about 16 or 17 at the time.

What art form do you like to put forward in a video? The trick, the colors or the landscape?

It depends. The simplest and smallest things can look amazing with the correct approach. Mostly I like to focus on creativity and style in the rider, not so much big tricks. Vibrant colors and a beautiful landscape are cool of course, but a cloudy day in an urban setting can be really fun too. It all depends on the context.

Also, not too much slow motion, or transitions. Both are amazing used correctly, but get overused way too much in my opinion, often just to hide lazy/bad camerawork and lack of narrative or creativity in editing.

Is there a place in the world where you would like to shoot in particular?

Definitely Folgefonna Glacier in Norway, the summer midnight sunsets there create amazing colors and Emil Fossheim, the park manager, builds amazing jumps to shoot.

As for wakeboarding, early mornings and sunsets at Liquid Leisure are epic! Anywhere I can hang with friends, and being able to go surf or skate in between wakeboarding is a big plus – Bali is great for that.

Who do you usually shoot?

Friends mostly, that way everyone is more relaxed and it’s way lot more fun! Dominik Gührs, Lior Sofer, Nick Davies, Im San, William Klang, these guys always guarantee a fun trip! Of course there’s so many more though.

What kind of camera do you use for video and photo?

The camera I use isn’t important, it’s how it’s used. Fancy lenses, drones and stabilizers help of course but creativity and imagination are more important.

Do you make videos of other sports?

Yes! Actually I really want to shoot more mountain biking and motocross at the moment. Also a little bit of surf, skate…other things I do beside wakeboarding. Sometimes it feels like I have too many hobbies.

Jake has always been fascinated by biology and evolution and this passion has been a major inspiration for much of his artwork. His parents remember his ability at a very early age to draw animals accurately from memory alone. At the age of 15, Jake took part in a competition to design a creature for the ITV UK television series ‘Primeval’ and was chosen as runner up out of the 5000 entries. He went on to complete a BSc (Hons) in Zoology at the University of Derby, England, and whilst studying, his interest in producing artwork inspired by xenobiology and astrobiology flourished. His knowledge in this area allows him to design fictitious organisms which reflect biological principles, allowing them to appear thoroughly realistic. Through this theme, he hopes to encourage the viewer to appreciate the complexity and peculiarity of some of the real organisms on Earth. In 2013, Jake displayed a collection of his work with this theme as the featured student artist at an art exhibition in Dunphy’s Gallery in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire. This was the first time any of his work was seen by the public. Up until this event, Jake had modestly kept his artwork a very private passion.

His collection of artwork based on the theme of xenobiology forms part of a greater conceptual project which includes short stories, contextual literature and graphic artwork. The different aspects of the project link tightly to develop a complete picture of the fictional universe. The short stories, collectively entitled ‘Stories of The Wastelands, The Spacelands & All In- Betweens’ is a growing collection, several stories of which are currently available for Kindle on Amazon.

As well as art and writing, Jake continues to dedicate time to his passion for music. He is currently in a band called ‘Maxwell Avenue’ and performs original music in and around the Midlands. Maxwell Avenue’s music can be found on SoundCloud under the username ‘MaxwellAvenueOfficial’.

Jake’s artwork can be found online through his Facebook page Jake McCarthy Mansbridge Art & Design and on Twitter as @JMMDesign.
He also welcomes the odd email from interested folk at: Jake.Mansbridge@gmail.com.

Jake Mansbridge

ONLINE EDITION UNLEASHED WAKEBOARD MAGAZINE

Photo and text By Robert Bobby Hedges

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From the basement of their workshop in Toulouse, the two assistants adorn tote bags, t-shirts, postcards and notebooks with their drawings embellished with their slogans with punk and quirky influences. Born from a common desire to launch a creative project around serigraphy (a technical print using a stencil), they create a limited-series bestiary where each model has a unique touch, thanks to the artisanal process. Their graphic style causes a universe where Valoo’s vivacity and Alice’s sweetness are wonderfully combined. The reference to Christian-Jaque’s movie is obviously intentional. The blonde one, Brigitte Bardot, and the brunette, Claudia Cardinale, are two women with sturdy characters and the film tells the story of a criminal association!

The Female Arsonists (Les Pétroleuses) sell their creations in creators’ markets, shops and exhibitions. They weave their network through France and do not intend to stop there!

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