Baltimore: Free Running Filmmaker
A Conversation with Tyson Sanford-Griffin
Baltimore: Free Running Filmmaker
A Conversation with Tyson Sanford-Griffin
Tyson Sanford-Griffin is a part of Wide Angle Youth Media’s crew of young filmmakers. In this video Tyson shares his passion for parkour in a quite spectacular way. GENERATION chatted with the young filmmaker about his media work and his athletic craft.
GENERATION: How did you wind up making a video about free running in the first place?
Tyson Sanford-Griffin: It was an assignment given to the students about an issue in your city and what change do you want to see in it. The prompt my teacher gave me was “tell us about a time when you feel at odds with the world.” It took a while to think of these two ideas coming together because I had no idea what to write about. The only time I did felt at odds with the world was with schoolwork and that’s it. To me it didn’t sound like it would be much of a captivating story talking about struggling through school and living in an unsafe place……then again it might’ve had a chance…..I’m not sure anymore.
GENERATION: How did you and your team go about capturing all the wonderful parkour footage?
Tyson Sanford-Griffin: From the technical standpoint, the entire video was filmed on a Canon DSLR…..that’s right-no GoPros! For the close-up shots, the camera was on a tripod and the neck of the tripod was fully extended for me to grip onto and the legs were shortened at all times. To make sure it didn’t slip out of my hand, or the tripod, a strap was around my body.
GENERATION: It’s been a while since you made the video: has your free running evolved since then? Has the city’s changing political climate affected that?
Tyson Sanford-Griffin: My physical skills have increased some what compared to the film. I’m still trying to improve on my tricks like the Cheat Gainer, a side-flip and I really want to do a Corkscrew, but my skills right now only improved in the sense that I can now jump a bit higher and a bit farther. Eventually I will do those flips as easily as tying a shoe. Police in Baltimore have not affected my Free-Running skills development.
GENERATION: What other video ideas do you have up your sleeve?
Tyson Sanford-Griffin:: Okay! The other videos I have worked on let’s see:
- Life with Asperger’s — I talk about how I live with having Asperger’s Syndrome.
- Blessed is the Peacemaker — A man named Tard Carter works for Safe Streets to keep the streets safe.
- Riding the MTA for the First Time — A boy fantasizing about his first MTA experience.
- Facing My Fear: Overcoming Anxiety — Taqi talks about how he’s overcoming his anxiety.
- Your MTA Checklist, MVP: Behind The Scenes — Hear from the students who make the films.
- iPocalypse. — Technology consumes so much, we don’t pay attention to the zombie apocalypse.
Wide Angle Youth Media is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that provides Baltimore youth with media education to tell their own stories and become engaged with their communities.
