Gawking for exposure

“Project Detention” showcases student filmmaking in the realm of action sports such as surfing, wakeboarding, snow sports, motorcycle jumping and street skating.

Calling them students only reflects their unpaid status, because most of the footage is taken in long, clean takes, and the pro-caliber feats depicted are downright cool.

The show is broadcast often, showing many submissions as well as music from underground bands.

You get the feeling there are masses of regular people out there with digital cameras and local athletes who will do almost anything for a little exposure.

It’s definitely worth gawking.

One guy flashed his Hotmail e-mail address at the end of his footage, maybe hoping to drum up business.

With such competition, however, it seems fair to predict that the majority of offers he’ll receive on Hotmail won’t be opportunities to travel worldwide to shoot on location on the company dime -- which is, incidentally, the lucky role of the show’s beach-blond hostess, Shane Stirling.

-- Emmett Berg