Last week, a little summit took place in Los Angeles. 500 fans and friends came together to celebrate and hear from nine folks, sitting in modest jeans and sneakers. Spike Jonze, Stacy Peralta, Lance Mountain, Ed Templeton, Greg Hunt, Ty Evans, Rick Howard, Aaron Meza and Tobin Yelland are without a doubt collectively responsible for almost every one of the best, most seminal skateboard films ever. Video Days, Future Primitive, Welcome to Hell, Sick Boys, Yeah Right!; the list goes on and on.

Moderated by Epically Later’d host/creator and noted photographer Patrick O’Dell and presented at the Vista Theater by Levi’s Workshop and MOCA, the night was simply dubbed Skate Video Night: Seminal Skateboard Videos from the 1980s to Today. Supported by the denim giant’s Workshop series, that coincides with MOCA’s current Art in the Streets exhibition, Skate Video Night was a sold-out celebration that very much felt like a fans-only gathering.

Approached as part of the Levi’s/MOCA project, O’Dell decided to use the opportunity for a sequel to his An Evening of Skate Videos event that went down at MoMA in New York back in October of 2009. Walking up to the stage and taking a chair off to the side, the flannel-clad O’Dell introduced the night by simply professing his fandom over the filmmakers and their products. He mentioned how skate videos took him through adolescence and it was through them that he was exposed to certain bands and clothing styles.

Ah, remember the pre-Interweb days folks? Starting with the 80s and the grandfather of all skate films, “Bones Brigade Video Show” from 1984, the clips continued up through the decades as the panel discussed what went into each of the films, certain tricks and how they were made.

Notable highlights were Lance Mountain talking about his notorious backyard halfpipe and getting schooled by Tony Hawk’s trick arsenal when filming; Spike Jonze retelling the day in Santa Monica when, for the first time, he filmed Mark Gonzales slide a kink rail and how, out of sheer necessity, Stacey Peralta fabricated a camera backpack set-up so that he could skate to follow and shoot his subjects.

More skate events are promised as part of the Levi’s Workshop series, so stay tuned.  The brand have taken up residency inside the museum’s Geffin Contemporary to offer up, until May, benefits like shooting and editing classes, demos, and equipment rentals all to celebrate and foster the creative and production aspects behind the art of filmmaking. Most events are free of charge. For a list of upcoming events visit their site.