Skinematography

Two pieces of excellent ski-related content for you today; one new, one old. The similarity? Both are offbeat, unusual ways of filming the winter sport.

First off, the new piece. Professional skier Sam Favret has released a film recently entitled Backyards Project focusing on the unusual terrain of the ice cave. His stomping ground for this film is the Mer de Glace; the longest glacier in the French Alps. Favret turns this topsy-turvy maze of a setting into his personal playground as he swoops and ducks in and out of the naturally-made caves and crevasses. It makes for amazing watching as he tackles this almost unskiable paradise, filled with challenges and difficulties at every turn. It’s beautifully filmed and the skill on show from the pro is quite simply breath-taking.  Check out a clip here.

Secondly, and more of a throwback and homage to the late JP Auclair comes All.I.Can. This piece won countless awards back in 2011 picking up the prize for best cinematography amongst many others. Right from the outset it is obvious why; it is filmed in an intensely unique fashion, concentrating on close-ups of the most unusual elements of a skier’s journey. What’s noticeable from the start is the startling lack of snow in the film; barely a dusting and the most common setting is the concrete, tarmac jungle of a village making it an unexpected choice of location for a ski film. However, it the reason quickly becomes clear as the camera focuses in on the sparks that explode when skis hit tarmac and the effect of the hard, rough ground on the underside of the skis provoking a spine-tingling, wincing reaction from the viewer. Once again, the skill on show here is phenomenal; Auclair weaves in and out of buildings, flips over cars and risks everything with the certainty of a very hard, tarmac-infused landing if he goes slightly wrong. Whilst off-piste skiing is impressive, those skiers have the knowledge of 6-feet of powder to fall into if the trick doesn’t quite come off and this is far from the case here. As the music builds in intensity, so does the skiing, hitting full-speed at about 2 minutes before keeping pace for the rest of the mind-blowing video. Check it out here.

Both pieces are stunning works of cinematography tied in with excellent soundtracks. For extraordinary ski films that differ from the norm, you need look no further. Enjoy.