Behind the Clip: Plane Jump

How important was it to you to film this project and not just photograph it?

I’d say even more important actually. The photographs look incredible and really capture the moment, and probably for myself the best memories are from looking at the photos. However to the wider public and mainstream audience I think the video is the masterpiece. As much as I love the kiting world, I think it’s vital to also reach people that are not in the industry. Therefore in the YouTube video we really explain so anybody can understand the project. The concept that made this work is the special thing in my opinion. I’ve been kiting since 2007, and more professionally since 2016 when I got my first sponsorship. Over those years I reckon a lot of people must have had the crazy idea to jump over an airplane, however many will quickly realize it’s not that easy to do, let alone to organize.

There must have been a lot to organize! Was the filming side of things minor in comparison?

It was all a huge operation. In order to get permits, everything had to be planned down to the smallest detail – where the cameras would be compared to the plane, where my kite might go, where the drone would fly, how to avoid other kiters in the shot, safety and much more. Everything needed to be 100% controlled. We had countless meetings with drawings and clarifications on the plan, to ensure Luke the pilot would be happy and we would all be confident. The whole thing was one big plan and the biggest challenge was indeed to have everything on film. One funny moment was the Director of Photography (DOP) explaining how he thought the video would go:-

DOP: Lasse will do the first attempt but will want to do better.

Lasse: Well what if the first attempt is perfect, then that’s it and we won’t need to take any more risks.

DOP: How big do you think that chance is?

Lasse: Much bigger than the Voice Over going perfect the first time. So pretty high.

And actually on the first attempt everybody on the beach did think we had the perfect take, but I was the only one insisting on doing better. Luckily the DOP was very happy to hear that!

How many videographers and camera angles did you have? We can see you had a GoPro on your head and in the cockpit, a drone and someone filming Kevin Langeree on the beach for starters.

We had 17 angles for video and three or four photographers. Haha it sounds like a lot, but it seemed like even more when we were on the beach. It was really cool to see Red Bull’s incredible experience with big projects like this, and how for me as an athlete I could focus on my part which is kiting and jumping over the plane. There was even somebody on the beach constantly checking if the GoPro was recording and making sure there was no water or salt on the lens. Red Bull has a big professional team to do this, but during all meetings I was very involved. The branding part is definitely important and there are very strict guidelines to follow.

So Red Bull’s involvement was more than just sponsoring the project?

Yes, that’s something that I often try to explain to people and I call it The World Of Red Bull. They are so big, experienced and eager to do better. Their slogan ‘’gives you wings’’ speaks magic and goes for: giving wings to people and ideas. Do the impossible and Red Bull (the brand vision as well as the drink itself) will give you the possibility to go for it, where others won’t be able to. I mean, who else would have supported me in this crazy project, or any of the other crazy projects they do? And besides that I’m a huge believer that our sport gets an INCREDIBLE spotlight at events like Red Bull King of the Air and Red Bull Megaloop, and with their social media presence. I’m sorry for going a little off track, but safe to say that I’m a big fan and ambassador!

Going back to the film, who did the production and editing?

The whole production was done by Eyeforce, a very experienced filming company with an office in Amsterdam and Cape Town (perfect haha!). Eyeforce is a really high-end company, but actually started with filming Kevin Langeree for his series Cape Sessions, Youri Zoon with Recorded, and the kite movie Chapter One. Kiters that have started later might not know, but these were the real OG kite videos back in the day – I spent hundreds of hours watching them, one reason my teachers said I had to focus more on school and homework! Please go on YouTube and look them up. Anyway, our video was edited in Cape Town and it was our goal to make it for anybody. This way we could tell everyone watching what kitesurfing is, how Luke flies his plane, what the challenges were, and how we made it work.

And how did it compare to other videos you’ve made?

Over the years I’ve worked on a few big projects, from Samsung to Porsche and other big Red Bull projects. But this was definitely one I’ll remember as also on the day I was very present and proud of what the whole team had accomplished. I’m not saying that over 60 people were there to work for me, but all together this is what it involved, and with great success!

What gear did you use for the project?

For many years now I’ve helped Duotone with testing and developing gear, and every year it’s so cool because we get to improve so much. I started the Plane Jump idea while riding the Dice SLS and Evo D/LAB. And every year the project took, I got to ride an even better kite. How cool was that! For the plane jump I was riding a 9m Rebel D/LAB, and had another 8m on the beach. I cannot put into words how good this kite makes me feel. The handling, performance, speed and confidence is far beyond any other kite I’ve ever flown.

Tell us more about your involvement with the R&D side.

Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of working with some very successful designers who have done amazing work. Over the last two years I’ve been working with Sky Solbach who has been designing kites for almost 20 years and has a ton of experience. I’ve been very stoked to help Duotone with the D/LAB range which stands for Duotone laboratory – basically these are products where the price isn’t that important, we just want the very best material, techniques and craft in a product, meaning the very best product that can be made at the moment. Since then I’ve helped with the Rebel D/LAB which has been an insane project and turned out super successful, like it blew everybody’s expectations and even Duotone was blown away by the success.

We’ve one last question on the stunt, for your pilot: Luke, how did you feel being involved in this project? Was it your first in the kite industry?

It felt amazing after so much planning over a long time and getting to know Lasse over the process. We both trusted each other 100%. I felt like Lasse was the guy to do this project with – his skill is exceptional and he is also good to communicate with. It was my very first project with a kiter and also my first project that involved another athlete and not just myself. All my other projects were solo ones so this was the first time it really felt more like a team effort and we got to play the team game. We spent three weeks together in Cape Town for the project window and I’m now also super excited to try kitesurfing