Interview with Sean Pitcam

Documenting live music and being able to re-watch your favourite show is extremely important for music fans and bands alike, particularly in hardcore, with the sheer amount of madness involved. It is people like Sean Pitcam who films these sets and post them on YouTube for everyone to relive. With some of his videos reaching 49k plus views, it seems that showcasing crowd kills and mosh moves gets you very popular on the internet. I interviewed Sean to get an idea of how he begun this and what crazy things he may have done in his time as 'Pitcam'.

So how did “Sean the Pit Camera man” start?

"In 2013 I bought a gopro to film a graffiti video, it didn't work out, got arrested and blah blah. I basically needed a new hobby, so in 2014 I brought the gopro to download festival. I had been into metal all my life, loved the mosh, so I just rocked up to all the sets that day just filming moshing. I saw a kid in a Sentenced hoodie absolutely tearing it up and i just chatted to him after which led to him saying I should check out malevolence. After seeing their set I kinda said to myself thats all I wanna film.... people lamping each other."

When did you first start getting involved in the hardcore scene?

"Literally 2014 after that malevolence set at download fest; Google and a few friends told me to see certain bands and from there I met more and more people involved and it just stuck with me."

What has your favourite event/show to film?

"Outbreak fest for sure. Absolutely mental."

What is it about hardcore that you love shooting?

"The energy, and the cheeky smile you give your mate when you know the beatdown is about to hit. Overall, its just the incredible reactions you can witness, everyone singing together to a really hard band- its just sick!"

What camera set up do you use?

An array of gopros. A GH3, GH4, Cannons. Collectively, I share alot of cameras with David Tan. It's not like super technical; Hardcore doesn't need big fancy camera, aslong as you can capture the moment in 1080p, it aint a fuss.

What is your favourite band to film?

"That's a tough one. There's a lot. Right now it's: Stranded, Cauldron, Splitknuckle and Guilt Trip, always certify a good time."

Have you faced any troubles whilst filming a set?

"A few, nothing I can really mention, but you can imagine what happens when you are basically filming fighting! Oh, there was that one time Full Contact were playing this tiny little basement show in Spain and basically the police came in to the top section of the venue- it was a total shut down. All the lights went off and everyone was told to be quiet. After some time, the police left and we were told it was illegal to have hardcore shows in some parts of Spain."

Any funny stories?

"Picture the scene: a melon has just been used to crowdkill an innocent bystander. There's melon and seeds everywhere. People are trying to do butterfly kicks, but failing miserably slipping over the contents of the recently deceased fruit. In the corner of me eye I seen ol Henry the Hoover chillen in the back room- next thing you know, I'm moshin and hoovering."

What have you got planned for the future?

"Right now its just to document. I love the music and the scene- documenting it is essential. Me and David Tan have linked up to basically make the best content possible; theres no ultimate plan, I do what I do for fun and I don't see myself ever stopping.

You can find all of Sean Pitcam's videos here on his Youtube Channel. 

By Sam Hennerley