Thanks Brain, IR77, and why Snowboarding movies are still better...

Lofe

Lofe

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So there I was, sitting at my desk reading about IF3, getting super stoked cuz I know I could go. I had just watched Iberg's revolutionary 'Idea', and the undoubtedly dope 'Thanks Tanner,' and even 4bi9's documentation of Wallish illness, and then it happened. Bing! My fax machine blasts out a fax from VAS. "We're sending you a complementary copy of 'Thanks Brain.'" I'm like what? Thanks Brain? What the hell is that? A few days later a little package shows up on my desk. Its the DVD, as promised. And of course, the mystery soon explained itself: it was a snowboarding movie!

Ah. Snowboarding. That strange and unique bastard child of skiing. Why was VAS bothering me with this? They know I order heavy on my ski films, after all Im a skier myself, of course. But then I thought about how I just picked up snowboarding. And of all my snowboarding friends and how retardely awesome they are. Snowboarders are like those little stupid dogs that have absolutley no purpose but you still love them cuz they always manage to make you smile. I guess that makes snowboarding films like little happy dogshows.

So I popped in 'Thanks Brain' by 'Think Thank' a production company I know nothing about featuring a roster of athletes who I couldn't pick out in line at Albertsons. What happening next was surprising and refreshing: I was shocked! Amazed! Here comes snowboarding, a sport I can barely even do, here to wow my pants off yet again.

Ive seen just about every ski movie. Ive seen a lot of snowboarding movies. And what happens every time: snowboarding finds a way to continually outdo itself. And Im not talking outdoing itself like showing more progressive tricks on more progressive features in more exotic locations (which is where a lot of ski movies are trapped, I feel). Im talking kids, fucking eighth graders for all I know, doing basic shit I would never have thought of in their backyard, blowing me away with cinematic and kinetic creativity. The best shit I see in ski movies is JOI footage type stuff. Or Morrison killing it. And thats all fine and dandy, but when it comes to action as art, and the documentation of that action as art, snowboarding wins every single time.

Have you seen IR77? Its a docu-action thematic snowcinema montage of pure quality. If Criterion picked up an action sports movie IR77 would be it. The movie moves from fall to winter to spring documenting the raw elements that, when combined, result in what we would label as 'snowboarding.' These elements include the stories, the motivation, the pain, the reward, all documented creativley: 8mm film, little soundbits, non-digital animation, all juxtaposed together to form something actually worth calling 'art.' There's some advanced trickery and knarly line dropping, but thats not what gives the movie its life. Its the creativity! The emotion! The vibe! Thats what really engages and inspires the viewer. You know how thug kids get really stoked on MFM videos, baggy chains, rap music, and gun noises? None of those things are tricks you do on skis or a board. They are cultural things, creative things, image things, that instill a feeling and vibe inside each thug, inspiring him to get out, ride, and whatnot. This is what good snowboard film is like for me. It vibes me hard, in a good way. And like I said: I can barely ride. We're talkin, like, blue squares and lots of falls.

So back to 'Thanks Brain.' It did all of the things I just talked about. Sure there were some cool tricks. But most of the shit was creative! And it was shot in an interesting way. Not just 'theres a big feature so pan out.' It was more than this. The kids in it did a hell of a job. They thought of a lot of really funny, crazy, cool shit. Ride your board unstrapped, climb a jungle gym while the board slides underneath it, then jump off the jungle gym onto the board and ride it out: check. Jib the tops of twelve traffic cones in a row: check. Etc etc. These kids are ape! And the filming was just as good. On par. Well composed. Interesting shots. Good use of stills. Nice effects. Really cool, unique soundtracks.

I think the only people in skiing who are coming close to this are Iberg and Berman. Teddy Bear Crisis kind of went for it. Plehouse does it in a weird french way but for some reason a lot of their shots are kind of crappy (no dis, sorry plehouse). I thought God Save The Robots was gonna pull it off but that shit never dropped. Wicked was pretty damn close.

No matter how big IF3 is (and Ill be there to find out), no matter how much fame and glory and money ski movies make this season, no matter how hyped you or I or anyone is on anything to do with ski film, one fact will remain: snowboard films will be better.

Rant over. Peep the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5V3ktFZNdg

Thanks guys!

 
Think Thank is amazing, they're a bit more creative than the average snowboard film crew. Last years movie Patchwork Patterns was so good. I agree with you.
 
ya i was just gunna go find the link for that. My brother (snowboarder) showed me that today, it looks sooo sick. Snowboard movies are really going in the right direction. As of now i feel that ski movies are kind of in a rut, they're still fun to watch but theres nothing new other than the tricks. A lot of am companies are stepping it up though with more snowboard movie esque style which is sick. Theres nothing wrong with borrowing from snowboarding.
 
shit i didnt even read that yet but i will later i just wanted to say that "thanks brain" is sooo dope just like all the other think thank movies.
 
think thank is a bunch of whiny bitches, they couldn't handle a few skiers showing them up while they were filming so they got these skiers a year ban to snocrummy by whining to krush (who eliminates skier parts of comps whenever he has the chance). luckily uppermanagement overruled this seeing that it was a just a petty squabble between two crews who ride up at summit.
 
Good writing. Never saw the movie and cannot watch the trailer at the present time, but your wriitng made me keep reading the post.
 
shit ya snowboarding media is way better then skiing, I relgiously read Frequency, if only skiing had a mag like that
 
thanks brain was definitely sick, it had a bunch of shitty local washington riders in it though. it's good to hear that you were stoked on it, and skiing will never be at the same level as snowboarding.
 
i agree with most of what you said. ir77 is way good, haven't seen thanks brain yet but it looks awesome and patchwork patterns (thinkthank's movie last year) was one of the best i've ever seen.

i disagree with your bit on ski movies though. i think plehouse is the only company out there coming close to the quality of snowboard movies. berman gets good shots but the only creativity comes from his riders - most every shot is composed predictably, every trick is edited together exactly the same (watch, it goes: drop-in, angle 1, angle 2), and every segment of every movie has the same feel.

 
RyanV - Sorry to hear those kids are bitches. I was stoked on their flick, I dont know them as people. Actually thats kind of an interesting point. A lot of snowboarders (maybe im stereotyping) are kind of elitist, especially the more talented ones, which I feel results in two things: first, unnecessary beef and squabbling between skier and boarders, and second, no actual snowboard and ski combined movies. TGR sort of does it but its way more skier vibe than snowboarders. Same thing with Candide's crew. This seems to be the case with other snow/ski combinations: its usually just a few board bits featured in a film dominated by skiers. There's the "token boarder" segment, kind of like the "token girl" segment sync'd up over the obligatory fem-rock track. I think the right crew will come along, something like the Tanner Hall/Travis Rice duo or MikeD and his crew, and make a true skier and boarder film that is half and half and explores both cultures.

Ive had several bad experiences where the only reason people were fighting was cuz it was a skier and a snowboarder involved. I've been in board shops and told staff I was a skier only to have them go from 'Bro' to 'No.' Ive been filming rails and had boarder crews roll up and talk shit, or act rude, like the skiers were "ruining" their fun time and the rail set up. Id really like to see this change in the future. This season I may make another movie and if I do Id really like to assemble a crew of athletes that includes equal parts skiers and boarders, people who actually get along and feed on eachother's stoke. I think that concept would be more unique and intersting to the viewer.

Cotton - Plehouse is definatley sick, especially their last film. I think one of the things that makes snowboard movies good is that feeling you get that everyone involved in making the film (athletes, filmers, music people, everyone) are all friends and they feed on oneanother's enthusiasm for what they're doing. A lot of ski movies feature athletes that seem like they dont even care about each other; althought im sure they do care, you dont feel it when you watch their segments. These athletes dont know each other, or at least the person making the film about them doesnt show it. Plehouse has that buddy vibe, Berman also achieves it. I think thats why Warren Miller films were so wildly successfull: Miller did such a good job composing his movies you felt like you were in them part of them, friends with all the athletes. The viewer feels like he's part of the fun that's playing out on the screen. This is that magic spark that makes movies like ir77 and Thanks Brain so good: they are fun! You're almost their, at that back country booter, watching your goofy friend jump out of a tree and land upside down in the snow. Im sorry if it sounds cliche but if it aint fun why bother? One of my snowboarding friends will always brag and say "i bet i had way more fun than you today." or youll be hitchhiking down the canyon and someone will drive by in a nice SUV and hell be like "nice car, but I bet we had more fun up on the mountain." And hes right! Fun is what its all about. If I cant be skiing, and Im watching a movie to compensate, then the movie better make me feel like Im having fun on the same level I would if i could actually go out and ski!

Yeah, so dats dat. Keep the replies, opinions, and responses coming.
 
Hmm, I never have real conflict between boarders and skiers anymore around where I live.

Here, people seem to respect you no matter what. The only ones creating any sort of riff are a few kids who think they are tough, but that happens in every crowd.
 
Hey man, absolutely fantastic post. Keep em' coming.

I haven't seen this IR77 movie but I'll definitely check it out. I'm always looking for movies that are a little bit different. In that vein, Plehouse's movie from last season blew me away. The presentation was refreshing and it had some interesting skiing to match. The Lebanon trip was especially cool. It was presented in a manner that made you feel as though you experienced part of the trip. The shots of the city, jumps in the mountain, jibs over the machine gun and throughout the city and the locals gave the segment a lot of flavour. This is in stark contrast to Level1's trip to Japan. I felt the Japan trip segment was little more than shots from Japan with a handful of obligatory "Hey, look this place is different!" shots thrown in. I may be a touch skewed in my opinion having lived in Japan but never visited Lebanon or the middle east.

Have you watched Future Proof? I think its a great movie with one of my favourite segments ever. DCP and Nicolas Muller visit Japan to shred pow. It is quite different from the Level1 trip and definitely breaks out of the mold.
 
Oh yeah, mostly everyone I ride with is a snowboarder, that's just the way it shaked out. A lot of these guys are good friends of mine who I like to hangout with off the slopes but I don't click with many of the skiers I have shralped with in the past. They are mostly good guys but I don't feel like hanging out after skiing and shooting the shit.
 
after lame did it for me. for some reason in utah the hate between snowboarders and skiers is very strong. maybe because alta doenst allow snowboarders and brighton doesnt really allow skiers.
 
I;ve never known any hate between skiers and snowboarders in Utah... I skied at brighton all year, and it was way chill. Even at PC where everyone has an attitude it's not bad.

Maybe it's just that it's better than cali mountians... but it seems better in Utah than in Cali or the East based on what I have gathered
 
the only people with a "real" "beef" are fucking retards, liek posers/weekenders who think they are extreme or soemthing.

i do hate waiting for boarders to strap in (i don't think i coudl wait on a pow day), and kids who 50-50 boxes.
 
it's a lower case v, but whatever, it's wierd though, cause boarders and skiers get along great in this area, and the group that got bitched by think thank has a bunch of boarders too, they just bring the vibe way down. as for the video aspect, you should definitely check out Theory-3s movies, as they are usually a step above, and the backcountry usually kills what's in the other movies (except warren miller and MSP, but that's cause of the budgets). also, watch out for Idea this year, one of the most creative directors in the bussiness teamed up with 3 of the best skiers on the planet to create this movie, and they filmed with each other all year.
 
I agree, skiings slowly getting there though. I can think of maybe 5 skiers max who are truely pushing creativity on a day to day basis and not merely adding on to what others have been doing for years. Lots of people are evolving style and tech stuff, but as far as making the most with whats out there we definitely have a long way to go.
 
ive been thinking this all season and have been to lazy to make a post about it. ever since i saw the thinkthank trailer. if you want an excellent buddy/ski/snowboard vibe, check out Voleurz! their movie last year, yes/no/maybe was ski/board/skate/mtn bike, and there movie this year, More for the Astronauts (trailer on the front page still i believe), is going to be off the hook. great comedy and riding
 
I think some of the up1 flicks were going the right way, a lot of creative shit and you could really feel they were having fun making the movie
 
i totally agree. DC Mtn Lab is my favorite sb movie so far, even though it doesnt have the more artsy aspects to it. just a shitload of fun and unique stuff.
 
I totally agree. Skiing has alot to catch up with. Sure we can do as technical/more technical jumps but snowboarding is way more creative in almost every way. Skiing is the closest to snowboarding on jumps, but on everything else snowboarding pretty much kills skiing. But I think skiing movies are becoming more and more creative, like the Enjoy teaser for example, but movies like Picture This and Thank Brain just put it many levels ahead of skiing. Skiing needs to think way more outside the box. But I think in the long run it may be impossible for skiers to do stuff like snowboarders just because skiers are binded to there skis differently, like we cant really ollie or do stuff going slow very well like jibbing in Thank Brain.
 
JEA!! Really good post dude. I've been thinking about this a lot lately as well.

It's like, we just need more " lifestyle"ness in our movies. Less skiing, more story telling almost. But not like story telling like "let me tell you all about the most epic pow day that you will never expierence" but rather just "let me show you how much fun i have with my buddies'. Which is just what you're saying about the fun-ness and you're right. I don't just want to watch straight skiing footy edited to dope music, I mean that's dope. But it's like the job is left undone, because the viewer is still left to interepret that rad footy. Great ski movies, leave you feeling more complete. Rad footy combined with a happy vibe, like you said, it feels like you just got back to the house from the mountain yourself.

It's almost like we have to de-serious-atize the movies. There should be more and more random ass shitness because it breaks up the skiing, and reminds us of why we're fricking doing it in the first place.

This one reason why I really dig AM films. Because it's not big business, it's looser and you get footage of kids being dumbasses thrown in with the skiing. Most of the time, it really is a bunch of friends. No shots purchased or sponsors or money, it really is a bunch of buddies who love skiing, and that comes through in amateur films.

The aspect of "fun" is what I'm going to be thinking about most when I shoot my movie this coming season. I don't care so much about what tricks get thrown by who or what, though I do want to push myself and my riders to get good shit down, I'm way more focused on just portraying the ridiculousness and good times out on the hill. I want little shit like jibs in the woods and handplants in parking lots and ridiculous follow cams through trees and stuff. It's just as important as footy of big ass jumps.
 
jea mang. we need to get away from serious/thug/intense ski editign too. i mean if that who you are then i gues sits cool, but don't throw up some say imgage of yourself to look cool. next year i think we're going to make our ski movie called "recess" (and we're going to edit it accordingly) because when i'm skiing i feel the same way as when i was in 3rd grade and teh recess bell rang. just pure unlimited happiness, fun and unlimited potetnial for fun...you can do ANYTHING.
 
transworldsnowboarding.com and watch all the camp of champions now that creative!!

ok so what could skiers do to make the sport more creative?

 
the reason snowboard films are so much better than ski films is that pro skiers jump from one film crew to an other year after year. pro snowboarders stay on the same crew for ever or for at least a few years. this makes a better team vibe!
 
I had to bring this back to say that if any of you haven't seen 'Thanks Brain'...you need to, I saw it last night and it knocked my socks off. So amazing.
 
Good call dude! This has a lot to do with what capurnicus said involving am films. i agree that amateur/nobudget films are significant and important in their own right. am films usually are made by specific crews who ride/chill together a lot, which usually results in more fun lifestyle type of material coming out in the films. even the sh*ttiest am films have a bit of this vibe, which makes them worth watching. all am films, that is, with the exception of 'Hibatchi King.'

maxsushi$ - i think berman has the "artisticness" side of things pretty nailed down. but "lifestyleness" element of the LSS japan trip was about as deep as philou losing his shoe while mobbing through the crowded streets of Tokyo in The Game. And the Lebanon segment in Skimatic was extra dope cuz they used a Controller 7 beat!

buffalo-soldier - i think the skiers at brighton thing is getting better and more acceptable. lots of really good skiers claim brighton as home resort, which is good, cuz that place is sic. im glad they bought the Loaf and Sunday River back here in Maine. one thing about brighton is the rails are very challenging, especially for skiers. i personally struggled. but i could see how this would make your rail game so much better if you worked at it.

ryanv - im stoked on the idea behind Idea. i love watching those guys ski, and Iberg is definatley pretty good, i still watch Stereotype. i just hope Idea delivers!

fakieseven - im not sure weather to agree or disagree when you said very few skiers are truly pushing things creativley. as far as innovating completley unique things goes, i agree that that doesnt happen so much. every once in a while some funny thing a few people were doing becomes a very popular and respects thing, like for example the true double nose grab. here's a relativley simple trick (lock the knees and point the toes, kids) that most people would never have thought up. But then a few people did it, and it looked fun and cool and funny to try, and indeed it was, and now its like a famouse grab. my boy shea flynn kills that grab! so fun to watch. HOWEVER back to the point: "pushing things creativley" can mean helping something new along, like bumping a forum post you think is worth reading. like maybe seeing someone ride no poles and then trying it for yourself. or trying the double nose grab (see above) that you see other people doing. then, at the same time, i think jibber kids have a knack for picking up on new things regularly, and constantly trying new things, both tricks and attitude/behavioral things, and this to me is a lot of creative pushing being done by a lot of people. an example with a "stlye" sort of things would be tom wallisch (sp?) commit to the simple act of keeping his hands in his pockets all of the time. this forces you to keeps your arms down, which makes movements look less erratic, which makes you more dope to watch, but its more than a technique, its a reflection of that particular individual's attitude. another example is how jon streneo loves to rap freestyles. he doesnt do this to show off. the kid legitimatley enjoys it. when hes stoked he'll just start rapping for no reason, which i think is a way of "pushing creativity." rapping might not make your cab seven better but it sure makes you more unique and intersting and probably more fun to be around as well.

spike540 - i havent seen anything by Voleurz! but i love both of those movie names! not to say your name is everything. for example the best band name ive ever heard is 'My Dad Vs. Your Dad' but unfortunatley they were just a crappy indy rock group from Montreal.

ace34- up1 and those films were actually pretty good. reminds me of the old snowboarding 'whisky' series where they dressed up in giant chicken costumes and ran over each other in a beat up old buik while pounding jack daniels from the bottle. now thats f*cking hardcore!

alaskakid - i agree: when it comes to thing involving lots of air, like pipe and big jumps, skiing is on par with boarding. in fact id waaaay rather watch a skiing big air than a snowboard big air these days. same for pipe, especially with switch tricks now (obligatory props to Turpin in Stereotype for first documented fakie hit in pipe that I can think of)!

those are my responses to your responses. respond back and sh*t will start to get exponential!

 
My FAVORITE ski movie yet is Scandalous!, and it wasn't based on the skiing.

It was because of the editing and the non-skiing parts made it entertaining beyond just skiing.
 
f*ck yea.... man i just watched 'Thanks Brain' again last night and now im stoked for utah! I think skiing needs more Gus Engle type of guys.
 
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