Teasor trailer for locally produced wakeboarding short film, Tropical Roast, with footage captured using video DSLRs.

Tropical Roast is a 10-15 minute short film about wakeboarding, directed by Marc Whitelaw and produced by Break Your Crayons. It was filmed at the Misverstand Dam over 5 days in March 2011, using various cameras, including a Canon EOS 5D Mark II video DSLR, a Canon EOS 7D video DSLR, a Red One and a GoPro HD Hero.

Check out the teaser trailer embedded below, featuring great slow-motion captures and amazing aerial shots. For more information and updates, have a look at their Facebook page.

Tropical Roast is a personification of the South African wakeboarding community, directly focused on the Tropical Roast Crew – consisting of:Β Devon Nassif, Nick Burton-Moore, Dylan Mitchell and Ryan Whitelaw. Misverstand Dam plays host to the Crew whenever the weekend plans are made to journey up the west coast of South Africa and live in a Tropical Paradise where the water is always warm and the beers are always cold. Director, Marc Whitelaw has been living the Tropical Dream for a few years now and has bared witness to the hilarious antics and athletic finesse of Ryan, Nick and Dylan.

2011 brings in a new era as Devon Nassif joins the ranks from Johannesburg for the filming of Tropical Roast, a 10 to 15 minute short film inspired by the Whitelaw Brothers. On the 23rd of March 2011 the 12-man crew arrived at Misverstand Dam to begin an intensive 5-day film shoot. At this point I’d like to thank Monster Energy for keeping us going during the five 20 hour days. Big shout out and thanks to Mark Burton-Moore and Sport Unlimited for their kindness and generosity, for without them this project would not have been possible.

The energy in and around the water exploded every morning at 5.30 am as the Tropical Roast crew prepared the boats and warmed up the cameras. Each day was split into 2 and sometimes 3 sessions of wakeboarding which gave the film crew enough time to get shots from an assortment of different angles. After reviewing the high-speed footage captured on the morning of the first day everyone’s eagerness was undeniable with Dylan Mitchell landing a new trick every day for the duration of the shoot. The camaraderie between everyone was amazing; each rider pushing one another to their maximum potential truly is a beautiful thing to capture. A vast selection of toys including: jet ski’s, high speed cameras, underwater housings, smoke bombs and a micro light were all at hand for the crew in order to maximize the project’s outcome.

The first double back roll to be landed in South Africa was also attempted on the last day, but by then the challenging conditions and over-crowded river took its toll.

With the riders pushing their limits and the film makers aspiring to get the best shots, Tropical Roast was a huge success and amazing to be apart of.

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