Tanner Zane: Gaining Traction with Dirt Bikes and Cameras

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Randen Tadaki Designer Brynn Vincent

For many high school students, the uncertainty of finding a path to pursue in life often poses a challenge. Tanner zane found his passion in editing and filming. Zane spends his time filming athletes at various school sporting events, but also specializes in filming at Oahu’s North Shore where he captures dirt biking and surfing events.

“I got into filming from dirt biking ‘cause I was taking clips of all the boys and I was like, ‘I need to make an edit’ and then I always kept making edits. Then I got a camera and then it just took off,” said Zane. “Right now since it’s winter, I mostly film on the North Shore of Oahu. I film surfing almost everyday.”

The versatility of different styles and subjects that Zane has acquired during his filming journey has led to his traction within the media industry. Some of the projects that Zane has worked on include filming the Billabong Pro Pipe surf contest as well as filming for Servco Chevrolet, where he is currently working on a commercial with surfer Seth Moniz.

Zane began creating films for his social media page in early 2021. Since then, he has gained over a thousand followers on his platforms, with each of his posts gaining hundreds of likes. However, despite all of Zane’s early success, he believes that initially beginning a career in film is the hardest part; that being noticed was the most challenging aspect of his journey to this point.

“The biggest challenge of filming has to be getting your name out there. I feel that is the hardest thing because there are so many people filming and almost every surfer out there has a filmer already, so getting your name out there has to be the hardest thing,” said Zane.

Gaining recognition was not the only challenge for him, as Zane had also initially struggled with handheld filming. He acknowledges the challenges of handheld filming for beginner filmmakers. Zane, a swimmer for Mililani High School’s swim team, compares filming to the sport of swimming in which he endorses practice in order to become better.

“I don’t know, when I first started I sucked at it but I’ve gotten way better but for me it’s just practice, it’s just like swimming, you got to practice, practice, practice, it’s kind of the same thing just I film everyday so naturally I’ve gotten better at it,” said Zane.

Looking back, Zane attributes his success to his family while also giving credit to himself. Moving forward, Zane hopes to be able to continue filming even after high school.

“[My parents] really helped me but ultimately the person who helped me the most was me, I think I pushed myself to get where I was,” said Zane. “I see my future in the surf industry rather than like in movies and stuff. It’s kind of hard to get into that industry.”

Filming for many different people, Zane has made hundreds of films over the last year. He has shot not only surfing and dirt biking, but various other sports such as football and karate. Zane hopes that his films can leave an impact on others with the reaction and excitement that his films bring, which is a key reason to his passion for filming.

“I do it because I truly love to see the reaction that comes when I give my clips to people. When I give them to people they become all happy and psyched out,” said Zane. “I think that a few of my films have impacted people in a positive way in that they bring happiness, or at least I sure hope so.”

There are many circumstances and skills needed to gain success in filming. For beginners, the filming industry is one that may seem intimidating to get into. However, for aspiring filmmakers, as someone who has been in that position, Zane has a helpful message.

“Just pursue it, who cares what people think, like when you post on social media I learned to just express instead of impress,” said Zane. “That’s what you should think about.”

You can find Tanner Zane’s films and edits on his instagram page, @exploringwith_tanner and @_41productions.