Shinpei Ueno, a professional skateboarder and director of TIGHTBOOTH, spent nine years working on LENZ III since the release of the preceding video in the series, LENZ II.

The film was premiered in Tokyo, Osaka, New York and London, with countless skaters in attendance. When the screening started, the audience cheered and applauded as if they were watching the skate tricks live in front of them. The space was filled with a raw excitement, more like what you would see on the streets than in a movie theater.

The aesthetic vibes presented in LENZ III are cool and humorous, not only in terms of the skating footage, but also in the computer graphics and background music. The video is filled with these characteristics that are inherent in skate culture. It is a collection of subcultures, just like all the famous skate videos that have been released in the past.

When you feel that something crazy is about to happen, and you know that you are about to witness that very moment, there’s this tingling feeling of excitement that you can’t ignore. You feel like your feet are barely on the ground and you’re dancing inside. That is probably what everyone was feeling at the premiere of LENZ III.  The film must have inspired so many people, and a lot of them even went skating on the streets right after the event.

This work, which documents the cutting edge of the contemporary as an independent company skate scene, will surely be passed down to posterity as a skate video that conveys the early 2020s in Japan. At first glance, many people may feel that producing a skate video isn’t that special. However, it’s quite difficult to create a full-length street skate video in Japan, and to do so on a D.I.Y. basis is a tremendous task, which makes the completion of LENZ III in itself an epoch-making miracle.

That being said, we asked the creator of the featured piece, Shinpei Ueno, his thoughts behind the making of LENZ III and its series, and what he thinks about the immense difficulty of making a skate video.

Shinpei Ueno
Born in Osaka in 1983, Shinpei Ueno is a professional skateboarder for Evisen Skateboards and brand director of Tightbooth Production, renowned for a number of independent skate videos put out over the years, notably his masterpiece “LENZ II” (2014). Other notable works include running an Osaka based skate shop, Shred, creating video content for brands such as Gucci and Moncler, design contribution to Supreme’s inline collections and brand direction for the pizza franchise Pizzanista! Tokyo. In 2023, LENZ III the final piece of his LENZ trilogy is released worldwode.
https://shop.tightbooth.com
Instagram：@shinpei_ueno

I captured the best skaters in each generation

– On the stage of the LENZ III premiere, you said, “I dedicate this to the VX series and MK-1”. First of all, please tell us about the equipment you used for filming and the reasons for using them.

Ueno: I use Sony DCR-VX1000 video cameras released in 1995 with CENTURY OPTICS MK-1 ultra fish-eye lenses, which have been coined “the ultimate skate video camera setting”.

The distortion that the MK-1 possesses allows it to create a distinct sense of realism and speed, and the DCR-VX1000’s unique dry microphone sound and film-like visuals also work great. We’ve been shooting with this setup since 2005, which makes it our nineteenth year of filming this way. For the VX1000, we’ve used more than thirty units in total and more than seven ultra fish eyes. The camera and lenses are no longer in production and can no longer be repaired, and the software for capturing the mini-DV tapes has been having some problems. Even with these issues, I’ve chosen to stick to this setting for nineteen years. I dedicate this work (LENZ III) to the VX series and MK-1.

– What is the concept behind LENZ III?

Ueno: The production of it is very simple. Basically, I direct the entire production while shooting talented skaters in prime locations. I captured the best skaters in each generation, also as a journalism point of view to broadcast the scene.

– I found the flow of this film, in which the CG animation accompanying the skaters transitions into the skating portions of the film, to be very interesting. How did you go about creating this format?

Ueno: For this project, we demonstrated how LENZ III was being made at the fictional research facility VX LABORATORY. The main camera, the VX1000, was modeled in 3D and created in full CG. We shot nineteen years worth of skate videos with the VX1000, so we wanted to create an opening dedicated to this video camera.

And in the VX LABORATORY, we created Rooms for each rider that reflect their personalities and their video parts, which was a try and error process. I would come up with a rough idea, and we would discuss with the CG team how we could make it happen. For example, in the case of the part of Kotora Mitani, a cage was placed in a Japanese-style room with tatami mats and video monitors scattered around to make it look as if a tiger was walking in the room (his name Korora literaly means a little tiger). But it was difficult to show the whole body of the tiger with CG due to the budget, so we discussed the possibility of using only silhouettes for it.

Also, the soundtrack for the JAPANESE SUPER RAT part was by GEZAN, so I stacked the monitors vertically in a bright red room and scattered equipment cables all around. Then, while concert footage of GEZAN was playing from the monitors, I let rats scurry around them. That’s how we built it. The most difficult part of the project was the rendering, which took a lot of effort from conception to assembly. The CG for the intro of each part was limited to 15 seconds, but it took up to a minute and a half to render one frame, which meant it took a day to render one chapter if you included the work. And after checking the preview, it would take another day to make corrections, so I had to calculate how many more renderings I could do before the day of the premiere. We broke out in a cold sweat from the lack of time we had.

– It sounds like CG production is very difficult. 

Next, I’d like to ask about the music assigned to each part. The music was very unique, ranging from hip-hop to techno to punk. For the ending theme, a song by Japanese Synchro System, a unit featuring ILL-BOSSTINO of THA BLUE HERB, was used, which I thought it really a reflection of you. How did you decide on the music?

Ueno: We made our decisions based on the concept of the part and the personalities of the riders. I also wanted to select a soundtrack from my musician friends, so I gathered a large number of songs, including existing songs, new songs before their release, and songs that were still in the demo stage. The closing song by Japanese Synchro System is one that I’ve been listening to since I was in my early twenties, And the verse really have pushed me and my friends to keep going for years and years. I wanted to make a feature film using this song as the ending theme one day. Now, some sixteen years after the song’s release, I think I’ve finally created a work worthy of it.

– I felt that LENZ III focuses on skaters of a new generation. What attracts you to youth skaters?

Ueno: I think the best thing about these young kids is that they’re freeform. Because in addition to complex technical ledge tricks, they’re pulling off everything from gnarly transitions to unprecedented NBDs (Never Been Dones).

– More than a hundred skaters appear in the film. What are the criteria for your selection? And how did you connect to those skaters?

Ueno: The criterion is vague, but basically it’s whether or not I, as the director, feels something special in them. I don’t cast skaters simply because they’re skilled or visually appealing. Perhaps it’s because of my profession or maybe it’s common sense. But when you’re in the skate scene, you naturally know which skaters you should currently be shooting. Also, skaters are basically friends of friends, so they’re easy to connect with. Many of the young skaters grew up with the LENZ series, so it wasn’t hard for me to get in touch with them.

– I was also drawn to the fashion of each skater. Did you ever arrange the styling according to the shooting location?

Ueno:  I sometimes styled the TIGHTBOOTH member riders myself. Also, depending on the location, the impression of the shoot can drastically change if the subject wears a white or black top, so we’d often bring three outfits to the shoot. I’d ask the rider to  come up with three styling ideas in advance that they liked, and I’d make slight modifications from there.

Skate videos contain all the charms of skateboarding

– What do you find difficult or interesting about producing skate videos in Japan?

Ueno: Japan is probably the second most difficult place in the world to film a skate video, number one being North Korea. In Japan, you’ll see security guards and police officers at all kinds of spots, and they stop you instantly. Sometimes, even passersby call the police, which is a special phenomenon that happens here that I’ve rarely seen happen in the rest of the world. Even if they have nothing to do with it and it’s not bothering them at all, some people call the police out of a strange sense of justice. I’ve been skating in many countries, but only Japanese people would do that. 

Maybe it’s the Japanese education system. Of course, part of it is that skateboarding is not part of the fabric of Japanese life, and sometimes skating can be a nuisance to others, which can’t be helped… But that sense of skating being bothersome doesn’t exist outside Japan. Most people don’t care if there are people skating around them abroad. In fact, some even watch the skaters and give comments like, “that trick was really cool”. In Japan, you’re treated like a criminal just for skating. What’s interesting about shooting skate videos in Japan is the scenery and architecture unique to the locations here.

– From your point of view, what do you think is the current state of the skate scene in Japan today, and what challenges do you see?

Ueno: I think skateboarding itself has been recognized a little more due to the Tokyo Olympics. However, I feel that many Japanese people who watched the Olympics have started recognizing skateboarding as a sport, which is sort of aunfortunate thing because it has a huge negative impact on street skating that is the essential of skateboarding. For example, many people in the general public look at street skating and say, “those street skaters are getting in the way and bothering people who are trying to become a proper Olympic skateboarders”. This is something someone actually told me. I think about this issue a lot, and I feel that this is a difficult thing to change because of the national mentality of the Japanese people.

– I felt that LENZ III also attempts to bring the reality of the street skate scene in Japan to a wider audience. Was that your intention?

Ueno: I wanted to show the beauty of skateboarding, even to people who do not skate. I hope that by having as many non-skateboarders as possible watch the video and understand its allure, the current street skate scene will change for the better, even if only slightly.

– What do you feel is the appeal of skate videos?

Ueno: It’s the best “visual groove” that shows incredible skaters making art in the architecture of a city that is not made for skating, accompanied by a high-quality soundtrack. It’s not simply about conveying how cool skating is, but also about the love of creating a piece of art with your friends. Skate videos contain all the charms of skateboarding.

■DVD LENZ III (Tightbooth Production)
February 18th  release
¥24,200 (limited box set) / ¥4,180 (normal edition)
featuring full parts：RIO MORISHIGE, KOTORA MITANI, KYONOSUKE YAMASHITA, GLEN FOX, AYAHIRO URATSUKA, KENTO YOSHIOKA, RYUHEI KITAKUME, RINKU KONISHI

Text Ryo Tajima
Translation Mimiko Goldstein

The post Shinpei Ueno and his Skate Video, LENZ III – The Possibilities of Skateboarding Revealed in its Production Process appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

PIZZANISTA! is a pizza place that opened in Los Angeles in 2010. The owner is the world-recognized legendary skateboarder, Salman Agha; the pizzeria, that obtains the background rooted in the skateboard culture, is not only loved by locals but has also become widely popular from its New York-style pizza and elaborate flavor. The pizzeria’s branch in Japan, PIZZANISTA! TOKYO, which has been introduced in TOKION before, is directed by the two men who are at the forefront of the skateboard scene, Shinpei Ueno and Katsumi Minami, and has been gaining attention as an epicenter of culture with its original merchandise and otherwise.

The original items that have newly launched adopt artworks by highly praised independent artists. The three featured artists are: Shusaku Takaoka, who showcases the array of his collage arts on his social media; yushi, one of the members of the Tokyo skate crew—KP TOKYO; and Alex Aranovich, who also does designs for the original PIZZANISTA! in LA. The graphics rendered by these artists are printed on the items including hoodies, sweaters, T-shirts, and tote bags—They are in fact, beyond souvenirs and more like art pieces.

The collaboration items will be sold exclusively on PIZZANISTA! TOKYO’s official online store from January 16th to mid-February and dropping in series. More original goods are planned to be released on an irregular basis, and regarding that, the director Shinpei Ueno comments, “we want to collaborate with national as well as international artists and develop PIZZANISTA!’s original items that construe the essence of my direction.”

Translation Ai Kaneda

The post PIZZANISTA! TOKYO’s new souvenir items featuring artworks by artists including Shusaku Takaoka and yushi appeared first on TOKION - Cutting edge culture and fashion information.

We’ve been skating up until now, so we’re always thinking about how we can take it further

——First, could you tell me the story behind PIZZANISTA! TOKYO?

Katsumi Minami (Hereinafter Katsumi): PIZZANISTA! is a popular pizza place in LA. Apparently, they’ve had many offers from Japanese companies to open up a restaurant, but Salman [Agah] felt that he wanted to work with skaters, so it’d never worked out. And then I met Salman through a friend who lives in LA, and he asked me about opening PIZZANISTA! I didn’t have any knowledge of the food industry, so I couldn’t just be like, “Sure, I’ll do it!” But Salman understood that, and told me he’d wait until I was ready. So it took about five years between when he first asked me to when I actually opened the store.

Shinpei Ueno (Hereinafter Shinpei): I love pizza, and when I go on tours overseas, I eat four to five slices of pizza a day. But there aren’t many shops in Japan that sell pizza by the slice. So I always had this vague vision of one day opening up a by-the-slice shop.

Katsumi: Yeah. Shinpei had always said he wanted to do that. If I was going to open PIZZANISTA! in Japan, I wanted to do it with Shinpei. And then two years ago, we met someone who had experience in the food industry who could support us, so we started working towards opening up a shop in Japan.

Shinpei: Yeah. To prepare to open a store in Japan, we went with some friends to PIZZANISTA! in LA. And I met Salman there for the first time, who said that with us opening the store, he knew for sure that everything would be okay. And I was really happy to hear that.

——What was your impression of Salman Agah?

Katsumi: That was my second time meeting him, but I still have a vivid memory of when he started PIZZANISTA! ten years ago. I heard that a skater was going to start a pizzeria and I thought that was so cool. At the time, there weren’t many skaters with side businesses, even in the US. So his impact on me when he first started the pizzeria was even bigger than the last time I met him.

Shinpei: We’re no longer young skaters, and we’ve been skating up until now, so we’re always thinking about how we can take it further. Of course, I’d never quit skating, but I wondered if I could create something using what I gained through skating. I think that’s why Kacchan [Katsumi] thought that Salman starting PIZZANISTA! was so cool, too. PIZZANISTA! came along right as we were thinking that we should do something new.

Katsumi: Although once we got serious and started preparing, the coronavirus pandemic became a serious global issue, and our opening was delayed by a year (laughs) .

——Weren’t you nervous about opening up a restaurant in the time of coronavirus?

Katsumi: Honestly, I was nervous, but Salman’s built up a brand and a flavor, so we’re confident and up to the challenge. Of course, I do feel more pressure about the fact that it’s our first time running a restaurant and on top of that, we have the important task of dealing with the coronavirus.

Shinpei: Right. I hadn’t paid attention to it in the skateboarding or fashion world, but that consideration is really important.

Katsumi: In that regard, I’m thankful for the support of our business partners and our friends in the food industry.

——So in addition to the original menu from LA, you also have an original Japanese menu, including a pizza “Tokyo” with teriyaki chicken.

Katsumi: I think it’s important to take the flavors as seriously as we take skateboarding. We had a chef from a famous restaurant help us develop the menu, so we were able to do a lot of tasting before the opening to make sure we were satisfied with the flavors.

Shinpei: In LA, the pepperoni and macaroni & cheese slices are popular, but personally, I like the cheese (3 kinds of cheese and house-made marinara) too.

——Every part of the interior is filled with the essence of skateboarding.

Shinpei: Our friend, Nista One, worked on the store’s design for us. The benches with ramps on them and “spitfire” swing doors were custom-made under his direction.

Katsumi: Also, the bathroom sinks are swimming pool bowls, and people like the pizza-shaped tables, too.

I want to make top-notch things, even if they’re just merch

——The original jackets (uniforms：the jacket is not actual restaurant uniform) that you released to commemorate the opening were so great that it was hard to believe they were made by a restaurant.

Shinpei: Thank you. I was the main director behind the original apparel. In the future, I’d like to release items that have a story or fit with the pizzeria. But I don’t want the apparel to become weirdly separate, like a clothing brand that stands on its own. I want to stay true to PIZZANISTA!’s roots as a pizzeria and avoid making too much apparel. But, if I decide to release something, I want to make top-notch things, even if they’re just merch.

Katsumi: I want to make clothes that make people say, even though it’s pizza shop merchandise, it’s stylish.

Shinpei: Exactly. Some stores just print their goods on blanks, but we want to be more thorough and particular than that. With the uniform jacket we sold when we opened, we embroidered on high-quality Japanese fabric, and the lining was made from red satin.

Katsumi: Using blanks is fine too, but I think when you put your arm through a sleeve of clothing that’s been carefully designed, it’s exciting, and you want to wear it more. The first people who put in orders for the jacket were the staff from the original PIZZANISTA! (laughs) .

Shinpei: I was happy when Salman reached out asking for an XL. With Tightbooth, I’m also particular about the silhouettes and fabric, but ultimately, I’m looking for something that looks good when I put it on. For example, the fabric can make a big difference in how skating styles look, so I make samples with both soft and stiff fabrics, and then create clothes based on which one is easier to skate in.

——In 2020, Tightbooth celebrated its 15th anniversary, generating buzz by launching collaborations with people and brands from many spheres, including skate related brands like Whimsy and Chaos Fishing Club, the clothing brand Neighborhood, and artists such as THA BLUE HERB and VERDY.

Shinpei: I reached out to people I’ve known for a while, and also people I just met to express the old and new of Tightbooth.

——Speaking of Tightbooth’s collaboration, the capsule collection announced last year with fragment design is still fresh in my mind.

Shinpei: Fujiwara-san liked “LENZ II,” which I made in 2013, and that’s how we started to talk. I was really happy to hear that he thinks what I do is really great.

We’re destined to keep releasing skate videos

Katsumi: Tightbooth and Evisen are skate brands, so we’re destined to keep releasing skate videos. If we can fulfill that destiny, I think we can keep our brands going for the rest of our lives.

Shinpei: They’re so-called “skate creations.” One reason that our brands get support is because of these skate creations. It’s like a corporate philosophy, and it’s the hardest and most fun work of my life.

Katsumi: The production process behind the shoots is so difficult that it’s hard to put into words. If I had to, it’s like continuously receiving punches to the body (laughs) .

Shinpei: I think I’ll somehow be able to release “LENZ III.” It’s been almost eight years since the last one, and that’s because during the shooting, all these new talents kept popping up. And then, when you shoot them, it takes another few years from there…If possible, I’d like to release it sometime next year, but if I were to create a skate video with my current schedule, I’d basically have to stop sleeping.

Katsumi: (laughs) . That’s how difficult and important it is for us to make skate videos. But we started PIZZANISTA! TOKYO, so we’ll have to find a way to make it all happen. Let’s do our best.

——You both opened up the pizza restaurant on top of having your own brands. It seems like back then and still today, everything leads back to skateboarding, and skate videos are a big part of that.

Shinpei: It was my dream to make a living from skating, but I didn’t have a concrete strategy. I was motivated by the idea that I was having fun at that moment, and it was awesome to give skating my all while making clothes and videos with my friends.

Katsumi: Right. I just had the confidence that I could make a living through skating. Shinpei and I have that in common.

Shinpei: We got to where we are by stacking up results, little by little. With each video we released, we got more people on board with our vision, and then people started buying our clothes, too. It sounds simple and easy when it’s put into words, but it took us 20 years of personally going all over the country to gain people’s trust. That’s why I want to keep moving forward, one step at a time.

——So it’s important to finish what’s in front of you, one thing at a time.

Shinpei: Right. It’s not like I skate to get rich, so the fact that I do it for fun hasn’t changed. If you’re not happy with what you’re doing right now, you can’t keep up with it. With skateboarding, the faster people want to get better, the slower their progress will be, so a lot of people quit before they get good because of that pressure. We’re at this level now, but we couldn’t have kept going if we weren’t motivated by the simple joy of how fun it is to skate.

Katsumi: We just have to work hard at what’s in front of us. We hope we can do that while sharing that feeling with my friends.

Shinpei: To use the example of a skate video, making something good requires a lot of effort. A lot of the time, you shoot all day and still get nothing. And to be honest, it’s exhausting to take a generator and six floodlights to go shoot at some faraway location. But it’s cool to give something your all, even if it’s tedious. There are plenty of people who can’t do that, no matter how much they like skating. But Katsumi is a person who really gives things his all, and that’s why I work with him today. We’re able to have our own brands and a pizza shop together because we can put in more passion than others, even when something is tedious.

We’re proud to work with our friends

——Everything is definitely the result of your hard work. You could say that about anything you guys do, not just skateboarding. You both make skate videos for your brands, but with PIZZANISTA!, have you changed your “skate creation” approach?

Katsumi: I think it’s more like adding to it rather than forcibly changing it. If we suddenly changed our direction, it wouldn’t resonate with anyone.

Shinpei: I feel like we’re showing how great the PIZZANISTA! brand is with our own flair. If we do that, we should be able to connect with the people who buy from our brands. It’s like a “slide of trust.”

Katsumi: “Slide of trust” sounds like the name of a trick, I like that (laughs) . New stores are always opening up in Shibuya and Harajuku, but there are some long-established shops. The fact that there are long-established stores means there’s a deeply rooted local vibe. So we want this shop to be local, and to become a good shop that a lot of people come to.

Ueno: And I also want people to know that PIZZANISTA! isn’t just a shop for skaters. Actually, girls and people who work in the neighborhood come through. And that’s really the kind of shop we’d like to be. But as long as we’re running the show, you should be able to feel branding that reflects skaters somewhere. I want to keep that in mind.

——I think that there are a lot of skaters who would like to make skating their livelihood and try all kinds of different things like you two have. What do you want to show the next generation?

Shinpei: We can only lead by example. There might be people who won’t understand, but you can’t move forward if you’re afraid of that. I’d like the younger generation to see that we’re running skate brands and a pizzeria with our friends, and our lives are great.

Katsumi: Exactly. We’re proud to work with our friends.

Shinpei: If we show them that, I think everyone will want to try it. It’s not that we want to be admired, but it’s more that we’re having so much fun that we want other people to do what they want, too. We also watched and learned from other people doing that. I want people to see it with their own two eyes, think about it, and make moves.

Shinpei Ueno
Shinpei was born in 1983 in Osaka. He runs TIGHTBOOTH PRODUCTION and is a professional rider for Evisen Skateboards. He’s released many skateboarding videos, and his most well-known work, “LENZ II,” was highly-acclaimed both in Japan and abroad. He works in a wide variety of fields, including direction for a skate shop and apparel brand, and production for QUCON, Moncler Genius, Gucci, and PIZZANISTA! TOKYO.
https://shop.tightbooth.com/
Instagram：@shinpei_ueno

Katsumi Minami
Katsumi was born in Tokyo in 1980. After gaining experience at skateboard shops and brands, he founded Evisen Skateboards in 2011. He’s established a unique style by incorporating traditional Japanese motifs and graphics into products such as decks and apparel. He also works as a skate video cameraman, creating Evisen Skateboards’ first full-length video, “EVISEN VIDEO,” in 2017.
https://shop.evisenskateboards.com/
Instagram：@katsumi_minami2

Photography Teppei Hoshida
Text Shogo Komatsu
Translation Aya Apton

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