Taylor Steele on Making the Location the Star
A conversation with award-winning filmmaker, godfather of modern surf cinema, and Thermal community comrade, Taylor Steele.
Thermal: As far as the relationship between travel and making surf films—it seems like the two go hand in hand, no? What’s that journey been like for you in your career?
Taylor Steele: Well, I think when I was younger, I would be filming and traveling with a group of friends, but it was sort of just experiencing a sheltered version of travel—not completely eyes wide open—due to the fact that the group was more of the dominant factor than the place itself. The films I was making back then were all about performance surfing; all about just capturing what those pro surfers were doing. So, the trips weren’t really allowing a lot of depth because the group was so big. That part wasn't allowing us to meet new people and experience the cultures properly. But, as I expanded my filmmaking and really just grew up more, I got more curious about going to new places and experiencing them and sharing what that felt like. A big catalyst for me on that was that the upcoming birth of my first daughter. I wanted to show her the world in a beautiful, romantic view and, sort of…show that we're all the same.
Wow. I love that.
Yeah, so I purposely did some things with that film Sipping Jetstreams—portraits all in the same distance of different cultures, making it a little bit dreamy, a melodic soundtrack, shooting it in slower motion, shooting on film—all to really paint a picture of a beautiful world that is worth visiting.
So, that’s the film where you started traveling while filming in a different way? Because it seems like there was a few after that that were kind of in that same vein or had a similar approach…
Yeah, definitely. Before that I was traveling all over the world, but it often felt almost like going to the same places, going with the same crew—sort of a sheltered view. I wanted to find new waves. I wanted to go to new places that weren't on the normal surfing map. So, that started a good decade of exploration and a tone of filmmaking that was more showcasing the location as the star, rather than the surfer.
What are a few places that you visited within these films that really struck you or opened your eyes in different ways?
The beauty of being a filmmaker is that the job puts you in locations that maybe a tourist wouldn't naturally gravitate towards, whether that’s some of the poorer neighborhoods, or really immersing yourself in the areas that paint a picture of the location, or at least a style of the place. For me, most of the locations I loved felt like it could be a thousand years ago, or like time stopped at one stage. Like I was going back in time to a different place. Some of those are like: Marrakesh, Morocco, or Cuba. Parts of Cuba feel like a film set of New York City in the 50s. India, Iceland—just anywhere in that sort of space where you land and it feels like you're being transported in time. Those were my favorites.
I hear ya. Talk to me about the state of filmmaking in surf. I know you're not just making surf films, but as far as other, young creators making surf films, where do you think we're at right now?
I think where filmmaking and the surfing space is going, is that you're either telling short-form stories, like Instagram or one to three minute pieces, or you're telling, like, longer TV series-style projects that really weaves storytelling all the way through. So, that's really short attention span, or really long attention span. The style that I grew up watching and making were more the 40-minute films, and those don't really have a place anymore. But I feel like I always try to look at the positive. And, I really think this an exciting time for many “first” surf stories. What I mean is like: surfing perspectives from Africa and other more remote countries with a little hub of a surf culture there. Cuba and their fresh surf culture. I just love the idea of it coming from inside out, compared to how I was making films, where it was my perspective landing in a country and doing it from my eyes. I like it being reversed. That's exciting and inspiring to see what comes from that.
Love it. And, are you able to help with that in some way?
Yeah. While surf films aren’t really my day job anymore, I still love supporting them. For example, we’re doing a surf festival here in Encinitas, California and we’re showcasing a really wide range of films. It's called the Solento Surf Festival. It's a three-day festival with music, surf films and conversations. I've lived in Indonesia, Australia, New York, but I grew up in Encinitas. When I’d leave for those places, I almost feel like a member of a tribe scouting out the world and learning and bringing those perspectives back. And, that's sort of what I'm trying to do with this festival for Encinitas.
Plan your next surf trip
