SNOW SPORTS · Big Mountain
FILMING DAYS: WORKING WITH GUIDES, SLEDS AND CAMERAS
13 min · Full library · written lesson, video in production
The point
After this lesson you understand how a professional filming day actually runs, what your job is inside it beyond skiing well, and the specific conduct that gets an athlete invited on the next trip.
Half the answer, free
The Technique
- Understand the economics, because they explain every behaviour on the hill. A filming day burns money continuously: aircraft time, guides, camera operators, sled support, accommodation, and a weather window that may not repeat this trip. The light is the scarcest resource of all, and good light on a chosen aspect might last well under an hour. Everything the crew does is an attempt to convert that hour into usable footage. Once you understand that, the culture makes sense: the fast decision, the low tolerance for faffing, the irritation at someone who is not ready, the willingness to abandon a good line because the light moved. You are not the point of the day. The shot is the point of the day, and you are one input to it. Athletes who internalise that get asked back regardless of how they skied.
- Learn the shape of the day, so you are never the person asking what happens next. It typically runs: an early weather and forecast call, often before light; a plan built around a target aspect and a light window; loading with a strict order and weight distribution; a scout or a look pass; a guide-led assessment on the ridge or from a landing; a discussion of the line with the athlete, camera and guide all present; camera setup, which takes longer than anybody wants; radio check; then the run. After the run, a review, a decision on whether to repeat, and then either a reset for a second angle or a move. Repeats are normal and are not criticism. Your job between those blocks is to be warm, fed, hydrated, kitted and quiet, and to be standing at the machine before you are called.
- Get radio protocol right, because this is where new athletes visibly mark themselves. Use a channel discipline: listen before you transmit, keep the radio on your chest strap not in your pack, and know the call structure. Standard practice is short, structured and confirmed. You call ready, camera calls rolling, guide gives the drop call, and you acknowledge before you move. Nothing goes without a positive call from the person who owns that decision. Never drop on an assumption, never drop because you saw the camera point at you, and never fill the channel with commentary while a run is live. If you have a problem mid-line, the call is short and factual: who you are, where you are, what you need. Practise the physical action of getting the radio to your mouth with gloves and a pack on, because the first time you try it should not be when something has gone wrong.
Still under the glass
- Hitting marks, one-take discipline, and the conduct that decides whether the phone rings next season
- 6 more technique steps
- The 5 mistakes that undo it, with fixes
- The drill that builds the reflex
- The safety non-negotiables
It opens when you book a trip that runs snow sports - these are the exact drills you run with your coach out there. Your booking unlocks this whole library.
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