Upon our relaunch, we decided it would be the coolest idea ever to give back to the next generation of filmmakers and open our assortment knowledge, talents, and skills to them; we coined it the Vurb Red Program. Little did we know we’d receive hundreds of emails from applicants, which was flattering to say the least, but ultimately made the genesis of the idea quite a daunting and rather unrealistic task. Since then, I’ve managed to be able to take on a small handful of very talented filmmakers and work with them as much as my schedule allows – which, frankly, isn’t much.
That being said, I try to field as many questions and ideas as these guys can throw at me, and it’s amazing to see how much progression happens in a short amount of time when I’m able to give guidance and direction. Everyone I’m currently working with has different skill sets and traits, which means there’s a wide variety of things to work on, whether it be shooting, editing, story-telling, plus anything and everything that falls between those realms. But I tell these guys my strongest asset is, in a few shorts paragraphs, being able to pass along guidance or skills that might’ve taken 5 years to learn. When I started, there was no YouTube. There were no tutorials. There was no one to ask how or what to do (outside of a few remedial college courses). And I had no clear path on how to make a functional living in the sport I loved so much. All I knew how to do was grind; put my head down with my fellow vurb partners and learn, shoot, and practice as much as I possibly could. Somehow… it worked out and it’s awesome to be able to bring guys like Seth Heggie, of Heggie Films, into the fold and give the young grasshopper as much advice as I possibly can. He’s come a very long ways in the past year, and once we start, metaphorically, practicing/testing on practice days rather than race days, I can see Seth making a huge leap and becoming a prevailing face in the next generation of storytellers within our sport.
So Seth showed up to the JS7 Freestone Spring Championship, but our heads were so buried in the all the other content I didn’t get to spend much time helping him construct a viable plan for the week. (As I continue to preach, practicing on Race Days is very hard) Instead, I played with his strengths and told him to go after an old school vurb select style of video. I’d say he nailed this one. He also helped ArtDog Kyle Cowling work on a really cool longer format feature that’s currently on the editing floor called “All In” that gives an in-depth look into the highest level of the amateur scene. It’s going to be rad. That’s another topic, but I’m excited to see Kyle + Heggie make some magic.
Hope you enjoy the Heggie Films Vurb Red Program Select!