Has social media desensitized us from movies?

nick_GAPER

nick_GAPER

Active member
Has social media desensitized the action sports world from feature length films or shorts? What will people watch anymore with so much content coming out on a daily basis?

Thoughts?
 
Nah I don't think so. There's something about a full-length professionally filmed/edited video filled with all of my favorite skiers that beats the hell out of any 1-2 minute thrown-together edit. I know I'll be buying Stept/Level 1/Inspired videos as long as they keep coming out
 
Kind of, I only watch full movies at premiers lately and just watch a random edit here and there. Gone are the days of putting a ski movie in the DVD player.
 
13338279:Dev said:
Nah I don't think so. There's something about a full-length professionally filmed/edited video filled with all of my favorite skiers that beats the hell out of any 1-2 minute thrown-together edit. I know I'll be buying Stept/Level 1/Inspired videos as long as they keep coming out
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My thoughts exactly
 
I'm just as enthusiastic as watching a full movie full of bangers, or a 3 minute edit, or a 16 second instagram video.
 
Nothing beats watching a ski movie in a theater with your buddies. I was beyond stoked the first time I got to see skiing on the big screen.
 
Goepper, you should start a web series where you narrate your life by talking to your webcam like tall tee dan and chuggy.
 
I find I like to go to premiers around the area. Its something different... As an older individual I'm still not really zoned into my phone or computer all the time like this younger generation... Effects me less I guess. I watch what I can when I can.
 
what we have right now is a perfect mix of ski media and movies. we still have killer full-length films being churned out every year by big companies with the added touch of amazing crews of great am skiers putting out awesome free content for us. Its the best of both worlds, see youre favorite pros on the big screen or watch an awesome crew of shredders at alta or something put it down. cant really go wrong with either.
 
After a day of skiing id rather sit on the couch with my friends and watch a good ski movie than watch instagram edits with my head buried in my phone. more fun for everyone!
 
Nahh I still buy the DVD'S every year MSP/TGR/LVL1/PBP I love a good ski movie and I always will I usually get most of the digital copies for the smaller film companies as well. I don't think they'll ever die at least for me!
 
I think it has for sure. Ski movies just don't hold their weight like they used to IMO. There was nothing better than going to ski movie premieres/buying physical DVD's every year when I was younger. It just doesn't seem the same anymore when there's so much content online.

Still, movies > edits any day of the week.
 
Personally I think no. People who grew up making/watching movies will continue to pursue it one way or another. Even if that means digital copies.
 
Buying ski movies and watching them the night before the hill opens is always something fun to do. Cant do that on the "instagram"
 
Bonus points for me if the movie has interviews and a fair bit of talking... honestly, if a movie's all skiing I feel like I should just be watching edits...
 
Preach Goepper!!!!! You have so many unreal banger steezy swag movie segments - all mixed with urban, pow, and backcountry jumps like all of the other good skiiers. If someone took that away from you idk what I would do like omg!!!!!! I totally remember your segment from that one movie, it basically changed skiing forever.
 
Nothing beats putting the dvd in and then it starting and then watching some bad ass fuckin shit that stept or level 1 or voluerz does. its sick as fuck
 
I think its getting harder and harder to put out mindblowing content in movies, because a) we're somewhat desensitised to it with some many people throwing so much crazy stuff for the interwebs all the time, and b) if someone actually does do something mindblowingly good, there is more value to the person/company/brand to put it out on the web to go viral than to have it in hidden away in a movie where it gets way less exposure or someone else puts it online anyway.

A classic example would be Cody Townsends line from MSP. No one talked about that much until MSP put it on the web and it went absolutely nuts. The exposure they got from that is way more beneficial than leaving it as a clip in the film.
 
I hope proper movies don't fade away. I think of some of the ones I have as collectible bits of skiing history. Few Words is the most recent skiing one (T Rice's movies are other examples).

I have high hopes for Sammys one.

MSP need to get some park balance back and then they might do another one like The Way I See It.

All the edits and instagram clips are just noise IMO
 
I find myself perusing Netflix more and more for ski films. Red Bull's flight was pretty cool. Watched another one, can't remember the name, but it was a bunch of Norwegian's that was sick. I think you are much less likely to see the banger big jump & big mountain shots in their glorious form on instagram. But, I do think social media is harming the marketability of feature films.
 
Why long running ski movies are still important to skiing:

1- Ski shops, what else are they going to play on the 13 inch monitors?

2-No searching for similar content; like listening to a complete album of the artist.

3- Story telling. Movies like All I Can can touch different points about skiing and our world. You can really explore creativity in longer movies.

4-Custom set ups. You cant build a 150,000$ feature for a 3 minute clip. There is way more investment for the host, riders, sponsors and film crew.

5-I see long movies as the big leagues and short edits are the minor leagues. You prove yourself on short, and entertain on long.

When I see shorts, I see soul riders and producers putting out their vision of their sport, or their experiences without the motivation of cash and making it big time. Some put more effort into edits, some just put stuff up to show their friends.

I must point out the fact you LIVE in the ski industry? The shit must be coming out your ears from all directions. On my end, I watch the good edits on NS, some professional stuff on youtube, but I still go out and buy ski movies I have heard good things about.

Can I relate this to the porn industry? Did internet porn kill mainstream media pornography industry? No, but it caters to another type of consumer. Maybe the same will happen to ski media.
 
I think the biggest factor that will affect it is not that people won't want to watch them - but that it will be progressively harder to raise the kind of budget necessary to actually make a quality project happen.

Sponsors are dividing their money between edits blasting out and movies, athletes are dividing their time/travel budgets, people are used to getting content for free and are less inclined to spend as much on movies as they used to....

So though I don't think the demand for movies will ever go away, the money will greatly reduce. This will definitely have an affect on the ubiquity of movies as a genre.

I think you could draw a very real line to the music industry. The prevalence of snackable easy-to-get free music has really destroyed the business model behind the album.

Although on the flipside, the rise of Vinyl and some of the incentives going away for shitty music has left some really cool and crafty projects that people actually pay real money for.

Maybe in the end it'll clear out some of the shit, and only leave us with really quality full-length movies.
 
I think that we will see a lot more projects like Good Company and less big label movies for mainly two reasons:

- Amazing quality technology is getting cheaper and cheaper (eg. GoPro, 4k Handicam, 5d MkII. Leave the Phantom shoots to Red Bull.

- Skiers don't really need the manufacturing knowledge that film companies have as most content is now being put online and customers can buy through Vimeo, iTunes etc...

Side Note

- People are generally reluctant to buy online because of the hassle (and to some extent danger) of putting credit card information online. In the future, payment methods will become quicker and more secure.
 
13339039:flotus. said:
Side Note

- People are generally reluctant to buy online because of the hassle (and to some extent danger) of putting credit card information online. In the future, payment methods will become quicker and more secure.
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Are you still living in the year 2000? That argument is shit and you know it. Itunes is very secure and stores most ski movies available through retail. There is less hassle in payed downloading as long as its a recognized site. It really takes a few minutes.

Buying a movie is also supporting the community of people who are doing this. It includes going to openings and viewing public broadcasts. If you dont like online sales, go to your shop and support 2 causes.
 
Feature length Movies are only getting bigger. Look at Travis Rice/Brainfarm and TGR (Jeremy Jones Series and annual ski movies) for a prime example of how it's done.

When these companies produce major films, they have WAY more footage than will ever see the silver screen. Now, they have a better use than archiving stock footage and are stepping up to produce web edits, TV series, behind the scenes stuff, and getting way more value for essentially the same project(s). They get to keep their audience more engaged throughout the year and stoke up their feature presentation. Sponsors get more publicity and everyone wins (except the comp skiers that aren't very much a part of this functional cycle).
 
13338831:.tomskis said:
I think its getting harder and harder to put out mindblowing content in movies, because a) we're somewhat desensitised to it with some many people throwing so much crazy stuff for the interwebs all the time, and b) if someone actually does do something mindblowingly good, there is more value to the person/company/brand to put it out on the web to go viral than to have it in hidden away in a movie where it gets way less exposure or someone else puts it online anyway.

A classic example would be Cody Townsends line from MSP. No one talked about that much until MSP put it on the web and it went absolutely nuts. The exposure they got from that is way more beneficial than leaving it as a clip in the film.
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My thoughts exactly.
 
13339198:dan1080 said:
https://www.newschoolers.com/forum/thread/329952/FOR-SALE--HEAD-MOJO-90-w-bindings-LIMITED-EDITION-GRAPHICS--SIZE-165-AND-173 Nick, did you ever sell your head mojos? Also, is this your updated phone number so people can constantly call you with ridiculous questions?
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Hahaha good find.
 
my take is that the freeski video world is super-saturated with content.

at this point in order to stand out from the crowd, you have to make something entirely unique, a la Candide Thovex's "One Of Those Days 2" or Sweetgrass' glow-in-the-dark segment.

the skier and tricks don't really much at this point - it's almost indistinguishable. moving forward, it's all about the video's concept.

cutting a video together with music and trick-after-trick riding is a dime-a-dozen no matter who you are, from Harlaut to Wallisch. what matters now is the film's twist and approach, and that's hard to pull off. it's hard to be original and creative in a hyper-saturated market.
 
IMO social media has helped a lot of kids gain media exposure they wouldn't have had 5 years ago. It's a good thing for so many kids and professionals.

I personally haven't bought a ski movie in several years, but I spend plenty of evenings browsing online skiing content.

Watching a premiere though is different and everyone needs to experience that. The MSP premiere at Squaw is something all skiers should experience. Never seen so much stoke about skiing.
 
13338995:Mr.Bishop said:
I think the biggest factor that will affect it is not that people won't want to watch them - but that it will be progressively harder to raise the kind of budget necessary to actually make a quality project happen.

Sponsors are dividing their money between edits blasting out and movies, athletes are dividing their time/travel budgets, people are used to getting content for free and are less inclined to spend as much on movies as they used to....

So though I don't think the demand for movies will ever go away, the money will greatly reduce. This will definitely have an affect on the ubiquity of movies as a genre.

I think you could draw a very real line to the music industry. The prevalence of snackable easy-to-get free music has really destroyed the business model behind the album.

Although on the flipside, the rise of Vinyl and some of the incentives going away for shitty music has left some really cool and crafty projects that people actually pay real money for.
Click to expand...

I think this is the key, and I think people (Good Company) are starting to explore this, and I'm really interested/excited to see how and where that goes. It is definitely a transition period, but I don't think anyone knows exactly where we are transitioning to.
 
Each year I'm less and less interested in watching the movies that MSP/TGR/PBP etc put out. Each year it's the same formula; banger shots with some lifestyle bullshit thrown in and 20 something's saying they're super fortunate to ski in amazing places blah blah blah... I own over 30 DVD copies of movies from the last 8 years and I don't even bother watching the new movies anymore because I don't need to. It's the same shit. I can just pop 7 Sunny Days into the DVD player and be just as satisfied. It's got nothing to do with social media.

I'm stoked on the movies Sweetgrass and Sherpas Cinema are making and I'd much rather sit down and watch Valhalla than stare at my instagram feed.
 
I think that social media has completely altered the ski industry consumer's attention span.

Although a lot of people still love sitting and watching a feature, the patterns of a lot of people's lives now suit watching a number of 15 second clips throughout the day much more.

In comparison to around 2009, I personally watch way more skiing on my iphone than on my TV/comp - and I see a lot more skiing as a result.
 
I don't buy as much as I used to. But with that being said, I almost always buy Level 1 and 4bi9's movies every year out of support. Maybe one or two more if they look cool and have good riders. I do it more to support the industry, with how much money I spend on drinks at the bars or stupid stuff of weekends, I figure I can drop 20-30 bucks a year on ski movies.
 
With short edits as good as 'One of those days' I think its hard to say edits havent affected full length movies, with the exposure these edits get and the amount of people that watch them is so much bigger. Having said that there will always be a place for a full length ski movie, there is something about watching a full movie of bangers that short edits can never fully replicate.
 
13338831:.tomskis said:
I think its getting harder and harder to put out mindblowing content in movies, because a) we're somewhat desensitised to it with some many people throwing so much crazy stuff for the interwebs all the time, and b) if someone actually does do something mindblowingly good, there is more value to the person/company/brand to put it out on the web to go viral than to have it in hidden away in a movie where it gets way less exposure or someone else puts it online anyway.

A classic example would be Cody Townsends line from MSP. No one talked about that much until MSP put it on the web and it went absolutely nuts. The exposure they got from that is way more beneficial than leaving it as a clip in the film.
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that last part is really good. Definitely would love to see companies be more hush-hush about insane skiing. Having the rumor mill be abuzz, then having the segment drop and watch everyone shit themselves is much more entertaining then the cliché segment ending banger trick or line or something.
 
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