No boardshorts yet, I spent some more days in the mountains, this time Kitzsteinhorn with Untouched.
We got some last minute shots, a big lesson on sun radiation and sun burns and shitloads of laughs… more about the trip here and here… but hopefully no more snow shoots for few months, haha!
Snowboarding has taken me to some amazing places, but I never imagined we would be filming in mountains of Kosovo in such short time after the war!
It all went so quick, I did not even get a chance to rest after the filming missions in Oetz, we were already driving to the South. I was so excited I did not even realize where we are going, until we came back to Slovenia actually!
I feel like home pretty much everywhere in former Yugoslavian countries. I speak just enough of the language and I tend to get in the mix pretty fast. And it is super easy, while all of our former “brothers” are open, warm and pure! I really dig that kind of vibes and they make sure they enhance your experience of the places you visit.
We also had the best crew ever. Maček finally shined at his best and showed that he is hands down most versatile Slovenian rider… probably ever. Pristo was true coach, helping the young guys and still pushing it, although he has a nasty shoulder injury. Domen got shitload of shots in three days, which is big respect, for someone who did not get a chance to ride the whole season, like some of us. Katja and Domen, as the photographers, are like jing and jang and that really flies. We got all the aspects of the trip covered, which is important for our project. Matej Gostinčar was also with us, so my work was made a lot less stressful, because I can really trust him to get the job done properly and focus on other stuff. And last but not least, young guns, Mičo and Žiga, were surely the best pick for this trip. They ride everything, they are hard working and they do not back down until things are finished. What else would you want?!
It was the best trip for Untouched, not that others sucked, but this one wins with the crew, the vibes, the exotica of the place and the bag of footage we are now sitting on… stoked and relieved at the same time, haha!
It was a crazy week in Flachauwinkl.
My friend Luka Stanovnik is busy shooting with Burton in Finland, so I stepped in to help filming for the next Grilosode in Flachauwinkl. You get to know every snowboarder sooner or later in such a small scene as in Slovenia, but I have never worked with him before. Filming with him reveals why his is the boss. He is a true professional, works from morning till after the sunset and is still super friendly to anyone around him.
Absolutpark built a massive jump for their team and MG got a private shoot in the morning, with helicam, sleds, supervisors and everything. You could see he was super stoked on the thing, while he was dropping hammers one after another, smiling like a kid. We did another shoot at sunset for the crazy colors shots, which was thrilling just to watch let alone filming.
In my few hour break, MG and Samo went for photos with in massive pipe and I rushed to get some tricks on tape for our Untouched project.
Pristo, Domen and Mičo shaped a big kicker and everything was pretty much set when I arrived. Nejc Slatner from Helivideo.si and Matej Gostinčar, who were also filming with Grilo, joined me and we had shitloads of angles covered. Crew was on their toes untill the first hit, while it looked huge, but it turned out to be perfect. It was on!
All got two tricks in the bag, but MP really raised the bar with his frontside double cork 10! You see that stuff in the movies and you are thinking, “man, John Jackson is something else” but to witness it first hand and knowing you maybe got the ender shot in middle of January, made this day the best one in my season…
After six days in Schladming area (for longer reports check Snowbroader.eu or Untouched website) and one lay day at home, we went straight back. Austria is the place to be, if you are looking for powder right now, so we are trying to get footage any given sunny day.
Now that we have the Ujusansa van for the Untouched project, we are able to travel with some friends as well. This time it was Valentan, Rako and Mičo. Hopefully they will collect enough shoots to have parts in the final video as well!
We were on the mountain with the first lift in the morning (I do not remember ever being that early anywhere, haha), but it was a great decision, while lots of other film crews got the same plan. Kicker shots, powturns and stacks of b-roll checked!