Voting has closed

Results will be announced May 12th.  Stay Tuned!

2012 Award Voting is Open

Step 1: Enjoy all the content submissions on Pro Riders, Am Riders and Best trick tabs.
Step 2: Click the voting link and follow instructions to pick your favorites in each Rider’s Choice Category. Voting closes May 1st.
Step 3: Return to the Awards website to see the results. Winners will be announced on/before May 11th.

Getting Close…

SUBMISSIONS CLOSE ON APRIL 25th!!!

Self-submissions are encouraged.

Editing 101: Functional Basics

By Tim Miller

The allure of editing comes from its capability to make footage look exceptional. However, editing holds the same power to present footage in a negative fashion. This article is designed to get you on the right track. With a small investment of time and effort, editing will allow your content to stand out in a number of ways. Most edits seek to share the experience with others while also impressing others. The key when editing is to know which is more important to you. The first four tips are for all editors. The final four are for those looking to impress audiences with their editing/riding skill.

General Tips:

1. Know your software. Editing programs abound at a variety of price points. Take tutorials and research editing tips once you select a program. Experiment with the available options. The more you know, the more you can present each shot effectively.
2. Don’t over-do it. Editing programs provide hundreds of options to alter your footage. As you learn new techniques, the tendency to use more and more “enhancers” per shot will arise. Use at your discretion, and consider how each impacts the entire edit. Edits that are too busy lose their ability to be memorable and exciting.
3. Review the details. Once you have prepared your edit to share, check how it appears in the format and location it will be presented to others. Ensure that the processing actions of the computer (moving the file from editable to final version) didn’t alter the edit in an undesirable way. if needed, adjust and re-export.
4. Learn from experience. Editing can be very personal, which often makes the best lessons learned by trial and error. If you enjoy making edits, you’ll likely desire to improve each new edit you create. In the very least, the repetition of making edits should help you naturally improve over time.

Advanced Tips:

1. Keep it fresh. Skiboarding isn’t the same as throwing the discus. Variety is key to demonstrate your skill in a way that maintains audience interest. If a maneuver must be repeated, consider filming on a new feature and placing the trick in a different edit. Additionally, consider varying your editing style between edits. People have short attention spans: make every effort to ensure they will watch all of your hard-earned footage.
2. Keep it clean. Generally speaking, better maneuvers are smoother and more natural. How was the approach, the maneuver, and the landing? The more you want to be respected, the more impeccable the footage should become.
3. Learn composition. Does each shot look impressive? Understanding what makes great photographs will help you approach shots, help you edit shots, and help you maintain creativity.
4. Make sure it sends the right message. Any and all of the above can impact the overall impression an audience gets from your edit. If your goal is to stand out, what do you want people to think of you? If you are collaborating with others or contributing footage to another editor, bring up the terms of use for your content and be specific.

Editing 101: Dramatic Structure

By Jason Roussel

Think about how a feature length movie is made. There’s an intro: we meet the characters and start to learn about the setting and situation. There’s a build up: the plot unfolds and tensions build. Then near the end of the movie there is a big action sequence or the couple finally falls in love- whatever the case the most pivotal moment happens, that’s known as the climax.  Finally, the denouement or resolution comes, settling us back down and tying up all loose ends. The resolution has prepared us for the end of the movie, and credits roll. This pattern of events is called dramatic structure.

You might think it is a little weird to bring up dramatic structure when talking about a skiboard edit, but it is one of the most over looked and essential parts to making a captivating edit. Chances are, if you just  sequentially stitch the clips from your last ski trip without any additional thought behind it, your edit will turn out to be painful and boring for most people to watch.

Even ski trailers follow this structure. For instance, take the All.I.Can trailer. First thing we see is snow falling: whenever I see snow falling I get pretty excited to begin with. Then after the sponsor logos, there’s an epic shot of a untouched snowy back country mountain, then it switches from shots of snowy mountains to shots of industry and urban areas. While there’s no skiing at all yet, notice how we are getting to know the situation, building up tensions, and possibly previewing the “conflict” of the movie. Next, a lone skier walks carrying his gear: here we have the first character of the movie. And then as the electric guitar kicks in there’s a shot of a skier riding down a super gnarly mountain face. Queue the face shots and names of the skiers.

If you watch the trailer a little longer, the music dies down and you hear skiers talking about issues of climate change and their impacts to it as skiers. Here we are building up to the climax, the pivotal moments in the trailer. Notice how we are almost at the end of the trailer, and some of the most epic and fast paced shots come right after. Even the music is at its peak.

Now because this is a trailer there is not much of a denouement, but even in this trailer its one of the most important parts of the trailer. What’s the name of the movie? When is it coming out?

Chances are, you are not part of a big film company with a giant budget and helicopters and world class skiers. Even so, you can still incorporate dramatic structure into your edits. An easy way to do this is to match your edit to a song. Most music follows a dramatic structure. There’s an intro and the song builds up with versus and choruses. Then a climax all the instruments playing, or maybe a break down or a bridge or a guitar solo, then back to a verse or chorus until the song is done.

An easy way to incorporate dramatic structure is to use filler shots, shots of snow, mountains, chair lifts, you walking to the hill, eating breakfast,  or partying during the apres ski. Just a half a second clip of you strapping your boots on can go a long way. This doesn’t mean we are interesting in watching ten minutes of you gearing up or your entire drive to the mountain: refer back to the All.I.Can trailer and notice most filler shots are only about a second or so long.

Dramatic structure won’t make much sense unless you tie everything together with style and thought. A shot of your cat in a window juxtaposed to a shot of your buddy skiing trees doesn’t really work. Think about how the clips relate to one another. Every shot you put in an edit comments on the one before and the one after. If your buddy does a huge 720 and the next shot is of you doing a slide on a small box, it only shows how much bigger that 720 was to your tiny and unimpressive box slide. On the other hand, if you use that box slide at the beginning of the edit, it can be a great build up to the climax, the best trick of the edit, that super gnarly 720 right when the music is at its peak.

Similarly, if you’re really like nose presses, chances are we don’t want to see nose presses over and over one after the other. I see a lot of edits that have similar tricks and similar shots one after the other. Remember your structure- how many times does Juliette meet Romeo? Once, and chances are, that’s how many times we want to see how you do your front sides on flat boxes.

Hopefully this helps you make a more complete, compelling and captivating edit. Keep in mind, rules are made to be broken, and sometimes when they are broken in an interesting way it can make for something beautiful- reference the band Sonic Youth or the movie Momento.

Tips to make your edit look Proooo Vol. 1 : Keep it Steady

By Paul Orr

One of the most basic staples of good cinematography is smooth camera movement. That’s why Hollywood production companies invest thousands of dollars in tripods, dollies, and Steadicam rigs. Luckily, you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to get silky smooth footage. You can get away with just spending a couple hundred. I know to a lot Skiboarders that may sound like a lot, so here are some gear suggestions sorted by cost:

The “I eat Ramen and PB+J for lunch” kit:

Tripod: Fancier WF717A

Pick up a Fancier 717AH tripod kit and then peep this video from Vimeo Video School that will teach you how to make it uber useful:

This tripod will work but is by no means amazing. It can seize up in the cold, has a poor plate design, is a pain to level, and will probably only last a year or so. But if it’s all you can afford, it’s much better than nothing.

The “I have a job and don’t mind selling a pair of boards or two” kit:

Tripod: Manfrotto 701HDV head with 109xb legs

This tripod will outperform the 717AH, but is still not a true fluid head. It will also struggle in the cold, will still be a pain to level, and has also been known to only last a year or two.

Slider: IndiSlider Mini

This is a friction based slider: it won’t perform as well as more expensive ball bearing sliders, but its the best you’ll get for around 100 bucks.

Handheld Stabilizer for Follow Cams: Glidecam 2000 Pro

This is an outdated version of Glidecam’s current HD2000 offering, which has limited fine-tuning for balance, making it much more difficult to use. But with some tinkering and practice, your follow cams will be infinitely nicer to watch.

The “I can’t believe you’re a pro, my tripod is so much nicer than yours” kit:

Tripod: Sachtler ACE

This is Sachtler’s lowest priced tripod, but it apparently blows everything else in the price range out of the water. It is a true fluid head for super smooth movement at any temperature, it has a 75mm bowl for easy leveling, it has counter weights, and its a Sachtler, so you know it will last a decade or two. Even Phillip Bloom himself endorses it.

Slider: Konova K-Slider

This is probably the cheapest ball bearing slider out there, and has gotten great consumer and industry reviews.

Handheld Stabilizer: CMR Blackbird

In this price range, it’s really a toss up between the Blackbird and the Glidecam HD2000. They perform equally well, but I find the Blackbird to be much more comfortable to use for long periods of time. It has also been known to balance easier, and work better with lighter DSLRs like the t2i or the GH2.

Ready for Round Two?

The 2012 Riders’ Choice Awards will recognize the sport’s top riders by online vote. This year incorporates a new and improved program format:

1. Submit your favorite photos/videos. Self-submissions are encouraged.
2. The Riders (any skiboarding forum member for at least one month) vote to select Rider’s Choice category winners and to determine finalists for the remaining categories.
3. The Judges award remaining category winners.
4. Submissions close April 25th, voting will occur April 27th-May 1st, winners will be announced on/before May 11th.

2012 Award Categories include:

• Rider’s Choice: Pro and Am Rider of the Year
• Rider’s Choice: Best Trick
• Top Edit: Pro and Am
• Best Editor
• Best Line (BC/Freeride Only)
• Most Creative Trick/Best Urban Trick
• Most Memorable Fall

Details:

1. Riders sponsored by a skiboard manufacturing company’s team fall into in the Pro category.
2. Skiboarding Forums include Skiboards Online,  Skiboarder.ru,  and Nevasport.
3. Footage should be of 2011-2012 season. International entries should submit footage from the current regional season.
4. Freeriding/backcountry submissions are encouraged.
5. Please use properly licensed music.
6. Award categories without sufficient submissions will be postponed to the 2013 Awards year.

2011 Award Results

The moment you’ve waited for is finally here.

Last Year’s Rules and Overview

The 2011 Riders’ Choice Awards allows YOU, the Skiboarding riders and fans, to recognize the season’s best video edits and top riders according to the results of an online vote. Voting will open May 23rd, winners will be announced on/before June 15th.

2011 award categories include:

Best Edit: Pro, Amateur

Rider of the Year: Pro, Amateur

Most Memorable Fall

Potential winners are determined by nomination. 2011 Nominations are now closed.

Additional contest details:

1. Edits do not require tricks. Freeriding/backcountry edit nominations are encouraged.
2. Edits that include multiple riders yet focus on one rider will be considered for entry in the Pro/Am edit categories.
3. Be aware that edits are often removed from major video websites when copyrighted music is used without permission. The use of properly licensed music is advised.