Alien Workshop’s Timecode

The follow-up to Memory Screen (1995) that further cemented Alien Workshop’s reputation for atmospheric, art-forward skate films. A crucial bridge between the raw mid-90s and the polished artistry that would define Photosynthesis three years later.

Company: Alien Workshop

Released: 1997

Era: Mid-90s / Experimental / Pre-Photosynthesis

Featured Skaters: Josh Kalis, Rob Dyrdek, Fred Gall, Scott Conklin, John Drake, Mike Hayes, Lennie Kirk, Thomas Morgan, and Bo Turner.

Before Photosynthesis became the defining document of Alien Workshop’s golden era, there was Timecode.

Released in 1997 as the Workshop’s second video, Timecode continued the tradition of treating skate films as something more than highlight reels. It’s shorter and rougher than what would come later — but that’s part of what makes it worth watching. This is a company still figuring out its visual language, experimenting in real time, and getting something right in the process.

The experimental touches are what stick with you. Abstract images and found footage woven between the skating — wind-up toys, industrial imagery, quiet moments — give the video a dreamlike quality that felt completely alien to most skate films of the era. The fisheye lens work captures the kinetic energy of mid-90s street skating, and the overall edit has an unsettled, searching quality that fits the era perfectly.

Timecode is significant as a debut showcase for Josh Kalis, Fred Gall, and Lennie Kirk — three riders who would become major figures in the Workshop’s story. Rob Dyrdek and Scott Conklin return from Memory Screen, and the full cast skates with a hunger that’s palpable throughout. It’s the Workshop finding its voice — rawer, weirder, and more honest than the polished masterpieces that followed. For fans of the brand, it’s essential viewing.