Every once in a while, you hear about something kinda crazy you wouldn't normally consider doing, but for some reason, you just say YES. That was the case when I heard about the Colorado Backcountry session with Outside Adventure Film School. In some ways, it suited me perfectly. It was the marriage of two things I love: filmmaking and snowboarding. In other ways, it was like going to the moon...
I was one of six filmmakers selected for an outdoor adventure into the wilderness. We would each produce a short film while trekking into the Colorado backcountry during one of the coldest months of winter. Living just around the corner in Vail, I kinda knew what I was getting into...and it didn't sound like fun. There would be long hikes, painfully cold nights, snow mixing with camera gear, let's just say, I could think of a few other things I'd rather do.
Another interesting element--Outside Television would be sending a crew to document the entire journey. Yes, this would be a reality TV show. Have you ever thought about being in a reality TV show? Have you seen the crazy stuff that's on TV these days! Um, is someone going to be voted off? Is there going to be a 'twist'? This could either turn out to be totally awesome, or really terrible. True to reality TV form, there was an almighty competition: the filmmaker who produces the best film would be awarded a paid assignment with Outside Television!!! Now we're talking!
Needless to say, the call of adventure steered me straight into the fire.
THE TEAM
Under the wing of our fearless leader, award-winning filmmaker Michael Brown--a man who has been summited Everest MULTIPLE times--we prepared for an amazing adventure. Michael has been running the adventure film school for years, so I knew I'd be in good hands. Joining Michael on the esteemed mentoring team were two very, and I mean VERY, talented and accomplished industry leaders: Chris Davenport, one of the world's most accomplished all mountain skiers, and Carrie Regan, a 13-year veteran at National Geographic Television! Talk about an impressive team!
We also had daredevils Rex Pemberton and his wife Melissa along for the ride. He just so happens to be the youngest Australian to climb Mount Everest, and she is one of the world’s best aerobatics pilots. No biggie. And then there was Nasa Koski and Tyler, the glue that tied the whole operation together. It was really cool to be surrounded by so much talent!
TRAVEL JOURNALIST, TRAVELING JULES
Filming for the TV show began with a day in the life of travel journalist, TravelingJules! Cameramen filmed me filming Denver--a mere preview of the camera-on-camera action that would soon follow. Boots, a dress and pink lipstick were all part of the DSLR package, baby!
It was a fun day of reflection. After working in television in a variety of roles, it was cool to see how all roads have lead me right here. Over the years, I've learned so much in working in news and reality TV and in the commercial world. One lesson I'm often reminded of is this: the more you know, the more you don't know--especially for someone like me, someone who does it all. I produce, shoot, write, edit and even host videos as a one-woman show. There's a lot to think about: cameras. batteries. rigs. tripods. focus. exposure. composition. color. audio. lighting. content. story. characters. interviews. releases. insurance. permits. directions. lunch. yeah. When big TV crews have one entire person dedicated to capturing great audio, and another whole person who has the sole job of obtaining all the releases, it's kind of crazy to think that somehow I manage to do it all as a team of one. It's a challenge. And as much as I've grown, so have my expectations. So, there's definitely a fine balance to maintain. With this in mind, I embraced the opportunity to take on the Outside Adventure Film School, testing my skills to work under pressure, under deadline and under 'pack weight'. I wanted to make something cool, get to know some amazing people, and most of all, have fun!
That said, there was just one challenge staring me down...the actual adventure.
READY, SET, GO!
Packing was not easy. Huh? We have to hike uphill for five miles carrying everything we own on our backs? Luckily, I had a good bag. I organized my snowboard gear--my new super sexy new Roxy Banana Smoothie EC2 split board & skins, my helmet, Oakley goggles, jacket & pants ...I gathered (well borrowed) the camping gear: a winter sleeping bag, sleeping pad, bowl & fork, down booties, etc., plus an array of camera gear. Things I just couldn't live without? A Canon 5D Mark III, a 24-70 f/2.4 lens, the Zacuto EVF Pro viewfinder, Manfrotto fluid head monopod, Manfrotto tripod, and a Zoom H4N. Plus, hand and toe warmers and Hot Tronic boot heaters were a must. Somehow, I squished it all into one bag, piggybacking my Kata 3N1 camera bag onto the top of the pack. Into the wild we went!
INTO THE BACKCOUNTRY
Day one, we set out towards Leadville, Colorado for a little snow camping. Of the few times I've been camping in my adult life...I've actually been camping in Leadville during the height of summer, and even then, the freezing temperatures were unbearable...down sleeping bag, and toe warmers and all. I don't think the area is even open for camping half of the summer because it's too cold. So, be it as it were, we would be camping there in a tent in the middle of January! Lucky us.
The strangest part, people think this is fun. I had a lot to learn.
We stop along the way to take in the scenery. Pit stops like this truly make a trip for me. I had a ball getting out all my camera gear. Talk about geeking out! I plugged in my Zacuto EVF Pro viewfinder, got out my fancy new Manfrotto tripod--WOW! The 502 head feels like butter--super smooth and divine. I never knew what I was missing! I got some magestic panning wide shots, extra close-ups of the sparkling snow, it was fabulous! We also set up a little slider and had some fun filming my own hero shot.
Here's our crew--my fellow filmmaking buddies: Fil Deandrade, McKenzie Barney, Nayla Tawa, Jordan Yeager, and Jason Basnett!! Expect great things from these guys.
A few more miles down the road, we arrived at our snowy campsite. It's hard to believe we would be sleeping on snow tonight. I bundled up in my warmest duds, ripped open the hand warmers, and turned on the boot heaters...but still, so jealous of the folks who packed down onesies! What!!!
Lucky for me, pro skiier Chris Davenport shared some of his secrets about keeping warm in the freezing cold. A little shoulder shimming goes a long way...
We set up our tents, cooked by the fire, and stood amazed by the glittering stars overhead. Did I freeze my butt off? Yessss...waking up on the ground, frozen like an ice cube is not how I like to start my day. But did enjoy the glittering stars, the talks by the campfire, the hot cup of cocoa in my hands? Yes I did.
Alas, we charged on to Copper Mountain to sneak off into the backcountry enroute to Janet's cabin. And I got to try out my new splitboard! This thing is so cool! I think I would have died if I had to also carry a snowboard and boots instead of having a snowboard that split into two and became skiis (so I could put on skins and go up the mountain)! Bonus!
That said, it was the longest five hour hike. I would have loved to slow down and take in all the scenery, maybe sit in the woods and listen to the sweet sound of nothing, or have a little picnic. Instead, it was a race to the top. And, being the last person to start the hike, having the shortest legs and smallest stride, and really having little interest in art of hiking, it was hard to really pick up the pace. What I love to do is film, but there wasn't even time for that...we needed to get to the hut before dark, and well, that didn't happen.
I arrived, hungry, dehydrated and exhausted, but happy to have a roof over my head. Janet's cabin is a rustic little hut that's part of the 10th Mountain Division Hut Association, a place with no running water--we melted trash cans full of real snow from the back yard over a wood burning stove to create our drinking water! Imagine that! There were compositing port-a-potties and solar powered lights..just a little detour from that place called "home."
A brand new day began searching for beacons and doing some avalanche training...working up a sweat, and hitting up a few powder stashes. No one said it was going to be easy. This is what they call, "earning your turns". Hiking minutes and hours uphill to enjoy a few seconds back down. I'm not a big fan...unless the snow is amazing. I'd rather ride the chairlift up, sneak off to my secret stashes on the sides of the trails, and enjoy run after run pure powdery bliss. :P I'm so spoiled!
All and all, we got some great shots!
And once in a while, we got in a few good turns, too! I was amazed the splitboard felt just like a normal snowboard! On that note, snowboarding with a heavy backpack is still not my thing.
The highlight of the trip was on our final day. We woke up at 4:30 am to hike up yet another mountain. We pushed on step after step into the darkness, with headlamps on our heads and cameras in tow. As we approached the summit, I was amazed at what lay before me. Brilliant pinks, oranges, and purples reflected off the snow revealing a stunning sunrise over the mountains. It was pure magic. Meeting my team at the top was just the celebration I needed--we were a wild collection of outdoor enthusiasts battling the high winds without a care in the world. In one direction, we saw the most beautiful sunrise. On the opposite side, you could see the Gore Range in the distance--a mountain range I've seen many times before from Vail Mountain, but never like this before. That was really spectacular.
MAJOR CAMERA ON CAMERA ACTION
Several times on the trip, I looked up from my viewfinder only to see see a swarm of people with cameras in their hands. It was kind of hilarious, actually. Between the filmmakers, the mentors, and the Outside TV crew, it was as if we were at tribe of villagers who had cameras as extensions of our arms. We were quite a sight for sure.
I didn't realize I was such a big camera geek until now. While sorting out my essential kit, I realized how many gadgets that were left behind. It was memorizing to watch the crew operate. I watched as they hauled around their heavy tripods up the hill, how they busted out sliders, how they positioned their bodies to balance the gear, how they utilized every possible audio set up you can imagine...it was just so super cool to see all these pros in action!
It was a unique opportunity to be in front of the camera, while also being behind the camera. As I filmed my story, I was being filmed by the Outside Television crew. Emmy Winning Roman Gackowski and his team of hard working blokes followed us around day and night with cameras over their shoulders. Their team of 7 shot late into the night, working with a fun collection of Canon 5D's and C300's, plus one traditional ENG camera. They worked hard! Sully, Willy, Chris, and especially Josh, who was assigned to follow me on the hike. He filmed me as I plodded by, then he sped up and passed me in two strides, only to be hiding behind the tree, filming me again. Talk about embarrassing! Don't you have somewhere to be right now?? JK.
EDITING UP A STORM
Back in Boulder, we were busy getting our edit on! Coming back to editing felt like coming home--something I knew how to do and I was good at it. It was tough trying to get the whole story edited in just 24 hours, but we worked around the clock and really jammed to pull it off. Even with a technical syncing problems matching my audio to the video, I was able to get the full story layed out in a day. I was happy to have feedback from my mentors periodically throughout the process--Carrie and Michael and Rex and Chris were all over my shoulder at one point. It's not often a one-woman band has so many contributors! Loved it! With only a few hours of sleep, I awoke to record my voice over, trim out the extra length of the story, and download some catchy music in the final moments! I didn't have enough time to find all the music I wanted, but like they say, a film is never finished. You can only do what you can do, I'm very pleased with the way my film came out. I can't wait to show you in April when the show debuts!
THE BIG PAYOFF
The best part of the whole experience had to be the grand finale: the film fest. It felt great to sit among my peers and watch all films we had all created. We watched each other pitch our concepts, we stood side by side in the field, and shared a room editing, but the final products were still a mystery. It was wonderful to see what everyone had done. Filepe's film was so sharp, really a work of art, McKenzie's film, a really wonderful profile on characters, Yukon's film, an great representation of his can-do-it attitude, Nayla's film, a tear jerker--she's an inspiration to us all, and Jordan's film, beautiful cinematic eye candy. It was fun to see how different everyone's film was--though we had a similar experience throughout the course, everyone's film had a really unique point of view and story.
It was a real treat to watch my film on the big screen--I've never seen my films on a screen that big. And, what made this day really special was the audience--I've never shown my work to so many people all at once! It was something I will never forget. It was fun to hear when people laughed, when they didn't laugh, how long they laughed and so forth. Hearing the crowd laugh during MY film--it was a great feeling. I didn't even know my film was funny. :P Haha. Typically when you watch TV, you don't get that. You don't know when the audience is surprised or touched or happy. So, seeing my own film at the film fest was pretty darn cool.
ONE HAPPY FAMILY
Three cheers for all the films! This is our crew. All the filmmakers, all the mentors, and all the folks from Outside Adventure Film School, and the guys from Outside TV!
Bravo to the Outside TV crew as well, RGTV! These guys work hard! Watching them carry even bigger packs to the top filled with C-300's and big tripods and sliders...yeah these guys know what they're doing.
Catch the show, The Final Cut, when it debuts on Outside TV in April!
Special thanks to Manfrotto, Kata Bags, Zacuto, Oakley and Roxy who kindly provided some really cool gear for this project. I can't wait to make more videos with all my new toys!
Learn more about the Outside Adventure Film School here: http://www.adventurefilmschool.com. They have several adventures each year, some of which are not so snowy, like the Teva Mountain Games.
And keep and eye on Outside TV's new original series, The Final Cut. Our show will be six episodes of pure fun with plenty of film on film action: http://outsidetelevision.com
Special THANKS to my sponsors:
Under the wing of our fearless leader, award-winning filmmaker Michael Brown--a man who has been summited Everest MULTIPLE times--we prepared for an amazing adventure. Michael has been running the adventure film school for years, so I knew I'd be in good hands. Joining Michael on the esteemed mentoring team were two very, and I mean VERY, talented and accomplished industry leaders: Chris Davenport, one of the world's most accomplished all mountain skiers, and Carrie Regan, a 13-year veteran at National Geographic Television! Talk about an impressive team!
We also had daredevils Rex Pemberton and his wife Melissa along for the ride. He just so happens to be the youngest Australian to climb Mount Everest, and she is one of the world’s best aerobatics pilots. No biggie. And then there was Nasa Koski and Tyler, the glue that tied the whole operation together. It was really cool to be surrounded by so much talent!
TRAVEL JOURNALIST, TRAVELING JULES
It was a fun day of reflection. After working in television in a variety of roles, it was cool to see how all roads have lead me right here. Over the years, I've learned so much in working in news and reality TV and in the commercial world. One lesson I'm often reminded of is this: the more you know, the more you don't know--especially for someone like me, someone who does it all. I produce, shoot, write, edit and even host videos as a one-woman show. There's a lot to think about: cameras. batteries. rigs. tripods. focus. exposure. composition. color. audio. lighting. content. story. characters. interviews. releases. insurance. permits. directions. lunch. yeah. When big TV crews have one entire person dedicated to capturing great audio, and another whole person who has the sole job of obtaining all the releases, it's kind of crazy to think that somehow I manage to do it all as a team of one. It's a challenge. And as much as I've grown, so have my expectations. So, there's definitely a fine balance to maintain. With this in mind, I embraced the opportunity to take on the Outside Adventure Film School, testing my skills to work under pressure, under deadline and under 'pack weight'. I wanted to make something cool, get to know some amazing people, and most of all, have fun! 
Day one, we set out towards Leadville, Colorado for a little snow camping. Of the few times I've been camping in my adult life...I've actually been camping in Leadville during the height of summer, and even then, the freezing temperatures were unbearable...down sleeping bag, and toe warmers and all. I don't think the area is even open for camping half of the summer because it's too cold. So, be it as it were, we would be camping there in a tent in the middle of January! Lucky us.
A few more miles down the road, we arrived at our snowy campsite. It's hard to believe we would be sleeping on snow tonight. I bundled up in my warmest duds, ripped open the hand warmers, and turned on the boot heaters...but still, so jealous of the folks who packed down onesies! What!!! 
A brand new day began searching for beacons and doing some avalanche training...working up a sweat, and hitting up a few powder stashes. No one said it was going to be easy. This is what they call, "earning your turns". Hiking minutes and hours uphill to enjoy a few seconds back down. I'm not a big fan...unless the snow is amazing. I'd rather ride the chairlift up, sneak off to my secret stashes on the sides of the trails, and enjoy run after run pure powdery bliss. :P I'm so spoiled! 
And once in a while, we got in a few good turns, too! I was amazed the splitboard felt just like a normal snowboard! On that note, snowboarding with a heavy backpack is still not my thing.
The highlight of the trip was on our final day. We woke up at 4:30 am to hike up yet another mountain. We pushed on step after step into the darkness, with headlamps on our heads and cameras in tow. As we approached the summit, I was amazed at what lay before me. Brilliant pinks, oranges, and purples reflected off the snow revealing a stunning sunrise over the mountains. It was pure magic. Meeting my team at the top was just the celebration I needed--we were a wild collection of outdoor enthusiasts battling the high winds without a care in the world. In one direction, we saw the most beautiful sunrise. On the opposite side, you could see the Gore Range in the distance--a mountain range I've seen many times before from Vail Mountain, but never like this before. That was really spectacular.
Several times on the trip, I looked up from my viewfinder only to see see a swarm of people with cameras in their hands. It was kind of hilarious, actually. Between the filmmakers, the mentors, and the Outside TV crew, it was as if we were at tribe of villagers who had cameras as extensions of our arms. We were quite a sight for sure.
It was a unique opportunity to be in front of the camera, while also being behind the camera. As I filmed my story, I was being filmed by the Outside Television crew. Emmy Winning Roman Gackowski and his team of hard working blokes followed us around day and night with cameras over their shoulders. Their team of 7 shot late into the night, working with a fun collection of Canon 5D's and C300's, plus one traditional ENG camera. They worked hard! Sully, Willy, Chris, and especially Josh, who was assigned to follow me on the hike. He filmed me as I plodded by, then he sped up and passed me in two strides, only to be hiding behind the tree, filming me again. Talk about embarrassing! Don't you have somewhere to be right now?? JK.
Back in Boulder, we were busy getting our edit on! Coming back to editing felt like coming home--something I knew how to do and I was good at it. It was tough trying to get the whole story edited in just 24 hours, but we worked around the clock and really jammed to pull it off. Even with a technical syncing problems matching my audio to the video, I was able to get the full story layed out in a day. I was happy to have feedback from my mentors periodically throughout the process--Carrie and Michael and Rex and Chris were all over my shoulder at one point. It's not often a one-woman band has so many contributors! Loved it! With only a few hours of sleep, I awoke to record my voice over, trim out the extra length of the story, and download some catchy music in the final moments! I didn't have enough time to find all the music I wanted, but like they say, a film is never finished. You can only do what you can do, I'm very pleased with the way my film came out. I can't wait to show you in April when the show debuts!
It was a real treat to watch my film on the big screen--I've never seen my films on a screen that big. And, what made this day really special was the audience--I've never shown my work to so many people all at once! It was something I will never forget. It was fun to hear when people laughed, when they didn't laugh, how long they laughed and so forth. Hearing the crowd laugh during MY film--it was a great feeling. I didn't even know my film was funny. :P Haha. Typically when you watch TV, you don't get that. You don't know when the audience is surprised or touched or happy. So, seeing my own film at the film fest was pretty darn cool.
Here's a very special guest blog post and camera gear review by yours truly: Why the Zacuto Z-Finder EVF Pro is an essential tool for DSLR filmmakers.
