Featured Cinematographer: Shane McFalls

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If you’ve ever watched a Traveling Circus Episode, you know who Shane McFalls is. He is originally from Central New York. I first heard of him when I Hate NY put out Bogart. It was one of the first am movies I ever bought and I still watch it a couple times a year. In fact, it’s sitting not 2ft away from me as I write this. I knew he was good but when I saw the Pterodactyl Blood trailer, I was blown away (See Below). Now you can see his work on LineTravelingCircus.com as well as in Meatheads movies.

Where do you reside?
Right now I have a place in Salt Lake City, Utah. Who knows where I will be after April when our lease is up.

Where do you shoot?
All over the place: pretty much wherever there is snow and enough gas money to get there. Shooting skiing has taken me from Oregon to Newfoundland.

How old were you when you first started shooting?
Ah, I think it was the winter of 10th grade in high school, so I was around 15.

Who is your idol/inspiration?
Probably my Dad, he is into 100-mile marathons and crazy three-day bike races in the Adirondacks. You have to respect anyone who sets hard goals for themselves. I made this about a year ago while I followed him on such a bike race:

What is the most moving picture/video you remember?
For skiing it would be MSP’s “Something About McConkey” – the first ski movie I saw growing up. It reinforced the ideas that skiing is fun and very goofy, which is something people tend to forget much to often.

What sparked your passion to shoot?
I sprained my ankle in high school and my parents bought me a Sony Hi8 camera that year for Christmas so I could go to ski hill and film my friends while taking it easy.

Shane filming Will at Togg, back in CNY

Do you have any formal schooling?
I didn’t go to film school in any sense.
I spent a year at North Country Community College in the Adirondacks. Don’t worry if you have never heard of it, nobody has. Growing up in Central New York I thought Whiteface Mountain was going to be the ideal ski-resort… But I did learn a ton of Photoshop and HTML skills there. Besides that it was a horrible experience. After that year I finished my Bachelors in Communication at SUNY Albany where I lived in an attic and ate bean burritos with my good friend Erik Olson.

How did you get into the business?
I met Erik (the one from the Attic in college) in high school. Through him I befriended the kids who made the I Hate NY movies. We are all still pretty close friends. I definitely would not be making ski movies today without ever meeting them. After that is just all about meeting and knowing the right people.

This is a trailer for a movie we never ended up finishing but was one of the most fun winters I have ever had filming:

What was your first paid gig?
The first time I got paid for filming was to shoot some random car video for my cousins for fifty bucks. But getting paid to shoot skiing all began with filming for Meathead Films (www.meatheadfilms.com), which I did for three years and still do on occasion.

When did you realize you loved shooting on snow?
Probably during the winter I got my first camera in high school. That’s when it was the most fun: No worries about time, light, or tricks.

What is your favorite picture/video you’ve taken?
I don’t think I could pick a favorite. I have been saving every tape since the Hi8 days in boxes that I keep at my parent’s house. When I am 70 years old I plan on making a crazy compilation of them all.

Can you describe your style? Hard light, soft light, fisheye, etc.
I love anything that resembles skateboard street lines so I try to emulate that a lot. I don’t get too techy with slow motion or fancy editing either. I like to keep it real.

Most fun/intersting people to shoot?
Will and Andy can be my most and least fun people to shoot with, depending on how long we have been in the car with each other. Besides them: Erik Olson, Ian Compton and Garrett Russell always make me laugh.

What do you shoot in the off season?
Not much. A little skateboarding and other random stuff. Most of my “off season” is spent treading the fine line of being broke. I was a school janitor for a few summers. That was a big motivator.

"I am also a huge fan of short shorts. They are super comfortable."

What advice would you give someone who wants to start a career in action sports photography/cinematography?
Having fun is better than having money. At least that’s what I have been telling myself these past few years and it seems to work.
Meet lots of people. Jump on any opportunity and don’t take it so seriously.

Favorite format, camera, lens?
Super 8mm is awesome. I would shoot that more if it weren’t such a process. I really like anything that combines imperfect grainy film and clean digital footage. Even though it sits on a shelf: I am still hanging onto my old VX and death lens too. I can’t part with that set up.

What’s in your bag?
A beat-up Sony FX-1 that we use for The Traveling Circus. A bunch of tapes and batteries. A mini shotgun, a camera light, and a wireless mic. Plus fireworks, brass knuckles, a skeleton key, petty cash and a “Deadly Spiders of North America” reference guide.

What happened to your first camera?
The Sony Hi8 Camcorder I traded it in college for something stupid.

What was your favorite trip ever?
Going to Newfoundland in 2004 with Meathead Films during my spring break.

Favorite place to shoot?
Mount Hood is great because its warm and you can usually count on getting a good amount of sun.

Eric Pollard, Shane and Erik Olson at Mt Hood this past summer. "It was pretty cool to be filming someone I have been watching on TV since I was 15."

Your scariest shoot?
Being in the Chic Choc Mountains in northeast Quebec with the Meatheads. I got caught in a small avalanche while we were filming. That freaked me out for the rest of the trip.

Your funniest shoot?
I laugh a lot whenever we film for the Traveling Circus. I find my laugh obnoxious and very annoying. Before I export any episode I make sure I go through and de-laugh the shots.

Great stuff. Can I post a couple episodes? Like your favorite 3?
For sure, I am pretty proud of how the first three TC of this season came out. So feel free to use those. They should be all good to embed from Vimeo.