This winter was going to be my first one working full time as a director and DOP. My aim was to be able to provide the highest quality images from cinema cameras in high alpine terrain regardless of the weather to meet the requirements of high end productions.
With COVID in the way, this was all but easy. There was uncertainty ski resorts would even open in Switzerland forcing marketing budgets to be defined last minute and therefore projects to be launched last second. It’s been a challenge, but with a positive mindset and a body full of energy the odds were in my favour.
This desire quickly became an obsession in the autumn of 2020. Ever since, I spent countless hours finding the best possible camera setup and training in all weather conditions to be able to deliver. Here are my top 10 projects as a result of a winter of hard work.
Winter started for me in October with the Hedvig Wessel's first episode: Hedvig's Way // Skiglede - The Joy of Skiing
Client: Hedvig Wessel
DOP: Scott Visuals - Scott Goedkoop
Edit: Whiteout Pictures - Simon Sjörén
Working with Hedvig for a short week changed my view on what the future holds for Freeride skiing. She was an olympian mogul skier back in the days and she brought her structure and discipline to Freeride skiing. With her level of discipline, dedication and hard work, I have no doubt that there will be much evolution in he skiing.
Not long after, the Uni Distance commercial shoot took place. This was one of my favourite all time shoots. Get up really early, be on top before the sunrise because we needed a drone shot of the sun rising over Saas Fee. Go through a crazy long shot list of lifestyle and action shots of two of the best alpine racers on the planet: Olympic gold medalists Patrizia Kummer and Ramon Zenhäusern. It hardly gets any better.
Client: UniDistance
Directed & Edited: Ramon+Pedro
DOP: Scott Visuals - Scott Goedkoop
Agency: Havas Village Genève
The new kid on the block that made a lot of noise this winter Mont Gele Gear. A new ski wear brand created in Verbier, with a key focus on high quality products made in a sustainable way that is carbon neutral. Yes, they plant trees to compensate for each emission they produce. I had the challenging but fun task to produce their media content this winter ranging from photography to videography. Here is a snippet of the many contents produced together this winter.
If you would like to know more about the brand, here is their presentation video for ISPO.
Tanguy Nef is one of the alpine racers is see a lot of potential in. He is a very dedicated and focussed athlete, still very young and combines his professional carreer with a university degree. Besides that, he is keen on learning all types of new water sports. Combining all these things demands a lot of discipline and dedication, things for which I have the outmost respect. He was in need of a new video. It was a dam cold day with bad weather, a perfect opportunity to push my gear to its limit and see how Tanguy performs in front of the camera.
A challenging project. This was the story of Maude Besse’s recovery after a knee injury followed by surgery. The task at hand was to incorporate her mindset through the film while showing her evolution through a winter of recovery.
Client: Maude Besse
Directed & Edited: Scott Visuals - Scott Goedkoop
Filmers: Scott Visuals, Loic Isliker, Sampo Vallotton
Flow Talk with Yann Rausis. Yann is the Meister of flow when it comes to skiing, it was interesting to get to hear his mindset when skiing and preparing for the sport.
A true adventure skiing video. Hedvig prepared a spicy adventure of several days bringing her through all types of snow and weather for that matter. The video shows her first steps into adventure skiing.
Hedvig's Way // Elements of Freeriding - Episode 15
Client: Hedvig Wessel
DOP: Scott Visuals - Scott Goedkoop
Edited: Whiteout Pictures - Simon Sjörén
Finally this spring, I felt like my camera rig was optimal. Richard Amacker and I had been talking quite some while about different ideas, we finally found time to try a couple out.
So there you have it, some of my highlight winter sports film projects as director and DOP. There is still quite a few projects ongoing that will be done next winter and a plentorah of new ones that have their concepts ready and will start their production this autumn. If you have any feedback or questions, I will be happy to hear about them. Feel free to fill in the contact form.
A huge thank you to all the athletes pushing it every time in front of the camera, to all the brands for putting their trust in my hands and to everyone who contributed in one way or another in these projects.
This is just the beginning. See you next winter !
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