Drifterview – Vincent Kardasik
Hi Vincent, Firstly thanks for taking the time at such short notice for this. Very much appreciated.
Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
Hi, I’m a director and a cinematographer based in Capbreton, France and most of my job is about action sports and surfing.
Regarding the Mullaghmore video, how did you come about getting involved in the project?
All the guys out there are impressive, they charge like mad men and they are not afraid by cold, wind or heavy rain.
I was in Ireland for a week shooting a commercial for Roxy. Job was done and I was on my way to the airport. François Liets from Billabong called me and we had a chat about the forecast, when he asked me if I want to join them for a possible surf in Mullaghmore, I said yes without any hesitation.
Did you guys get to hang out for a few days and discuss a plan?
As most of the time on this kind of mission, everything went super fast and we didn’t really had a plan except trying to capture the best footage possible on this spot.Luckily Pietro Franca was there with us and having two cameras is never too much on such a session.
“Toms bomb” excluded, who most impressed you out there?
All the guys out there are impressive, they charge like mad men and they are not afraid by cold, wind or heavy rain. Benjamin Sanchis is a well known big wave surfer and he put a show on these two days but all the locals are amazing. Tom Butler, Peter Conroy, Barry Mottershead, Connor Maguiree, Caino Chuillin and Dylan Stott showed a lot of commitment on that swell. There’s such a good synergy between all these guys, they really look after each other and when someone catch a bomb, it’s always the result of a deep team work.
On the second day Easky caught a couple of good waves and even Gearoid McDaid showed up at the line-up to witness the session. Funny fact is that our producer François Liets only went on one wave but it was a massive one!
How difficult was it to organize the timing of the trip from Capbreton or was it a right time right place kind of thing?
Pretty easy as I was in Dingle for that Roxy shoot. A short night in Dublin and next morning I was in Mullaghmore. Right time right place… and it’s not always the case.
You shot with the RED epic for this clip, the benefits to this camera are all up there on the screen, but as a filmmaker what’s the biggest drawbacks to using this system especially in and around big waves?
I work with Red cameras for more than 4 years now and I’ve carried them all around the World in some extreme situations so I’m pretty used to their system. You have to be sure ofyour settings and when shooting with a water housing from the ski or the water, you’d better be sure of your battery and your recording capacity.
But Mullaghmore is way different than any other place I’ve been. Operating the camera with 5mm gloves is never easy and dealing with the rain and the spray of the wave makes things even more complicated. It was probably one of the most difficult session I’ve experienced and to be honest, I’m not happy with the result so I can’t wait to come back there and score better footage.
Mullaghmore is getting a lot of publicity over the past few years, can you describe what its like to be out there when its really big?
Hardcore is the first word which comes into my mind. The wave is heavy, like Teahupoo but temperature was close to zero and these heavy boils at the bottom of the bowl are scary. I told my pilot, Paul O’Kane, that I’ve never feel so impressed and safe in the same time in my whole life. Impressed because of the set-up and safe because of his amazing driving skills and his knowledge of the spot. He drove me through sets all day and we even did some rescuing together and I was never in danger thanks to him.
Have you been to other spots around Ireland – Aileens etc?
I’ve been on a couple of fun spots in the Dingle area and I’d like to go to Aileens but to be honest, for now, I can’t wait to come back to Mully. I can’t stop thinking about this wave.
Do you have any backup/rescue procedures you drill for when in heavy surf?
I trust Paul O’Kane and Mikee Hamilton, if something serious happened, I’m sure they would have rescued me within a minute.
What about the housing/flotation for the equipment?
My camera was in a water housing specifically designed for the Red Epic, it did OK this time but I’m working on new models to be more confortable when shooting from a ski.
Having been around some big surf lately, (belharra video) where do you see the future of European surfing heading to?
In general, it’s hard to say but regarding big wave surfing, I think we’re just at the beginning of what Europe can produce. We have some amazing waves from Ireland to Portugal and some really talented surfers who are not afraid to share their waves so it will only get better.
The audio on your edit is fantastic, do you have a few tracks you keep at the back of your mind knowing your going to use at some point, or how does that work for you?
Pietro Franca had this track in mind for quite a while and was looking for a good opportunity to use it. Our relationship with music is quite funny. For example, when we went to Belharra the first week of January, we were listening to the track “She’s Gone” by the Ragged Jubilee in my car and I thought it would really fit an epic session. When I came back home I got in touch with the band,showed them the footage and asked them permission to use their track, result was more than a million views on Vimeo so it’s good for all of us in terms of promotion.
What’s currently on your playlist?
While answering this interview, I’m listening to “Star Star” by the Frames and “Story Of The Ink” by David Holmes. I first listened to both of these songs whith Donnacha Brady, mylocation manager on the Roxy commercial the week before the Mullaghmore session.
What’s next for Vincent?
Next project is not related to surfing as we’re heading to some paradisiac islands to shoot a commercial for a watch brand which I can’t tell the name. Then the usual stuff but we have the project to produce a movie in 4K (ultra HD) about big wave surfing in Europe… I will tell you more about that during the year.
Can Ireland tempt you in a return visit soon?
I want to go back to Mullaghmore, I’m obsessed by this wave but I also want to comeback in Ireland for vacation. It’s such a beautiful place with amazing people that I felt sad when I drove to the airport.
Finally is there anyone you like to thank or acknowledge?
First I’d like to thank you for this interview then I’d like to give a massive thanks to Paul O’Kane, Mikee Hamilton, François Liets, Benjamin Sanchis, Pietro Franca, Tom Butler, PeterConroy, Cain Kilcuillin, Barry Mottershead, Dylan Stott, Easky Britton, Conor Maguire, Christian McLeodd and all my lads from Cork: Sean, Shane, Craig and Eoin and also a big shoot out to Dave Hayden and my friend Donnacha Brady! Without all these guys, I would have been so lost in Ireland 😉
For more on Vincent you can find him online here: