As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m a huge fan of IsenSeven’s work. Their latest film, Let’s Go Get Lost, is out now and it has to be one of the best snowboard films I’ve seen… You can read a full review of it over here. I asked Vincent Urban, one of the main guys at IsenSeven, to answer a few questions for us on creating the film, the current reality of snowboard DVD sales and their equipment. Some of his answers surprised me, especially when he talks editing time and their creative process. Read on for more…
Hey there Vincent, thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us. I received our copy of Let’s Go Get Lost last week and I have to say, it is one of the best snowboard films I have seen. You guys put a lot of effort in and the attention to detail is amazing. Who works with you at IsenSeven? Where are you based and where do you snowboard most of the time?
First of all, I’m glad you like it. I’ve never been to Australia and I really don’t have any clue about the scene over there, so it’s just really amazing to hear that people from the other side of mother earth like what we’re doing. We are based in Munich, the city with this crazy beer-fest you guys know about pretty well. From there, we can be in many different resorts within one or two hours so we can’t really claim any home turf. For some years now, we were riding resorts all over the world, trying not to hang out at one spot too often. Exploration is a big part of our movies and also the main motivation. Last year, it was Alex Schiller, Felix Urbauer and me working on the movie, together with some other filmers that were a helping hand from time to time. We are all filming, editing and animating, everyone has his preferences but no one has any exclusive job.
What made you guys start creating snowboard films? Do you get the same buzz from it today that you did back in 1999?
Back then it was a time when not every little kid had a camera or every lame cellphone could record movies. Amateur movies were actually rare, while today there are so many it’s almost annoying. We were lucky enough to have one in our crew who bought a quite decent camera for his own use and so we thought we could film ourselves while snowboarding what we did almost any possible day anyways. Soon we had enough funny footage and decided we put together our first movie “New Noise”. We really didn’t wanna do anything different than to have a entertaining piece of film for our friends and family. But it turned out so well that many in the German scene saw it and people motivated us to make another one. Of course, it’s a totally different feeling today. It’s our job, we have to be professional in every matter, have to satisfy sponsors and have the public pressure to get better every year. It’s still exciting but on another level.
Are snowboard films the only projects you work on? Have you got anything else you’re working on at the moment? I read in an interview with Felix that you guys might be looking at a skate film and you got to do some travel videos for Lufthansa, that sounds amazing!
Snowboarding is great and we all love to produce snowboarding movies. But you need some variety in your work to keep it exciting. For some of us, those side-projects get more and more important, also because we know we need some fresh people working on the snowboarding projects, young talents, that bring new ideas to the table. We can’t reinvent the genre every year. Alex will still be mainly working for the snowboarding project, together with some new filmer additions, while Felix and me also focus on all kinds of other film work. I’ll be starting my first low-budget music video production next month. And in summer, I’m sure we gonna shoot some skating again, too. So there’s exciting things to come in every direction.
You guys really set your films apart with the creativity that goes into the riders intros, credits clips (like the Times clip in the current film) and exceptional trailers. That must take a lot of time… From start to finish, how long did it take you guys to create Let’s Go Get Lost? What did you find to be the most time consuming part?
We usually spent two months editing the movie. The most time consuming this year was “Times”, for sure. Not only the editing, but just collecting the footage took about a whole week. The clip doesn’t really have a specific topic so we could have used literally every shot we had on our hard drive – and that’s a lot. In the end I had about 3 hours of raw clips I selected and then put together in a 5 minute video.
Let’s Go Get Lost is a really well finished film – there’s a lot of time put into colour work, titles and graphics. The shots in the film look really well planned – not your average snowboard filming. What’s the process for you guys when you’re doing this – do you start with a refined idea of how the film will look or does the overall look come about while you are filming and editing?
During the season we have absolutely no clue how the film will look like, therefore we don’t plan anything. You have to sit down and see what you gathered throughout the season and then try to find a way to put together a smooth construction with all those little parts in summer. Sometimes, this works just fine. Other times you have to make the best out of fucked up situations and live with it.
Your riders are all incredible but most Australian’s will have never heard of them before. Gives us a run down of who’s in the crew and what they’re like to work with.
There are three groups of riders in our crew. Long-time friends like Marco Smolla, Michi Zirngibl, Chris Patsch or the Strauss Twins that were filming with us for quite some time now and bring in a lot of their own ideas. They’re quite a funny bunch of nerds. Then there are the experienced ones like Andre Kuhlmann and Chris Schmidt who were professionals before we even made films. They know all about building jumps, safety measures on the mountain and traveling in foreign countries. It’s always a big help to have them with us. Finally, there’s the New Wave, extremely good riders like Fredrik Evensen or Ludwig Lejkner, always professional and motivated. They won’t stop before they got their shit on tape.
What is your favourite part of Let’s Go Get Lost? Is there any one section you’re particularly proud of?
That would be Times. Not only because I spent the most time with it, it was also an idea I had in my mind for months, I just needed some time to realize it. Another part which is very important to me is Luddes and Torgeirs. The intro just consists of the two-week park shred I had with them at Mt.Hood and it really reminds me of those good times. Cruising with them is exceptionally funny and I think you can feel that while watching this intro.
Have you started work on next years film? Any details for us on what it’s going to be like?
We started getting the budget and the team together. We already know most of next years team but that’s still a well kept secret. Other than that – nope, no clue how it will look like.
I know Felix said he was a big fan of the Sony cams and that you’re currently using the?Sony FX-1 and Sony XDCAM EX-1 HD-cameras when most companies have gone with the Panasonic HVX’s for high definition filming. What was the reason for your decision to go with Sony?
I would ask this the other way around: why does every snow filmer use the HVX? Probably the question is the answer. Someone started and everyone buys the cam because everyone else has it. The Sony EX1 is a little bit more expensive but it also has a bigger chip. The HVX on the other hand, makes well saturated images without post-production, with the Sony you have a more raw kind of footage. I guess as most of the filmers in the snow business don’t do color correction they find it easier to go with the HVX.
What other equipment are you guys using? I’ve seen photos of some pretty amazing looking cable cams and jibs…
Exactly, we use a home-built cable cam and a light-weight camera crane. But most of the time we just use the most simple dolly you can get: a skateboard.
What’s on your wishlist for equipment that you want to get?
Just one computer that doesn’t crash all the time. That’s so annoying.
I noticed that you had a ‘propeller man’ flying over some of the jumps who got some incredible shots – Who’s idea was that? Was it hard to do?
That wasn’t us actually. It’s Greg Martin from Friday Films who were working for the Oakley video.
There’s a lot of discussion about the business model for making films in snowboarding at the moment, especially with MDP calling it a day because of declining sales. How are you guys finding it? Are you seeing any reason to change how you guys distribute your films? Has internet piracy affected your business?
I’m sure piracy affected us but it’s hard to measure. But I think just making your video available for free download or cover-mount it makes it even worse. Would a shop where people steal all the time just say, well, we might as well give out our products for free? I do think positive and assume there a enough kids out there to support movies and projects like this.
Your films have an impressive list of sponsors… I think it’s one of the few times I’ve seen a car company (Fiat) listed on a snow video! How have they received the film? How important are the films sponsors to you guys?
I think they like it but we didn’t receive an official statement yet. Sponsors in general are the most important partners for us. Actually, there are the only reason we can make movies, so a BIG thanks go out to all our sponsors at this time.
[Ed Note: Sponsors of the film were Nitro, Oakley, O’Neill, Horsefeathers, Carhartt, Head, Vans, Nike 6.0, Fiat, L1]
Thanks for your time Vincent! Looking forward to seeing future projects from IsenSeven. Have you got any last words for us?
Stay classy, Australia. Hope to see you sometime soon!
