Pilot | Osian Bowen-Thomson Interview

Find out more about what went into the latest Cardiff scene video to hit our screens, Episode.LTD's 'Pilot', as we chat to the brains behind the VX: Osian Bowen-Thomson.

After slapping us upside the head with one of the dopest Cardiff scene videos we've seen in years, of course we had to rope in the mastermind behind Episode.LTD, Osian Bowen-Thomson, to find out what made him want to spend the last year-and-a-half inflicting chronic back pain upon himself (and Osian's not exactly short either so he's got to hunch over more than most to get those angles). Putting together a video is never an easy task and we're hyped that Osian's taken on the challenge and is shining a light on the latest generation of Cardiff talent. Have a read below to find out more about his inspirations for 'Pilot' and if you haven't already watched it you better rectify that now!

First off, could you introduce yourself a bit for anyone who doesn’t know you?

Yo my name is Osian. I'm 22, I'm from Cardiff and I've got a ginger beard that's very noticeable haha.

So, what made you want to pick up a camera? And, in particular, what made you choose the VX2100?

I've always loved watching people film skating and I really wanted to get involved in it. Even when I was a kid and my old man would show me his old BMX videos I used to think the graininess of the camera was killa. The reason I had a VX2100 was cause it was given to me by a good mate of mine who doesn't film anymore, and he found out my interest in it and just blessed me with it.

What’s up with the VX1000 on the Episode logo when you’ve been using a VX2100? Did you think Trix wouldn’t notice?!

I had a feeling this was gonna get spotted haha, I mean I love the VX1000 (who don't), but I really look at Beagle as an inspiration and he always films on the VX1000, so me and the homie made the logo a VX1000 just to pay a bit of homage to the inspiration I have.

The video’s definitely got an old-school feel to it, where did your inspiration come from? Do you have a favourite video or filmer?

I was going for the old school vibe completely, I just feel like old school hip hop and VX go hand in hand. Some of my video inspiration was lurknyc, 'Baker 3', the 'DC Video' and more recently Cash Only. A lot of these videos at times are heavy in hip hop.

We really enjoyed the ‘on the session’ vibe, especially with all the homie footage, were you going out with the intention of getting specific tricks or was it more just getting out there and capturing whatever went down?

I'll be honest, my intention was just to go out and capture having a good time with the homies but then getting clips that they want along the way. I would say that in some places we would look for specific tricks but it was mainly just getting out and capturing what went down.

Cardiff’s got a pretty strong lineage of filmmakers, with the likes of Dykie, Denny, Nick Bastard and Harry Deane, how does it feel carrying on that legacy?

I mean those are some pretty big shoes to fill, but it does feel a bit insane.

A lot of the major spots in Cardiff have been pretty heavily rinsed over the years but you also had footage at some spots that we haven’t seen much of before, did you feel like you had to go off the beaten path to find things that hadn’t been done or were you not that bothered about ABDs?

I don't think me and the boys were really bothered on ABDs, for example at some spots we knew there were ABDs so we would try something different, but also the boys were being hella creative when skating some of the spots in the vid.

I know you’re a bit of a hip hop nerd and that definitely comes through in the soundtrack, what made you choose those particular songs?

Honestly I just have to have hip hop in a video, it's the best thing ever. But some of the songs in the video would be a mix, for example Prodigy, LTJ Bukem and Limp Bizkit are all quite fast paced and then i would slow the video down with Delegation. I wanted there to be a bit of a mix but still be heavy on hip hop.

Do you have an opinion on re-using tracks that have already been used? Do you feel this is something that people care about these days?

I'm not too fussed but the more I think about it, I probably wont re-use any of the music from this video.

You managed to pack out Bacareto for the premiere, were you expecting so many people to come out for it? It seemed like you were getting a bit emotional when you gave your speech…

I was very surprised with how many people turned out, and I wasn't expecting that at all. I did get a bit emotional at the end, I was over the moon with the turnout which was like a happy emotion and I was also very upset due to the fact that when I first started filming I lost one of my closest friends to suicide, and I think whilst I was working on the video, I wasn't in the headspace to just sit and think about her but when the video was out and I saw the dedication I put to her at the end of the vid, I was beaten by emotion.

So, what’s next for you?

What's next for me? The next Episode. I want to make the next video even bigger: new faces, new locations and loads of new tunes. It's gonna be huge!

Is there anyone you want to thank?

I just wanna thank all the homies who got involved and actually made this happen, you guys are a big part in this and it wouldn't happen without you boys. Also wanna thank my girlfriend for putting up with me disappearing and filming every night for the last couple months.

Looking forward to it already, cheers Osian!

That's enough chit-chat though. Head to the shop to buy the latest clothing and skateboard decks from CSC. Or, check out more skate interviews on the CSC Blog. Safe.