Portraits with feeling!

John Florence buys a Red Camera.

Self image-control is a program that sportsmen in this epoch’d be nuts not to climb on. Twitter and Instagram feeds move like rivers. There’s few pro surfers without websites to spruik ’emselves. Some, even, get more traction in the industry because of their blogs (Paul Fisher, Sterling Spencer, etc.) But, what’s the next step?

John Florence, a prince of the new-wave and the North Shore’s best new export, has the answer: A Red Scarlet Camera. Y’see, John feels that the Red is something that’ll ensure all footage of him from here on out will be perfect. “He got it right when he won the triple crown,” says filmer Blake Kueny, who’ll be using the machine more than anyone. “I think he thinks it’s kinda an investment for him to have that camera pointed at him all the time. It’s mainly for me to use, ’cause I’m gonna be filming him this whole year.”

Younger bro of the clunkier Red One and the way-expensive Red Epic ($60k!) cams, the Scarlet’s about the size of a Red Bull four-pack and shoots footage that, according to Blake, is straight-up divine. “We’ve shot eight or ten sessions, all in Australia,” he says. “And you can really see the difference, it’s so amazing. I think it’ll be really noticeable in the final product, with edits and whatnot. You’ll be able to tell, f’sure.”

Not that John needs any assistance making his surfing look unbelievable. But, for interests’ sake, how much does representation this good cost? “It was around $20k,” says Blake. “We got it directly from Red. We had it sent over to Australia, which was $1.5k for customs fees.” A fair chunk, mos def. But, it ain’t all about making John look good – kid loves film. “He’s always been into cameras,” says Blake. “He’s got a full 7D set-up as well. He bought it not only for his filmer to use, but also to use himself. Like, he took it to the zoo the other day and filmed his mum. It’s a cool hobby for him. He knows how to use it just as well as I do.”

Speaking of which, Blake says that, despite a coupla whispers suggesting otherwise, the pair have the functionality dialled. “It’s super easy to use,” Blake assures. “I’ve used one before – I’ve been on a coupla projects with an Epic – and it’s pretty much the same. We linked-up with the Red people and had a guy sit down and show us how to use it, and tell us everything about it.”

If y’can believe it, visions of John Florence are about to get even better. – Elliot Struck