A question on film segments

Moon_Park

Moon_Park

Member
After watching Eye Trip (which i'm going to use as an example, but I'm also interested in all ski films) I was wondering what planning goes into making a film segment for a skier.

Specifically (because I know there is a lot of planning) and carrying on with Level 1 as an example - how much of a "say" do the sponsors have, little I'm guessing?(Do they give more money if their athlete has a big part?) also where and who the Companies film - Delorme's part this year is mainly in the backcountry, is that because he mainly wanted to film there or is that a level 1 approached him to film just powder? Why they take specific people on trips? Is it just who is available at the time? Who isn't injured?

Do film companies just decide each year to focus more on another athlete - Ahmet Dadali's segment this year shows Level 1 took him to a lot of places to film while in previous movies he's not been so prominent.

I realise I've asked a lot of questions about Level 1 but I'm just as interested in PBP, MSP and all the other big name companies making movies.

On another note if you could go easy on the NS hate for me being sooo naive for not already knowing everything there is know about skiing, I would be grateful

thanks
 
Companies pay to have their athletes featured. Nothing guaranteed, unlike adspace and reviews in magazines, but generally, more money = bigger part.
 
to put this as simple as possible.

Part A: there is no right way. The production companies position and the sponsors influence in the company are the largest factors.

Part B: Potential.
 
This. It makes sense if a skier is dedicated to filming in different places, like Sammy Carlson in Revolver (BC, Japan, Windells-w heli, others). The money is definitely seems like the biggest part

also the time a company is willing to spend on a skier
 
So I guess this is the reason behind say Dane Tudor gets a huge segment in Revolver from Salomon but at the other end of the scale Corey Vanular only gets 4 shots in Eye trip?
 
trust me, I'm still trying to figure this whole thing out too, BUT these are the things that I have found to be true so far...
1) someone has to pay for your segment. be it you or your sponsors, whoever has the cash. (I've heard 10 to 15k for companies like level 1, and upwards of 120k for companies like warren miller)
2) paying for a segment doesn't guarantee you shots. typically companies will sponsor a movie and the contract will say that there can be a certain number of athletes allowed to film, usually 1 to 3. so the sponsorship money doesnt guarantee a segment, it basically gives an opportunity. if you or your sponsor pays for a segment you have to be willing to travel to wherever the company is filming; you or your sponsors pay for the travel, not the film company. And you may not be invited on a majority of the trips anyway, thats up to the film company
3) If you travel everywhere with the film company you have a higher chance of getting more shots, still not guaranteed. Much of your footage will end up being cut out in editing. If someone does a better trick than you, cut. if someone else's tricks were filmed better, yours gets cut.
4) even if you have the money to pay for a segment, you are not guaranteed the right to film. most companies have a profile they are trying to fill, they hand select the athletes to create the best movies possible. if you are a copy of, or similar(style and tricks wise) to someone else they film with, its highly unlikely that you'll be given the opportunity to film.
again, not true for everything, but these are just a few things I've learned along the way
 
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