afterbang | snowboarding blog

Tip Tricks With SnowboardAddiction.com

Posted by on Thursday, March 25, 2010

My brother found these freestyle instructional videos on YouTube - they're made by SnowboardAddiction.com.

The first one that I watched was Part 1 of the Advanced Spinning Lesson, which I'll embed below. I was immediately impressed. Some good tips that I haven't seen in other instructional videos. The presentation and attention to detail are excellent also.

I then watched the lesson on frontside boardslides, and again, was impressed. It will seem obvious to those who've got the fs bs on lockdown, but I really like the way they showed the counter-rotation of the upper body. They also cover good, practical methods of building up your confidence before taking it to a box, and then a rail.

And get this: there's the option to watch all of the jumping lessons in either regular or goofy! I'm not saying that providing both views is particularly difficult, but it definitely makes sense. It reinforces the effort that they've put into their productions, and again it's something I haven't seen before.

Addendum: I've just watched the goofy version and it seems it's actually the same video, just reflected. That's funny! I'm not sure whether it actually matters? Seeing the trick the way you ride it definitely helps with the association - so this probably works. I'll check it out next time before blindly singing praises :)

On the main website there's a big collection of lesson material. I think the idea is that you either buy their DVDs or download the videos; the second option being cheaper. I'm pretty sure I read that they're good for playing on your iPhone? And then there're the teasers and some free material - like the stuff I've been watching on youtube. I wonder how much more is in the purchased material?

I signed up for their newsletter which was supposed to unlock access to part two of the advanced spinning lesson. That didn't seem to work out, I still can't watch it.

But I'm still impressed. I'll be checking out more of their videos and might end up buying some downloads also!

Here's part 1 of that lesson...

Advanced Spinning Part 1 (Regular) from SnowboardAddiction.com on Vimeo.

Labels: dvds, my trick progression

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Snowboarding Trick Tips

Posted by on Tuesday, March 23, 2010

The last copy of Whitelines came with a trick tips DVD: Whitelines School, Volume 1. I've always been interested in trick tips video, as there's a full range of stuff produced, from totally awful to good. To me, trick-tips and instructional video, if done well, are probably going to be appealing to many people. Unfortunately a lot of productions are pretty poor...

...And this one was, well, pretty average. The DVD has a mix of different pros covering 2 or 3 tricks each. As you might expect, some of the pros are better than others at explaining the tricks.

And it reminded me of how difficult it can be to communicate learning a trick to someone else. In my experience, sometimes people are at a stage where they're simply not going to get what you're saying. At other times, all you need to do is give someone a single pointer and they get it straight away.

Perhaps though, the best way to receive help for learning a trick/technique is to have someone watch you. If they understand the trick/technique well, they'll soon spot what you're doing wrong. In which case, they can give you the particular pointer that you need.

For example, common pointers in trick tip DVDs are: stay centered over your board on take off, lead the spin with your head and shoulders, and, spot your landing. That's all well and good, but if you're struggling with a trick, even if you have the full set of tips to get it right, you don't always know what you're doing wrong...

And so how do you make a good trick tip video? Well, I remember liking elements of Jumping with Jussi and Riders Ed; it's been a while since I've looked at either of those. However, I have received a tip for some good videos on YouTube, or at least, part of the full material that's available to buy. That's what I'm going to look at next...

Labels: dvds, my trick progression

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What Do You Look For In A Snowboard Movie?

Posted by on Sunday, February 14, 2010

I don't know about you, but sometimes when I watch a snowboard movie I end up thinking same old, same old. Each season, a whole load of new films come out, and I think it's fair comment that a lot of them are similar to those of the year before...

To a certain degree, I'd say that this is only natural. If you watch a lot of one type of genre, you may find films of that type to be all the same; that's not specific to snowboarding. There's an increasing number of films coming out each year, and, given the resources available to some crews, and preconceptions of the general format, it's understandable that a lot of them fit the same mold.

If you're new to snowboarding then your exposure to existing films is low. When I first started, for the first few seasons I lapped up as many of the DVDs as I could. I was hungry for them.

The thing is, I've seen quite a lot now. That's not intended to be a boast, nor does the picture below claim to show a hard-core collection. I have no doubt that there are people out there who own many more films than I, and can do stuff like name the tracks that go along with individual rider sections; I don't even own any snowboarding films on VHS, that's not core at all :)

No, the point is simple. I've seen enough now that I'm looking for something different. Although I said above that I think it's fair to say many a snowboarding DVD look the same, there are projects that provide something a little different.

So what is it that I'm looking for?

I certainly like the documentary aspect of some productions. I like to see the work that goes into professional snowboarding and the decisions that the riders, filmers, photographers and producers make. Not only that, I like to see the personalities behind the riders. David Benedek's work, Absinthe's FlipSide shows and ChunkyKnit's Drop Stitch spring to mind.

I like clips that show riders having fun, shredding stuff other than giant kickers. Watching the pro's rip through a resort, riding together, hitting terrain that you or I would. For me, sequences like that bring home how good they are just as much as a huge 1080, and I can relate to it more. It's fresh, fun and stylish, rather than just massive.

I like British productions. The variation in quality and standard, compared with the truly international scene, makes it interesting. Sometimes more real. And when someone does something really good it's like, nice, they're from England.

Women's snowboarding is appealing for a similar reason. The women's stage seems wide open in terms of progression. Each season you really can see something new because they're pushing the bar. It makes it all very impressive. Like wow. I'm not saying that the guys don't progress; it's just that I think women's snowboarding is on a steeper learning curve right now.

The Robot Food films, along with DC MTN.LAB, continue to be my favourite films. Afterlame especially. The combination of creative filming, some documentary-style elements, great riders, catchy sound tracks and an emphasis on fun, make them winners. For me, it all started with Afterbang...

So what do you look for in a snowboard movie?

Labels: dvds

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Absinthe's Neverland: DVD Review

Posted by on Sunday, January 03, 2010

Absinthe's Neverland is the first snowboard movie that I've bought this season. I'm definitely an Absinthe fan, so each year, if I'm looking for something to buy, I'll normally start with their current production. Here's the review.

The Introduction, leading into the first sequence is excellent, as is often the case with Absinthe movies. I think they get this right every time; an emotive build-up running into some first class shredding. In this case, it's Japan, and the opening section has Nico Muller, Kevin Pearce and a little bit of Eero Ettala.

Powder by the bucket load, trees, drops, everything is natural. Super smooth style; they ride it like the trees aren't there. For me, this concoction of filming style, terrain and riding will always make we want to go snowboard, no matter how many times I watch it. I'd say this is the best section of the film.

Romain follows with some nice, high tempo back country shredding. But the next thing that really grabbed my attention was Annie Boulanger. It seems she is becoming a regular with the Absinthe crew, which I think is an excellent move. It's not a particularly long section, but her riding gets better in leaps each season, the progression and attitude is inspiring to watch. Some of her hits and lines are really impressive. Women's snowboarding is pretty huge now, but I believe Annie B is one of the first to regularly film backcountry parts; that's got to be good for others who would like to do the same.

Marie-France Roy follows Annie, again with backcountry shots. I remember reading some competition or poll results a while ago and if my memory is correct, she cleaned up. It shows here. She's definitely got ability.

From this point onwards I was less impressed. Just another snowboard movie. Actually, I did enjoy Dan Brisse's riding. A good mix of shots, with some huge jumps and nice heli shots. I'd like to see some of those heli follow-cams in full speed.

And not to mention Wolfgang's no-boarding. Ultra-impressive one-footed cliff drops, powder riding with such freedom that looks like surfing. But I wanted to see more.

Urban stuff. The Absinthe crew continues to bring out fresh stuff each year in this area, and yes, some of it is mega impressive, and always ballsy. I still love to see someone stomp an ultra smooth front board down a long rail, but the rest of this stuff isn't doing it for me. If I had to take it or leave it, I'd rather leave it.

Travis Rice. Excellent shredding. As usual, he goes big with technical moves. But what's the deal with the horse? At first I thought it was a response to Leanna Pelosi's intro in the all girls film "As If". Then I decided that probably wasn't the case, so maybe it's just his ego? If that is the case then the song is fitting: "Head Honcho". Whatever, I didn't think it was funny; just kinda stupid. Oops.

The intro to Gigi's section is fun, but for his main part, I don't think it's a patch on his riding in something like More. Don't get me wrong, I can only imagine how hard it must be, given schedules, travel, conditions, filming etc. to continually come up with belter video-parts; but when you've become accustomed to someone producing awesome material, unfortunately you start to expect it. I didn't get that this time.

The soundtrack. I think that Absinthe music scores tend to be quite varied and for me, that's the case with Neverland. As such, there are some little gems in there, but also some beats I care little for. I still think Futureproof is my favourite soundtrack of theirs.

Absinthe have again, included Flip Side in the extras. It's a documentary showing the making of their movie from the previous season, in this case, Ready. I love this stuff. I'd pay for it by itself. You get to see more of the riders, who they are, what their schedule is like. There's this amazing clip of a few of them just shredding in a resort before they start filming. MFM hits a natural feature, the type that you or I would, only they go ten times bigger. I love that. I really wanted to see the whole thing :)

Overall, it's an OK movie. I thought the opening sequence was top class, but after that, with a few exceptions, nothing else lived up to the beginning, which leaves a feeling of disappointment. I think previous Absinthe films have been better, and would recommend those instead. I haven't seen any other movies this year, so I don't know how it stacks up in the fresh bunch... A few little gems in the sound track.

Absinthe's Neverland Soundtrack

Here's a link to the Neverland Soundtrack.

Labels: absinthe films, dvds, review

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What's Your Take On Urban Snowboarding?

Posted by on Sunday, November 08, 2009

About a week ago, I went Redcar to skate. It was a good session; I haven't been in ages, so I needed it, and there were quite a few good skaters there, which was fun to watch.

The next day I watched this snowboarding DVD, Homies Episode 2.0, or something, it came free with Whitelines magazine. It had a lot of urban snowboarding in it, which to me, just didn't seem any good.

I've never been a big fan of the urban scene, but there have been some video parts from time to time that I've enjoyed, a couple of Absinthe sections spring to mind. It's normally stuff with a good tune, good riding style that's been well shot.

But more and more I'm seeing urban tricks that I think are pretty lame. Ledges and drops where the rider doesn't even "ride out" - they kinda just stop. And there are loads of 270s and 3s coming off rails, when the rail isn't really big enough for it to look good. A lot of these tricks don't seem to have much style.

Don't get me wrong, there are some urban tricks/sections in films that look great, obviously take a lot of skill and almost always, a lot of balls. And when done well, they can add a different, pleasing dimension to a film.

But a lot of it has been done before, seen before, and now, it's clearly a discipline in it's own right. To me, it seems like there's too much of it.

So I was just thinking, "I'd rather ride a skateboard than do that". After all, that's what a skateboard was designed for. And the crazy thing is, all the riders in this film were excellent skaters. There was even a load of good footage of them on skateboards, which to me, was more enjoyable to watch than the urban snowboard sections...

I like to watch riders going through the park, hitting rails and boxes with effortless style. Frontside boards, smooth presses, and it all flows. When it comes to rails, that's what I like. And in an urban environment, there are some killer rails that work for me. It's gnarly, but they stomp it. The scene looks good. The photo looks good. Nice. But don't overdo it. I'm not interested in dropping off a garage just because it can be done.

What's your take?

Labels: dvds, skateboarding

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Funner Films: New Teaser

Posted by on Monday, September 14, 2009

Teasers are starting to appear for a bunch of snowboard films now; I was just checking out this one from Funner Films, "How the Northwest Was One". Pretty sick. I wonder what DVDs I'll get this season?

"How the Northwest Was One is the story of a bunch of snow bandits, filmer bounty hunters, epic gun battles, and riding off into the sunset in a blaze of glory. Not to mention double backflips and corks, the sickest tree jibs, trips to Chile, and deepest powder around. Does snowboarding get any more entertaining than this? Starring: Kurt Jenson, Nick Ennen, Patrick McCarthy, Joe Bosler, Andy Stern, Andy Bergin-Sperry, Tim Carlson, Scott Witsil, Lucas Debari, Shaun McKay, Manuel Diaz, and more..."

Labels: dvds, video

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Absinthe's Ready Soundtrack

Posted by on Monday, February 23, 2009

There're some great songs on this soundtrack:

"Waggoner's Lad" by Bert Jansch
USA:
UK:
"Nothing to Fear (But Fear Itself)" by Oingo Boingo
USA:
"Space Oddity" by David Bowie
USA:
UK:
"Bad Kids" by The Black Lips
USA:
UK:
"L.E.S. Artistes" by Santogold
USA:
UK:
"Back in the Summer of 72'" by The Sun
USA:
UK:
"Sleeping Lessons" by The Shins
USA:
UK:
"Strange Times" by the Black Keys
USA:
UK:
"Look Back and Laugh" by Minor Threat
USA:
UK:
"Fa Fa Fa" by Datarock
USA:
UK:
"Cattle Call" by Eddy Arnold
USA:
UK:
"Love's an Enigma" by Simple Kid
USA:
UK:
"Wimps" by Goons of Doom
USA:
UK:
"Staring at the Sun" by Simple Kid
USA:
UK:
"Six Barrel Shotgun" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
USA:
UK:
"Ambush" by Figurines
USA:
UK:
"Hey Ya!" by Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra
USA:
UK:

I'm starting to really like the Amazon mp3 store. Their coverage isn't as good as iTunes yet, but you can sample most of the ready soundtrack here:

Labels: dvds, soundtracks

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"Go Snowboard" Instructional DVD - Continues To Be Popular

Posted by on Tuesday, December 16, 2008

A while ago, I wrote a review of "Go Snowboard" (Neil McNab), an instructional DVD and book, the crux being, I highly recommend it as an instructional source.

Along with that review, and this post, is a link to the product on Amazon. As an affiliate, I can see how many times "Go Snowboard" has been purchased via this site. It seems to be quite popular. In the last 12 months I've sold close to 50 copies (well, Amazon has sold them really). Still, that's quite a lot, and it's way more than any of the other products I've reviewed that are also on Amazon.

What I'm wondering is: if you bought the book from this site, what do you think? Do you think the review is accurate? Did I do a good job?

[If you've got it but didn't buy it from here, feel free to comment anyway...]

Labels: books, dvds, review

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Absinthe's Optimistic: DVD Review

Posted by on Wednesday, December 12, 2007

I'm a fan of Absinthe films, especially the last two, so I was really looking forward to this season's Optimistic. It didn't disspapoint - I think Optimistic's a good snowboard movie with some exceptional parts... but for me, overall, it didn't grab in quite the same way as Futureproof and More.

So which bits didn't work? Mostly, I think it's the case that having really liked Futureproof and then thinking that they took More farther still, Optimistic had a tough benchmark to beat. I do feel that as the film gets going, it kinda settles in. My favourite bits are mostly at the beginning, so it seems to mellow out as the movie goes on. Don't get me wrong, the riding and filming is strong throughout, it just bobbed around my personal that's so good meter, whereas More kept leaping above it.

What about the excellent parts?
Gigi's section really appealed to me. The music's funky and the riding is varied. There are some heli follow-cam shots of Gigi and Danny Davis hitting this backcountry kicker that might be some of my favourite ever. The action smoothly follows the rider showing how big the jump is and you get an idea of what the kicker might look like from the rider's perspective on the run in, yet the rider and the kicker appear small in the vastness of the whole scene; awesome. There's also this sequence of Gigi riding down a side street with steps and rails, how can he make that sequence look so good? It just oozes style.

As well as some pretty sick shredding (I really like the way he rides powder), MFM's part has a true laugh out loud section - a snow-spray assault on skiers. You might think it's a little harsh, you might think some of it's justified, either way you'll probably think it's hillarious. The film is worth watching just for this bit!

Trees. There's some excellent tree action in Optimistic. Trees and deep powder. The section shot in Canada towards the beginning of the movie shouldn't be missed. Visually it looks fantastic, the trees, deep snow, the sun. And then check out the riding, Marco Feichtner and Wolle, it's like the trees aren't there, except when they're jibbing off them!

Perhaps most impressive in the movie is Wolfgang. I reckon Wolle Nyvelt was on a mission last season. Seriously, he has so much footage in Optimistic, so much powder, so many good shots. It's like he owns the DVD. The guy is riding deep pow on a wooden stick with no bindings better than most people when they've got both feet hooked in, it's insane. His riding alongside Matt Beardmore is also top drawer. I can't always tell who is who, but it's all good. Wolle really kicks this film going, he's killing it!

Other parts that I liked
Annie Boulanger is representing female snowboarders and has some really nice backcountry riding, pushing it pretty hard. I found myself liking quite a lot of the urban scenes. Mikey LeBlanc provides a lot of charisma along with some gutsy street moves. Then there's Hans Ahlund putting down some really sweet jibs, making it all look varied. The section with Romain De Marchi and Danny Davis has a handful of hits from a backcountry kicker that deserve to be watched over - super smooth riding/filming and a sick tail grab in there.

If you're into extras you may find the DVD a little thin in this area... having said that, Flipside's The Making of More (part1) is included, and it's really good!

The Soundtrack
I really like the soundtrack to Optimistic, there's some nice tunes in there, the mix is good. I'm not going to try and classify it, I'll just say it's right up my street. The production of the movie's intro is especially noteworthy. Excellent song, it's pretty inspiring. Here's the track list in the order played, with uk iTunes hook-up:

"Rusted Wheel", album "Carnavas", by Silversun Pickups
"Wolf Like Me", album "Return to Cookie Mountain", by TV On The Radio
"Season of the Witch", by Donovan Leitch
"Calling For The Dissolution", album "Criminal Saints", by Scott Sullivan
"Don't Sweat the Technique", by Eric B and Rakim
"Frosty", Meka
"Cadillac Dust", by Elliot Brood
"John The Baptiste", album "File Under Forgotten", by The Ants
"C'mon C'mon", album "Pawn Shoppe Heart", by Von Bondies
"Ain't Cha", album "Hell Hath No Fury", by Clipse
"Jamna Plagor", by Dungen
"Spring and by Summer Fall", album "23", by Blonde Redhead
"The Man Who Came To Stay", album "Killamangiro", by Babyshambles
"I Love My Bitch", album "The Big Bang", by Busta Rhymes
"Presentazione Orchestra", album "Stasera Shake! Volume 2", by Rafaella Carra
"Fragments", Meka

Here's most of the soundtrack to sample:

Labels: absinthe films, dvds, review

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Hungerpain's Otium: DVD Review

Posted by on Tuesday, November 06, 2007

I bagged a free copy of Hungerpain's Otium with the November issue of WhiteLines and this sucker won't be featuring on eBay! It's sitting nicely in my collection.

Bottom line: I really enjoyed watching it. There are some nice effects in there with the editting and the production of the DVD, and some good riding too.

In fact, it's the riding level that's most interesting to me when it comes to watching British snowboard films. For sure some of the tricks stand out as being below the level that's seen consistently in the International films. But likewise, some of the tricks stand out as being worthy of an International snowboard film. More than once I was like: "that was massive" or "his style's really sick". It's this range that makes our films seem feel current, fresh.

To me, the British riders have much more scope for progression, and that's not meant as a criticism. Each year the riding gets better, and seeing people develop is great. Some of the moves that Chris Chatt is putting down on rails are excellent. James Thorne has some sick riding (again); effortless-style. I thought Nelson Pratt was going really big off the kickers with nice, compact style to boot; tight airs.

My favourite section was from Roland Morley-Brown. I was impressed by his smooth operation, but more than that - the variety of his shots. Park hits, some back country hits, urban ledges, rails, deep powder landings. Good stuff.

But Tom West closes it out with maybe the best move in the film: a sick frontside 10 melon... huge, smooth, tight grab and stomped. Two angles on it and the sound is great. He's killing it in the park. Awesome finish to the DVD.

A lot of effort went into the production side of things and it shows. According the interview in WhiteLines, Pete Ellis spent two months working on the invisible boards part. Dedication. The soundtrack is pretty cool too with some original remixing and creative use of sound. I didn't love every song, but hey...

When you consider that the Hungerpain crew probably has nothing close to the budget of international film crews; and given that the season produced pretty poor snow conditions, I think they've created a really good film.

Here's the soundtrack for Otium:

Introduction: The Roots - Don't Say Nuthin' (Instrumental)
Opening Montage: Directed, Edited and Composed by Phil Barber and Pete Ellis
Plumley: Ratatat - Seventeen Years (Remixed by Pete Ellis)
Wear and Evans: DJ Yoda - Playin' Around (feat. Jungle Brothers)
Thorne, Purucker and Van Gassal: Contains samples of Incubus - Hidden Track after Calgone; Aphex Twin - Windowlicker (Remixed by Pete Ellis)
Jackson and Newton: Ellen Allien and Apparat - Do Not Break (Remixed by Pete Ellis)
Pratt: Skibadee - Tika Toc
Friends Montage: Ed Enayat and Rich Simpson - Back in Black Remix
Harington: Reachout - Stimulation of Chaos (Instrumental)
Campbell and Revill: Akala - Stand Up
Invisible Boards: Coldcut - More Beats and Pieces (Remixed by Pete Ellis)
Chatt and Morley-Brown: Aphex Twin - Actium (Remixed by Pete Ellis); Motley Crue - Kickstart My Heart
West: Nikkfurie De La Caution - The a la menthe
Credits: MCD; The Deckwrecka - Priceless

Labels: dvds, review

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Teaser Watch

Posted by on Wednesday, August 22, 2007

There are three films that I'm already really excited about seeing this season. The first, which I've previously mentioned, is Absinthe's Optimistic.

The second is an all girls production by Runway Films - La La Land. I found out about La La Land on the megadasher site and was totally impressed by the riding in the teaser. It looks pretty sick! I've really enjoyed previous all-girl snowboard movies, especially DropStitch and As If. I reckon La La Land's gonna be good - here's the trailer.

The final film is the new movie shot at the DC Mountain Lab. I don't know whether there's an official trailer yet - as I read recently on (the awesome) Pierre Wikberg's blog (more on that later) that the music hasn't cleared yet - but there is something on YouTube showing a few variations. The first DC MTN.LAB was so good I've got to see this new one! Here's that YouTube video...

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According to the car rental travel agreement , now every american airline, including the hawaiian airlines, will offer occasional cheap flights with rental car offers.

Labels: dvds, video

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Absinthe Films: Optimistic

Posted by on Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Simon sent me a link to the trailer for Absinthe's next snowboarding film: Optimistic. But it's not the first time that I've been pointed towards it, and seems as though it looks pretty damn good, I figured it's about time I mention it here...

You can check out the trailer and the blurb on Absinthe's site, which is currently undergoing some work; but, as you might expect you can also watch it on YouTube, so I'll happily embed it below.

The trailer does look great - I'll certainly be getting hold of a copy as soon as it's available. I've been really impressed with Absinthe's films over the last two seasons: Futureproof and More. I know that many people feel that Vivid and Pop were great/better - but not me. I became attracted to Absinthe's style more recently.

Here's the trailer...

Labels: absinthe films, dvds, video

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"Go Snowboard", Neil McNab's Instructional DVD: Review

Posted by on Thursday, February 22, 2007

The McNab instrucional snowboard DVD (Go Snowboard) is very good, it's excellenty priced and comes with an accompanying book. Perhaps non-beginners may find it more useful than those just starting out, but if you're in the market for instructional guidance, I'd recommend this.

Who's it for?
In my opinion the terminology and demonstration used for beginners is a little over-complicated. Pressure control, edge control, steering and using opposing pressure seems a little much to begin with. Too much to think about. I get the impression that it will mean more to you once you know how to ride...

A rider comfortable with the basics, an intermediate, or a more advanced rider on the other hand, will be able to think about and practice the techniques discussed, as they won't be concentrating so hard on simply not falling over. These techniques, I beieve, are excellent. "Turning the board by design".

So I'd say that the DVD covers a wide range, but I'm not 100% sure about absolute beginners. The DVD certainly made a positive impact on my riding.

Go Snowboard broken down
That's not to say that there is nothing of use for beginners. Far from it. To begin with the book is excellently produced; great pictures and great layout. The book supports the DVD and the DVD supports the book. The book includes a lot of good off-the-hill information in there that will help you get started.

The stance, body posture and your first movements on the hill shown to beginners are also good. The regulars: slide slipping, diagonal slipping, falling leaf are all included... I just think that too much emphasis is placed on how the board works, too soon. Maybe I've got it wrong? Maybe the beginner should focus on precise manipulation of the board from the start? My current thinking on this however is: get comfortable with basic linked turns, build a little confidence, then start to refine your technique.

Intermediate riding - this is where I believe this instruction comes into its own. Controlling the board throughout the turn by applying the correct pressure at one of the four pressure points, at the right time: the McNab pressure control system. I was definitely missing out on some required pressure at the rear of the board later in the turn. Straight away when watching the DVD I knew this was something I needed to try... following this method made my lines much tighter.

The DVD covers some useful techniques to help you become in-tune with how you're really interacting with your board: pointing at the pressure control points and riding with your hands on your knees. There are also exercises to help you refine you skills: "counting", the "funnel" and the "corridoor". They really are worth trying out.

Advanced riding. From the whole DVD I was most interested by a technique called the cross under edge change, where the board crosses under the body as it moves from one arc into the next. This technique is used to control the board correctly on steep, technical terrain.

It's interesting to me because although I feel I can ride with good technique on intermediate terrain, I can't make consistent speed-controlling arcs without pushing edges out on steeper stuff. Following good technique just causes me to go too fast.

It's listed as an advanced technique, which I'd agree with. It's certainly too hard for me at the moment, especially without further guidance. It looks good though and it feels like the way forward, so I'll be working on it.

Go Snowboard also provides a very good introduction to freestyle, short but well thought out. There's good coverage of the ollie and the guidance for catching your first air from kickers is right on.

Similarly the topic of freeriding is only slightly touched: a brief look at how to adjust the pressure control system to work in powder. But that's fine in the context of this DVD/book.

In summary, I don't think you can go wrong with this DVD, especially given the price. It covers a wide ability range, providing good excercises to work on aswell as sound technical instruction that's up to date. Go buy Go Snowboard.

Labels: books, dvds, review

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Absinthe's More: DVD Review

Posted by on Thursday, October 26, 2006

"More" was the film that I was most looking forward to watching this season. Mainly because I really liked Futureproof, but also because the trailer looked so good. So how did it stack up against last year's production from Absinthe?

Opening
The opening sequence with Gigi Ruf, Nico Muller and Travis Rice riding huge pillows really sets the precedent for the rest of the film: lots of powder, great shots and great riding. There isn't a park kicker in sight. If you like the powder scenes in Futureproof you're sure to like this opening. I do think it would have been cool to see some of those lines in normal speed, but you can't complain, the riding here is great.

Stand Out Sections
All of the riding in the film is good - but these are the parts that stood out to me:

Erik Christensen's section is full of great shots and for me it probably represents the best editting in the film. Add in some sick, varied riding and a cool beat and it's just so good to watch. One of the better sections I think. You've got to check out the extra in this part with Philip Damianakes, just after Eric 50-50s the gnarly kink both regular and switch...

Wolle Nyvelt has some excellent back country action: impressive powder terrain, pillows and big, natural jibbs. Sweet style in there and it really is hit after hit after hit - impressive. I'm just not sure about that black and white getup...

Mark Frank Montoya. Nice powder riding. His nollie cliff drop is beautiful and there are 3 box hits that I can easily put on rewind and watch again and again. If you like smooth lines and slashes in deep powder you're gonna love Kurt Wastell's part. I think they filmed this really well - some of the moving camera shots give you a perfect, smooth view of the sweet, floaty style on display.

Chris Coulter and JP Solberg have some awesome shots and locations, including some lovely back country follow-cam clips. Matt Beardmore is riding to the same tune in this part: his FS 5 off a back country hip is mint, and I also really like the tweaked, off-axis 7 to close this part.

Justin Bennee and his friends bring a real urban, jib-heavy feel to the film, with loads of street and concrete jibbs, varied and gnarly. There's two great displays of style from Justin hitting a park rail. Mikey LeBlanc continues the urban vibe with a lot of skate-like, aggressive hits in his section.

Any Bad Bits?
Of course it's not possible for each section to stand out as far as the next: different riding styles, shots and locations are going to appeal to different people. The super-urban jibbs aren't totally for me - but I do appreciate them. That said, there's no riding in the film that I don't like. However I do think the the song for Mikey LeBlanc's section represents a low point on the soundtrack.

Favourite Sections
Although the best riding may be elsewhere, there are two sections that really stand out to me.

Gigi Ruf. He brings a funky tune, awesome powder and such an easy, smooth, fun style to this movie. The reason I like his riding so much is that despite how big his tricks really are, it still manages to come across as just 'playing' around in the powder, filming with your friends, which we all love to do. Sick riding, sick angles and the way Gigi closes the film is pretty clever. That front flip looks wicked!

Jules Reymond's part, to me, brings so much to More. To begin with it's introduced really well with them all skating through the street. His frontside 180 from the piste over the barrier tape and shed is the type of shredding that I love to see in movies - a glimps of pro riders doing something a little more normal and making it look so good - great style.

There's some popup text that reads "Jules 1st AK Line" - things like that really help you relate with the rider. I swear it looks to me like he went to Alaska for the first time, was so happy to be there and decided to start jumping off everything. The editting flicks to show some of the other riders hitting the same lines and it really works. It just looks like they're having so much fun - which is what it's all about. I liked Jules' riding in Futureproof and I like it more here. It's all aided by what I think is the best tune in the movie - great section.

Best Riding?
I'm not sure how, but it took a second, maybe third viewing before I realised how good Nicolas Muller's section is - that's got to be an indication of how good all of the riding in this film is. I can't really say anymore than Muller's riding is insanely good, freestyle anywhere and everywhere, he never dissapoints. It's better to just watch it yourself.

So for me, it's between Muller and Travis Rice. Muller's ability and desire to use all the terrain around him puts him so close to the ideal of all-mountain freestlye. But Travis has similar qualities, and honestly, his part in More is full of hugely impressive riding. It seems like there's no end to it. There's a boned shifty that has so much style, followed by a sick double backflip. Check out the double corked frontside 10 - which has a funny-as-shit hidden extra to back it up. Travis goes huge, with sweet moves on big mountain steeps. His level of riding in More is pretty amazing!

Soundtrack and Filming
The soundtrack to More is pretty good. I'm not clinging to it the whole way through, but there are some good sounds there and I like the way Absinthe match the music to the video.

The filming is again, top notch. Absinthe really push the production side of things and the results are good. Not every shot from a hanging wire stands out, but the majority do and there are some truly great clips that enhance the whole experience.

Extras
There's a lot and they're pretty much all good, but for me the best two are:

The Making of Futureproof. An excellent addition. Lots of documentary style footage from the making of Futureproof. It's a must-watch. Romain De Marchi trying to blag a free flight for his girlfriend - excellent!
The Scott Sullivan music compilation. That's right, you get a free music CD, and it's really good. I first heard Scott Sullivan's music on Robot Food's Afterbang, so I was well pleased when my favourite tune, Seatown, appeared on this CD. Sweet.

Conclusion
Great riding on varied terrain. You've got big mountain stuff, back country kickers, natural back country, pillows, trees, rails and urban jibbs. Lots of powder.

The film is excellently put together, a good soundtrack, maybe with one or two exceptions, and progressive filming. There's also lots of it. Lots of riders, a long film, good extras, even a free music CD. It's what I'm coming to expect from Absinthe - a top class snowboard movie.

More Soundtrack
If you're after some of the music from More, here's a list of the tracks, with links to iTunes: