Coming from Brain Farm, with drones, helicopters, etc. – this was very follow-cam heavy. How did that come to happen?
It’s always been this path forward. Community Project, we utilized all the tools we knew how to use. In That’s, It That’s All – I watched this movie while on vacation in New Zealand called Shadowlands, about the Southern Fiordland national park, and it was shot on all aerials, scenics with a cineplex. So we reached out to the guy and said, “We want to come down next summer and utilize this camera to make a snowboard film.” That was this big ‘ah-ha’ moment for us because what really changed the whole game with That’s It, That’s All was that the cinematography actually showcased landscapes. It felt like we could share the films with our friends and family and they could actually get an idea of what it was like to be there.
Then coming into The Art of Flight, there was better camera technology, we brought in some story elements and we started to play with slow-mo, and that was the thing. These days we hate slow-mo, we’re done, I don’t want to see shit in slow-mo. Then with The Fourth Phase, it’s this combination of story-art, and filming. It was the first time we ever tried to do a three-act structure film, and coming out of that we dabbled a little bit with on-slope follow. I did an on-slope follow of Eric Jackson down this line in AK and it’s one of the most dynamic shots in the film.
Entering into this film, GoPro’s got the Karma Grip gimbal, and it comes back to trying to convey what it’s like to the viewer, and nothing comes closer than the dynamic element of following someone through the forest with a gimbal. So, we all played with the gimbal a little bit, but all the gimbal shots you see in the film are mine. Trying to capture these dynamic shots was a big part of this movie. It helps too because a viewer watches this and is like, “Okay I get it.” It’s more understandable, tangible, relatable.
Absolutely. So my last question has to do with the snowboard community. Since completing The Fourth Phase you’ve been more present, racing in the LBS, competing in The Freeride Tour, is that a continued goal for this season?
Without a doubt. We were off on our own program shooting The Fourth Phase and one of the reasons I stay interested and love snowboarding is because of the people behind it. It’s a family. It’s a way of life, it’s a beautiful, safe place for people to be unique and be themselves and creative expression. At the end root of it is one of the most enriched, fertile elements to a happy and joyful life, and you find that within the snowboarding community. Fuck yeah, I look forward to continuing to travel around and seeing what other people are doing. I’m a fan, like really at the root of it, I’m a fan, and I’m honored to be able to put our own spin into the mix.