Blake Shipman

BShipman Films Hot on the Scene

December 09, 2011

by John Pellan
With very little mainstream exposure, the ATV industry relies on manufacturer support, aftermarket professionals, excited enthusiasts, and passionate photojournalist and videographers to further fuel it along.

Not since H Bomb Films' Wes Miller and Premis Industries' Brad Phillips have I noticed a more professional, passionate, dedicated, driven and talented film maker in our industry. He's my kind of die hard, since age 4, Oklahoma City's Blake Shipman has been riding bikes and quads, and he has been making films since he was 13. Click on any of Blake's You Tube clips and I think you'll understand that Blake sure is following his calling. With that I decided to fire a few questions at him…

Man o man, you're not playing around are you?
I take film-making very serious. I have always done so since day one. I remember some people thinking I took it a little more serious than needed, but I always believed that if I worked hard long enough and did what I knew how to do as well as learn from my mistakes as well as others that I would end up somewhere positive. I feel like a lot of that hard work is beginning to pay off, but I cannot stop here. I’ve got a whole lot more I want to get done.

Are you planning on sticking with this for a while, or is there something else you want to tackle next?
If I had to gauge it, I’d say I’m about 1/5th through my list of things to do with film production.

Do you think quad riders of today have more respect than those of the past?
Yes I do. You see a lot of guys hop on bikes daily. You can (for the most part) dial them in easier than getting a quad ready to race. Racing and riding quads has been called a lame sport but you know what they say, If it was easy, then everyone would do it.

Besides some really creative camera angles, fun slow motion shots and artistic transitions the audio you pair with your scenes really tells your story well. How do you go about selecting audio for your films?
I have always loved music and by the time I began to edit footage, I had music stockpiled on my computer and on burned CDs that I listened to over and over. I would get ideas from the punk rock I listened to even back in 6th grade, which everyone hated by the way, and now it is what inspires me to edit what I have done.

So sometimes you'll build a video around a song you like?
Absolutely. 90% of the time I do that exact process. I've got tens of thousands of songs on my iTunes account and yes I have bought the songs that bands/labels haven't sent me to use.

Have any bands contacted you yet? I would think you could do a lot of good for an up and coming band.
Some do but I'm extremely picky believe it or not. Some viewers complain about music I use and it is mostly harder tunes but I'm a stickler for music I use. Now we are getting into the days of stepping it up and working with labels and rights which some filmmakers do not do but it is a huge deal to get caught selling content you do not have permission to use.

Like the several different ATVs most of us upgrade to, I'm assuming you've done the same with editing software? What did you start with and what do you use now? Do you have to spend a lot of money to make a great video?
I started out with a humongous VHS recording camera that my dad used when I was literally a baby to shoot birthdays and family events. Then, I stepped up to a little handy cam that used mini DV tapes, which was standard definition at the time. HD cams weren’t going for $400 at Sam’s Club when I was 13 so I used what I had around me and it was a great way to learn what I wanted and what I did not want. Now I use a Panasonic HMC-150 and a Canon 7D DSLR. I began editing on software that I bought from office depot called Pinnacle Studio and it was pretty much the same as what comes on PCs and MAC computers now days but probably not as extensive. Now days if you had to, you could edit an entire DVD with iMovie which is nuts if you stop and think about it! I asked for my own computer, which was an HP Desktop for Christmas one year when I was probably 17 and then began using Adobe Premiere Pro to edit. After all of the blue screens and constant headache from that mess, I went out and bought a MAC laptop three years later and bought Final Cut Studio software which was one of the best purchases in this whole process thus far.

What was your first machine? Did you race?
My first machine was a Honda ATC70 three wheeler when I was four, and then just went up the ranks with bigger motors and better bikes. I had gone up to a Suzuki 80 from that and then a Polaris Trailblazer. Then, it was a Honda 250X, a Honda 400EX, Honda TRX450 and now a Yamaha YFZ450R. I raced some things but nothing like Nationals. Also, I was never good at racing to tell the truth. I just liked to jump and still do on occasion.

A creative clip of Blake riding his Yamaha YFZ450R. Blake shot this with a GoPro HD Hero and a Canon 7D.