april 1st double feature; (the Detroit section of) Tracing Skylines (2013)and Propaganda (2001)

    tried to eat my vegetables on some older freeskiing tonight. i feel like i have a pretty good understanding of what makes an edit appealing to me; as i watch more and more film i feel like i'm developing a good vocabulary to put into words what makes a good ski film as a opposed to a ski film (or a film with good skiing in it). Both Poor Boyz productions, Tracing Skylines and Propaganda are really mired in the conventions of the time(s) in which they were made. This is not purely negative - i found there to be a lot of charm to what Propaganda specifically celebrates - but it can make them feel like just budget skate-videos-on-skis, when the medium has room to be its own (similar, but distinct) art form.

We can get the ugly out of the way first - Tracing Skylines. This will focus on the Detroit section of the edit, as it is what is readily available for free on youtube. the Nike SB-esque stink is all over this fucker. drone shots, self serious narration, and a seeming lack of focus on the skiing veers this dangerously into "action sports documentary", a type of filmmaking that is so offensive to my sensibilities as to be almost indescribable. It seems every film fitting into this bucket is made entirely of a slow motion shots of a gnarly spot with homeboy narrating about how he was scared for his life. it's so condescending to the viewer to present the idea of "skiing is dangerous sometimes" as some sort of revolutionary concept. I love when ski edits have something to actually say on the dangers of the artform (im the #1 rudy lepine respecter, remember), so i find it really disappointing when the approach the subject but don't actually engage with it in any real way. it's like if you were watching point break and keanu reeves just barreled the camera and went "now i feel mad". I almost won't touch on the weird fetishization of Detroit as some sort of lawless abandoned wasteland. the film has nothing interesting to say on urban decay and i don't feel like it is worth addressing whatever points it is attempting to make.

A couple lights shown through on Tracing Skylines, though. When they get on the skis (which they don't do as much as you wish they would), they hit some gnarly spots. the pole jam rocks, as does the shot below.

too many camera angles, too many drone shots, simply not enough clips/minute in spots. thankfully, the tees are tall as hell.


Propaganda has a lot more of my sympathy; looking back at these videos that were coming out in newschooling's infancy just provides a really cool lens into what it meant to be freeskiing when the term was still being born. The focus here is still mountain and powder - there are urban spots, but few and far between (outnumbered, even, by shots from actual competition).  it is kind of wild to see the beginnings of what would become the modern "extreme sports" canon in propaganda - an early red bull helmet spotting, a highest jump world record being set on camera, etc. what later would become the Machine is here still being developed, our (the viewers) ire being turned not at spin-to-win antics and Olympic Slopestyle but rather at the Apres Ski Aspen season pass holders. I find this 'enemy' more challenging, as it engages not on an aesthetic differentiation as opposed to a values-driven one. As ski filmmaking continues to evolve, we have seen an utter rejection of the 1 hour edit brought to you by Monster on both of these levels. The digicam aesthetic of zootspace (sorry to bring it up again, but it's such a crystal-clear example) serves the values of the film; it is an aesthetic choice that puts into focus the purpose of the film (hangin' with your boys). propaganda is still here to set records, to take big (literally) checks and win comps. it is torn between serving as a documentation of these events and as its own film, and can never quite decide what it wants to be in that regard.

Now, for the good, because there is plenty in propaganda!!! the downhill backcountry stuff really worked for me, and felt distinct from its glossier elements. They are also really excited to experiment aesthetically - it frequently doesn't work (the rail POV and the weird comic-cutout-rotation shots spring to mind) but these swings really pushed the film away from the pure documentation angle. the skits and b-roll are not as intentional or as visceral as they could be, but they too lean the edit into being its own film. it is a poorly edited film on the whole; songs seem to wimper out rather than fade, b-roll is not utilized to its fullest extent, and i find bail-compilations to be horrible to the pacing of a ski (or skate, for that matter) film. the bones here are really effective - good skiers, neat spots, a willingness to embrace the off-the-skis aspect of the artform while still focusing on the jibbing. i cant hold the music choices against it, but they're terrible. a product of its time, i suppose.