How Action Sports Campaigns Capture Aspen Skiing

TL;DR

Successful ski campaigns combine athlete knowledge, visual storytelling, and technology while keeping every participant aware of the terrain and camera position. In Aspen, Chase Jarvis and Chris Davenport used still photography, cinema video, social media, and an octocopter to portray the character of Aspen/Snowmass and inspire people to visit.

Transcript

jvis and I am coming at you live for the first Google Hangout that I have personally driven I've been a part of a lot of them but I am uh I guess driving this one we were super disorganized we uh got up late and but we've had the support of a couple of great people here uh trying to get us online I think it's working I got a little thing that says ... Read More

Key Insights

• Action-sports campaign production is a collaborative storytelling process involving athletes, photographers, video crews, and digital teams. Davenport contributes as both a professional skier and an Aspen ambassador, while Jarvis interprets the location visually for a global print and online campaign.
• The purpose of the Aspen/Snowmass campaign is to communicate the character of the destination through photographs, video, and social media. Davenport says the team aims to share stories with the world and inspire people to visit the place represented in the finished material.
• Burnt Mountain is a new Aspen/Snowmass area with trails cut during the previous summer. Davenport describes it as feeling like the backcountry while retaining ski-resort safety, and its limited traffic and fresh snow make it especially useful as a shooting location.
• Octocopter photography works through coordination between an airborne camera, its operator, the photographer, and the athlete. During an earlier campaign, Jarvis used glasses displaying the camera's viewpoint and a trigger that let him release the shutter while Davenport skied below.
• A video uplink is essential for precise aerial composition because it lets the photographer see the octocopter camera's viewpoint in real time. The discussed aircraft could also carry large cinema equipment, including the RED ONE camera mentioned by Jarvis and Scoble.
• Athlete awareness is crucial during aerial filming because a skier can accelerate beyond the octocopter's available speed. Davenport listens for the aircraft and monitors its likely position relative to his body, the terrain, and nearby trees while completing the planned skiing line.
• Winter air conditions can affect aerial filming, although Jarvis says thin air is more concerning during summer or when an aircraft carries a heavy load. The production had nevertheless flown octocopters successfully at different times of day during recent work.
• SXSW had expanded dramatically compared with Scoble's first visit 10 or 11 years earlier. He recalls an event with 500 attendees, while the recent gathering was described with estimates of 40,000 attendees and 200,000 people in town, creating transportation and infrastructure pressure.

Questions & Answers

Q: How do photographers create an Aspen ski campaign?

Photographers create the campaign by working with athletes, resort representatives, video crews, and digital specialists to tell stories about Aspen/Snowmass. Chase Jarvis captures the location as the artist, while Chris Davenport contributes skiing skill, terrain knowledge, and his perspective as an ambassador. The resulting content includes still photographs, cinema video, online material, and social media for a global campaign intended to inspire visits.

Q: What role does a professional skier play in a photo shoot?

A professional skier serves as more than a model during an action-sports shoot. Chris Davenport helps the crew generate content, represents Aspen as an ambassador, and works with the photographer to communicate the place's character. He performs planned skiing actions, including powder turns and cliff drops, while adjusting his movement to the terrain, the camera system, and the specific view the production needs.

Q: How is an octocopter used for ski photography?

An octocopter carries a camera above or behind a skier to create aerial photographs and video. Jarvis describes a system with a video uplink that displays the camera's viewpoint in real time. During the previous campaign, he wore viewing glasses and used a trigger to release the shutter as Davenport skied beneath the aircraft, allowing deliberate timing and composition from the air.

Q: How should a skier coordinate with an aerial camera?

A skier should remain conscious of the octocopter's position and speed throughout the run. Davenport listens for the aircraft because it is often above or behind him and therefore difficult to see. He also tracks his body position, the terrain, and nearby trees. Since skiers accelerate quickly, he must avoid moving so far ahead that the aircraft cannot follow and the planned shot fails.

Q: Why is Burnt Mountain useful for action-sports filming?

Burnt Mountain provides terrain that Davenport says feels like the backcountry while still offering the safety of a ski resort. New trails had been cut there during the previous summer, and the area had few people and substantial fresh snow during the campaign. Those conditions gave the production room to photograph powder skiing and cliff drops without the crowding described elsewhere in a resort environment.

Q: What technology lets photographers frame aerial ski shots?

A live video uplink lets the photographer view exactly what the airborne camera sees, making it possible to judge framing while the octocopter moves. Jarvis also describes wearing glasses connected to the camera view and operating a remote shutter trigger. Together, those tools allow the photographer to monitor the athlete from the aircraft's perspective and capture a still image at the intended moment.

Q: How can altitude and temperature affect octocopter filming?

Jarvis says thin air can become a consideration when an octocopter carries a heavy camera, particularly in warmer summer conditions. Scoble asks whether filming must occur in the morning because warmer afternoon air provides less lift. Jarvis replies that the concern is less significant during winter and notes that the crew had recently flown successfully at different times of day.

Q: Why had SXSW become difficult to navigate?

Scoble says SXSW had grown from 500 attendees when he first visited 10 or 11 years earlier to reported estimates of 40,000 attendees, with another estimate placing 200,000 people in town during the week. The crowds strained local infrastructure and sometimes made Uber unavailable. Despite complaints from longtime attendees, he still regarded the gathering as a strong opportunity for networking and late-night conversations.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Chase Jarvis hosts a live Google Hangout from Aspen with professional big-mountain skier Chris Davenport, Aspen digital specialist Digi Dave, and technology commentator Robert Scoble. Their shared connection is Aspen, where Jarvis is photographing a global print and online campaign while the group discusses skiing, photography, technology, music, and SXSW.

• Davenport describes campaign production as a collaborative storytelling process. As the ski model and an Aspen ambassador, he helps the crew create photographs, video, and social media that communicate the character of Aspen/Snowmass. The work includes skiing powder, dropping cliffs, and filming in the newly developed Burnt Mountain area.

• The production uses an octocopter to capture aerial perspectives of skiers. A live video uplink can show the photographer what the airborne camera sees, while a trigger permits remote shutter control. Davenport must hear and track the aircraft, regulate his speed, and remain aware of terrain and trees to preserve the shot.