Video by Dav Fox | Words by Josh Barrow
Enter Samudra Spirit Glitters. The latest short film from longtime collaborators and creative powerhouses Dav Fox and Craig Anderson. A project that documents seemingly impossible, perfect empty lineups. Maybe it’s Dav’s sixth sense for swell chasing, or Craig’s quiet obsession with isolation which lead them to such an achievement. Whatever it is, Gregs every-few-years masterpiece streak continues, somehow making it cutting through the endless barrage of surf content that floods our screens in current times. A film that harks back to a purer era. We caught up with the duo for some quick intel on the above masterpiece…
WT: Unless we’re mistaken Samudra means “gathering together of waters” Can you expand on the title and the idea behind the project a little?
Craig Anderson: I liked what it meant, and the way it sounded. Riyan Ady Putra, a graphic designer from Indonesia, worked on the type and graphics for the project. The idea was to hit the road and seas and see how far we could get. Dav loves pushing the envelope.
Who knew you could still score waves of such caliber without a single person out in this day and age. What AI plugin did you use to remove crowds?
Dav is a genius on the computer. All AI.
Both the spots in the first and last sections seem pretty damn challenging. Can you speak about figuring out both of these waves on your own?
I enjoy surfing on my own. It’s great to surf with friends but there is something about being in an empty line up that makes you feel more connected, no distractions, looking at things differently. The waves were super tricky to surf, both really a close out on shallow reef with the odd make-able ride.
Other than the waves, did you guys face any challenges on the trip? It looks very remote. Were you land based the whole time? Did you have access to internet etc.?
We got stuck out there for an extra week as it was too windy to hit the seas home. Google translate was a life saver.
How was working with Dav on this? He’s meant to be a guru when it comes to surf forecasting and handling things on the road…
Dav is amazing. I’ve worked with him for a good decade and I really enjoy travelling with him. The alarm clock is usually him snapping his pelican case shut a few hours before the sun comes up. We boil some eggs and get home in shambles once the sun comes down. Dav is so damn gifted, unbelievable at shooting water, be it digital or 16. He runs around on land like a mountain goat capturing sessions, never missing a clip. He is also a great editor and graphic designer (even though these graphics were done by Riyan Ady Putra for cultural appreciation).
Dav, you’re credited as the sole filmer on this film, yet there still is some great water shots, some of them being on 16mm. Can you speak about how you balance things on the ground when you’re alone shooting?
Dav Fox: Yeah, it was tricky on that trip as the waves there are fickle and hard to actually catch with only short windows. Especially tricky with one surfer in the water. So I was pretty heavily chained to the land for most of it…wishing I could be in two places at once. I did end up locking the tripod off and jumping in the water to shoot with my high speed 16mm camera at some point though. The tripod was a rock solid filmer. Didn’t miss a clip.
Can you speak about what it’s like to working with Craig? Especially on trips like this one where he’s the only surfer.
I think Craig has a solid idea of how he wants to portray his surfing which is great to work with. I’d say we have similar views on trying to make something authentic. And his surfing obviously shoots well. But outside of that it was one of those trips where there was so many unknowns .. everyday required a fair bit of problem solving to do anything. And probably also a whole lot of time sitting around on rocks waiting for winds, waves, tides or ‘just incases’. Obviously you want to do trips like that with people you really get along with well, who don’t mind a bit of a struggle. Craig’s always willing to have a go when things feel a little isolated or sketchy. And never too bummed when it doesn’t go to plan. The afternoon he hit the reef and sliced his back up. There were no complaints. He just flipped his button up shirt backwards, leant forward on the car drives and got on with job at hand.
