Sweetgrass Productions: Signatures

I had the opportunity to catch the most recent release by Sweetgrass Productions in Carbondale a couple of nights ago.  Dos Gringos (my favorite burrito place in C-dale!) offered up their fine establishment to accommodate the over 80 people that showed up to watch some pow riding delight.

Now, I should mention that I have been aware of this project since its early filming this past winter.  Many of my close friends and skiing buddies made the trek out to Japan, where the producers/filmers posted up for over 7 months.  That being said, I was excited to see the action my friends got into while in the land of the rising sun.

Luckily, good news came just hours before I set off with my girlfriend in tow to catch the show, as reports of ‘Signatures’ winning the Best Cinematography award at this year’s IF3 ski film festival in Montreal came in across the intraweb.  Facebook , the TGR boards , and Twitter were all abuzz about this beautifully shot film and its unique approach to winter riding.

Lest the film disappoint, I was already stoked on my ‘Spud Luv’ potato filled burrito, but no worries.  ‘Signatures’ opened in classic Sweetgrass style with a cool narration reflecting on seasonal change and shots of rivers, ocean, and snow falling.  If you are a powder fan, then this is the film of the year for you; there are more slash turns and pillow drops than a bag of marshmallows.

The segment that really caught my attention and will keep me coming back is the night shots.  I have seen night skiing/riding in action sports films before, but these guys really know how to keep your eyes dancing across the screen.  The creative editing allowed each skier’s slash or drop to intermix like a choreographed dance.  Awesome, just plain awesome.  You’ll have to see it to really understand what I’m trying to get at here.

In summary, if you’ve been feeling a little burnt out on the regular ski flick offerings each year, check this film out.  It’s not an MSP, or TGR, or even Level 1 for that matter…but that is exactly what sets it apart and makes it stand out.  And if the judges at IF3 aren’t good enough for ya, just trust this ski bum, I even snaked a poster of theirs to hang in my van for some added stoke.

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About to go on stage...

Well…our second show went off quite successfully. The film was showing on the OSU campus in the Austin Auditorium with over 350 ski fans filling the room.

Evan, our sponsor liaison, felt good about the lobby displays, though the Jeep models that are supposed to come in and shoot pictures of attendees didn’t show up. Oh well…we’ll see more than our fair share of models throughout the tour. Our projectionist, Kyle, had a pretty easy job of it last night, spending most of his time peeping college co-eds as they found their seats in the auditorium. Lot’s of ‘bogeys’ as he calls them out on the radio…

And I found myself falling into the swing of things up on stage as my script dials in even more. It was fun to be amongst so many skiing fans in one room, and to be able to toss out prizes to them only makes it that much better. Last night, Peak Sports, one of the local retailer sponsors brought a Dakine Team Bag and a Dakine High Roller Bag to carry skis/snowboards. With such sweet prizes, it’s really easy to get the crowd going.

We even had our first athlete appearance last night, with Mt. Bachelor local ripper Ben Watts showing up to the delight of all the young girls in the audience. At only 15 years old, this soft-spoken snowboarder has the world wrapped around his finger and I expect nothing but great things from him. Not to mention, he got to shoot his segment while ripping around Mt. Bachelor with surfing legend Gerry Lopez.

We are heading to Eugene, OR tonight for our third show. I’ve heard Eugene knows how to party, so let’s hope they can bring some noise for me up on stage tonight!

- Tats

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