bHappy Gets Serious

Last year the bHappy crew dropped Happy Meals a little friend movie filmed around Tahoe with their eclectic crew. It had a positive vibe and a solid flow but most importantly they were having fun. With a motto saying that sometimes snowboarding gets too serious these guys concentrate on the more fun aspects of shredding. Paul one of the men behind this operation took the time to answer a few questions and let us in to the world of bHappy.

What have been some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned since making Happy Meals?

We had a ton of fun making Happy Meals and we have made a big push to really step up this year with Happy Thoughts. The constant progression can sometimes create tension and frustration for me and our crew. We are always pushing to make bHappy better and improve as a film crew, and what i have learned is that a positive environment will nurture progression and creativity. It has been a balancing act trying to keep the fun feel of Happy Meals, while taking everything a bit more serious and trying to stack footy. We are constantly making mistakes and doing our best to learn from them.

Happy Thoughts Teaser from bHappyFilms on Vimeo.

Anything really sketchy happen this past season?

Colton got his license.

Add anyone new to the crew?

One of our homies from Rocklin just that started riding with us this year, Sean Keane, has been killing it lately. Check him out in our bHappy in the Park edit at Northstar.

bHappy In The Park (Northstar) from bHappyFilms on Vimeo.

You might also be seeing some shots of him in our video this year.

So who got the opener and who has the banger ender?

Ben Strause will become the first boarder to get 2 song opener AND 3 song ender! Take that Marc Johnson.

Does a snowboard movie now have to have a double cork to legitimize itself or is that trick becoming somewhat overdone now?

I love me some double corks, however, it isn’t a deal breaker for me. I like watching the fun mini-shreders just as much as the innovative jumpers.

Care to shed some light on having a spot busted by a dude that said he wanted to fuck Shaun White? Cole told me you had it all on film and it’s very humorous.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t there to witness the bust, but the footy is priceless. Future YouTube sensation!

Which do you find harder to film urban or backcountry?

My neighbor Phill has told me for years that “Hunting is 99% hiking and sitting around, and 1% shooting.) Filming backcountry this year was a lot like that. Don’t get me wrong, I had some great times with my friends hiking around exploring the great outdoors, but getting shots out there is tough. So many things have to go right for a jump to work, and a shot to go down.

Who would you say was the most influential filmer for you and what films have influenced you?

I can’t pick one. Pierre Wikberg got me into it with the Robot Food films, Carlino is incredible. Filmers like Tim Bradley, Rob Balding, and Colton Feldman have also had a big impact on me. As far as videos, I would say that Patchwork Patterns blew me away when I was in high school and Think Thank has continued to impress me with their creativity and innovative boarding. EPI’s “It Ain’t Easy” is a bHappy favorite that we watch almost every time we crash at my house. Also the Airblaster videos are so fun to watch. They get me stoked to go ride my board and Travis Parker is a crazy character.

What would you say the best and the worst of making a movie are? Anything you’d tell people thinking about making a movie that they should consider before doing it?

The best thing about making a movie is the ‘behind the scenes’ stuff that goes on. Singing is a big part of our jolly crew and we plan to try out for next season’s American Idol. The worst part is when people take things too seriously and start to get down on themselves if things aren’t going right. Remember why you started snowboarding. It wasn’t because you wanted to get “hekka sponsed” it wasn’t because you had to get twenty shots for your video part, it was because it was fun. I try to make edits and videos that capture how much fun I have with my friends on and off the hill, and share that with others. Just keep that in mind before you start making videos to impress people.

How beneficial has the internet been with getting word out on what you guys are doing and what are your thoughts on doing a movie for verse selling one on dvd?

It is crazy to go onto our Vimeo statistics and see people from Bangladesh have watched our videos. I don’t think this would be possible without the great World Wide Web. By putting up a free video on the web, tons of people will see your film and hopefully be inspired to pass on the video to their friends, and so on. It’s a new frontier with limitless opportunities for any startup company. DVDs are great too though so you can show grandma what you made.

Thanks and shout outs?

I would like to say thank you to Bryce Hymans and Joel Vandruff for being there with me since the beginning. bHappy would not be here without them. And of course everyone involved: riders, filmers, editors, sponsors, friends, family, inspirations, teachers, mentors. Thanks to all the filmers I constantly nag for help too, you know who you are.