Beyond The Noise

Noah Lane is a great example of nomadic lifestyle. He left the warm waters of Gold Coast and replaced his boardshorts for wearing thick wetsuits on the cold waves of Ireland. He is humble, lives simply and never misses a great day of surfing.

We talked with him few weeks ago with the release of his latest film with Harrison Roach, directed by Andrew Kaineder.

DEFLOW: Hello Noah! How is everything going? It seems you’ve been busy with a new project, Beyond The Noise, right? Can you tell us more about it?

Noah: Yeah so Beyond the Noise is essentially an experimental surf film by my friend and director Andrew Kaineder who was kind enough to ask me to be involved. He got an incredible group of creative people along for the ride and created a 40 minute film that I think is a great representation of what I see in surfing.

Deflow: Watching the trailer, we couldn’t help thinking on the era we are living, surrounded by the technology industry. How did you get to the idea for the documentary?

Noah: It’s a lot of Andrew's personal vision on the world around us, our disconnection and separation from nature told through the medium of surfing. For me the idea resonated strongly and I felt that deeper, there was a sense of telling what I find in surfing- the elements of escapism and being in an uncontrollable environment. So often these days we construct haven's where we're removed or masters of the natural world so it's nice to see a depiction of the places where you can still feel like a small cog in a larger machine.

D:How long have you been filming? How many people are involved in the project?

N: The film was shot over about a 6 month period between November 2017 and April 2018. But for AK the whole process was much longer. The surfing part that I was involved in was the easy bit. But it wasn't without it's difficulties. AK broke his leg and tore ligaments in his ankle just a few weeks before he was scheduled to come to Ireland. At that point, too many wheels were in motion to postpone the start so he spent the first few weeks hobbling through muddy fields with all his kit in a moon boot. It ended in April when I tore all the ligaments in my knee and was put out of the water for 6 months. It was kind of bitter sweet- I hardly wanted to be injured but we had scored some incredible moments, weather and waves in the previous months and I needed a rest from surfing for a while. 

As I mentioned earlier, there was an incredibly talented crew involved. Andrew headed the whole thing up. Along filming was Todd Barnes who worked on Ben Player's "Far North" together with Andrew. Harrison Roach joined me in the ocean surfing. Dan Crockett wrote some poignant words that make up the script. Joe Franklin did the completely original score with about 10 other musicians and Tim Wreyford was the colourist.

D: When and where we will be able to watch the full film? Which are the next dates of screening?

N: The first screening of the film was back in October at the London Surf Film Festival and shortly after we toured it through the UK with the support of Finisterre. It's since played at a number of film festivals and is set for an online release on iTunes in March.

D: if you would have to choose one reason why someone should watch this film, which one would it be?

N: It’s really hard to choose just one reason to watch the film but there are some parts that really stand out to me. The cinematography is compelling and really captures what Ireland and the North Atlantic is like during the winter. Andrew and Todd are both very skilled at their craft and it shows. It's beautiful and dark and more like the quality you would expect from a big budget film rather than a surf film.  The music score is also something else. Joe created a soundtrack that's both original and unique not just in a surfing sense. I've watched it quite a few times now and every time, I still manage to hear something new in the composition. 

It's completely immersive and I would suggest to anyone watching and wanting to experience the full package and hard work the guys put in- to do so in a dark room, on a decent sized screen, with the volume turned up.

Thanks mate!

Noah

 

Watch the teaser and full film here:

Beyond the Noise from Andrew Kaineder