Notes from the director's chair

Jan 28 2007 / Laax, Switzerland

Lat34 is covering the Burton European Open with a full court press, including director Erich "E" Lyttle.  Check out his blog from Laax here throughout the week to see what's happening on the slopes and in town!

E's blog

 

January 27, 2007

 

Mmmm… breakfast here is de-lishhh.  And good for me, I get one more round, because the superpipe finals were postponed until Sunday.  For a while it looked like the semis were going to have to substitute as the finals, because the winter weather that has finally gripped the Alps was doing its best to present the snow starved Europeans with plenty of snow for the rest of the season. 

 

The only U.S. rider left here, Luke Wynen, was definitely stoked that the contest was rescheduled, doing his best Deal-or-No-Deal gamble, trading in his 5th place for a chance for the BEO 1st prize bonanza.  He’ll have some stiff competition from top qualifier Markus Malin and Finn countryman Peetu Piiroinen.  Also, eyes are on Iouri Podladtchikov… we need some nicknames for these guys.

 

Amazing what you can learn at breakfast.  Joined by Donald Nader BEO Event Director and  Sandro Wirth, Burton Technical Supervisor,  learned that Laax has been tweaking with the Zaugg Pipe Dragon making it even more gnarly.  Now Laax boasts the best pipe in the world (140 meters long and 6.10 meters high, you do the conversion)… so we should see some great progression in today’s finals.

 

The story goes, that Donald and Sandro challenged Laax a few years back, warning that the only good pipes in the world were in the U.S. and that Europe would begin building indoor pipes (See Netherlands).  Laax responded by purchasing the super duper pipe cutter Zaugg and then modified it with an extension that gave the walls a sharper cut and theoretically more pop.

 

After the comp was officially postponed we scrambled to get a webcast of the best of the semifinals out to Lat34.com.  We pulled it off with Mini calling the play by play and everyone is satisfied… now we get to show you 2 great sessions instead of one… so tune in for the finals, this time the weather looks great from my breakfast position here at the hotel Signina at the bottom of the resort.  One more trip to the buffet, another double espresso and let’s drop in.

 

Post Note- The boys and I got some pow runs in to wake up the senses and insure a great webcast 2 ya-

 

January 26, 2007 

 

The excitement is accelerating here as the men and women dueled for the final spots in the halfpipe. The Mexican theme has been a total hit. And once again Burton's knack of putting fun first shows. For proof check out our party video clip for a taste of south of the border, and I'm not talking about Italy.

 

But now it is time for the showdown.  Luke Wynen is representing the USA well, as he lodged a 5th spot and as usual was smiling all the way... he's been working on grabbing his tens, so look out for him to nab a podium spot-he'll be gunning for the top slot for sure.

 

Great to see former Olympic star Gian Simmen riding again after his ACL surgery last fall.  Gian is in the 30-something crowd now, and he's amazed at the young guns who are threatening the old school.  Another legend, Xaver Hoffman was riding high, and just enjoying the comp. Hanging out casually with Burton's Liam Griffin and Hasi.

 

One of the new riders who Gian is freaking out about is the Russian sensation Iouri Podladtchikov, everyone is touting his stock... he wasn't real happy with his 2 runs today, but still he made it into the final shootout.

 

All in all the BEO men's final will be sick and will challenge the x games for progression-  especially since these guys have a great stage to prove their worth.  Tequila shots anyone?... oh sorry that's just TONIC WATER.

 

We go live on Lat34.com tomorrow 11:45 am here in Switzerland with the women's first run, followed by the men's first run, then the women's second, men's second, women's third and finally the men's third.  In the states you'll want to stay up after the x games and continue watching making it a great double bill. 

 

January 25, 2007
 
It snowed in a big way here in Laax transforming the spring conditions into perfect powder.  The town is looking like a Swiss postcard.  The pipe is ripe with enthusiasm. I ran into Luke Wynen today, here instead of the x games.  He's stoked to be here and has a good shot to represemt the US.  Our crew made a trip back down to Flims, the town that is the gateway to the Laax Arena, and it was beautiful.  The sun is making a comeback after the dumping of the last two days. We discovered an old lift chair from the early 1900's behind one of Flims coolest restaurant/bars.  Had a great lunch there. 

 

Speaking of food, one of my biggest challenges here has been trying to cope with the menu and food here.  I'm pretty much a healthy eater, maybe a little over the top, but that's how I kweep my youthful figure.  At home I never eat wheat, dairy, beer, don't eat red meat, don't smoke...  Basically it's everything that every healthy swiss person lives on.

 

Tomorrow the pipe goes off as the cut to 16 men and 8 women is on.  We'll have the highlights.  And then the live show for the finals is on Saturday.  So stay up late with us and check it out.

 

January 24, 2007

 

All the big boys from the US left yesterday for the x games.  Too bad because we got 2 feet of snow last night.  That's their loss, but hey there's plenty of great riders left here to compete in the BEO halfpipe this weekend.  Today was the day for the little boys to have their time in the spotlight.  As is always the case with Burton, there is a focus on the kids coming up.  We got a great dose of the future watching Ben Watts from Bend, Oregon kill it in his runs, eventually taking the 12 yr. and under crown. 

 

 

I'm definitely looking forward to this weekend's finals.  In the states we don't get a chance to see the Euro pipe rulers too often.  Guys like Nicolas Mueller, who never goes to the x games, usually he's filming, but when he shows up at a contest all bets are off.  He's the new Terje. 

 

Our crew started the day off exactly as expected when there is a dumping- catching the first gondola reserved for mountain crew workers at 7:15am and going to work… if you know what I mean.  Trouble was, we were so stoked to see real powder that we darted down the first pitch we came to.  As the reality set in as to how stupid I was for being so bold (we had a very important meeting with the event organizers in an hour) I realized that the 2 fellow riders at my side had big red noses, orange curly hair and polka dot suits.  And I thought I was riding with my Lat34 crew buddies, director of photography Jay P. Morgan and co-producer Brian Lippy. My bad. After about 200 meters we stopped and realized we were sinking into a gully of rocks and the lift towers that we were following were fading above us into a rising fog.  Brian said we could eat him first.

 

Finally, we crossed a cat track that took us back to the piste, just another bonehead American in the Alps move and a lesson to never ride with clowns.

 

Just kidding guys.

 

Okay, got to get back to work and watch the German TV crew run cable through the snow to nine cameras.  No fun … been there, done that. 

 

January 23, 2007

 

Hard to admit but, I've been doing the sports TV thing for 3 decades now.  I mention this just because this blog is supposed to shed light on the behind the scene of our production crew. So, it's amazing to me the context of our media delivery system these days. Our crew produces many of the live and magazine action sports shows that you've seen past and present. My transition from live sports productions like football and basketball, to the action sports magazine show format (do you remember Board Wild?  If you do you're probably in your 30's now) to today's live webcasting has been a trail of technological wonder. 

 

Just the format changes and editing platforms are mind boggling- I remember lugging a “modern” 1-inch ”portable” VTR through the jungles of Hawaii- it weighed 45 pounds!  Now, we're using HDV cameras that weigh 7 pounds.  Of course there are many levels of quality these days… for the Burton US Open the last couple of years we shot High Definition 1080i…. 12 cameras, a full remote truck, feeding 2 jumbotrons, a crew of 20 and a lot of coffee.  Just eight years ago when I began segment producing for the x games, we were editing in a primitive linear edit suite, post producing the tape delayed shows for three days before you ever saw them (and even more coffee).

 

Now with the internet, we are able to utilize smaller cameras, smaller video switchers, edit features on a laptop and our audience gets the same thrill out of the product, immediately.  Check out our daily video offerings.  And don't miss our live webcast of the men's and women's finals on Saturday.

 

Today we took one of those compact video cameras up to the Burton European Open Pipe and had fun hanging out with the super groms who will be the next evolution in athleticism.  Just like our progression of skills and equipment in media, the athleticism of today's kids is definitely future shock.  Talk to any contemporary pro snowboarder; Andy Finch, Keir Dillon, Ross Powers… and they'll gulp when you mention the new rippers names like Mikel Bang, Luke Mitrani, Kevin Pierce, Louie Vito… and now here comes names like Ben Watts, Dimi de Jong and Olivier Gittler who are representing here at the Juniors comp and killing it.  Look out Danny Davis and company, here they come.  Unfortunately the weather postponed the boy's finals until tomorrow when they'll be another day older and even more evolved.

 

Oh well, by the time my fourth decade of media production comes around, I figure we'll all be cyber characters anyway, and I'll have another chance to rule the world.

January 22, 2007
 
Man it's a long ride to the top I'M TELLING YOU. I'm just glad we didn't have to pay for this ride... can you imagine timing your shredding action with a lift ride to the top of the resort that clocks in at one hour!  Not many rotations in that equation.  But to be fair once you're up on top, there's no need to go to the bottom until 5pm... there's acres of piste to rock out on.  Unfortunately this season so far there's more rocks than usual.  The good news, snow is on the way!  And our little band of masked media marauders will be poaching the jebeezus out of it later this week.
 
There is this thing about being in a country where you can't understand jack when in the midst of a rambling dialogue. There I am on the third leg of the gondola fest and riding with 4 German skiers yakking away about something, laughing and enjoying themselves tremendously, and me, just smiling like I'm on board with their conversation.  One of them says "Der atem dieses snowboarder's riecht wie der arsch meines Onkkel's Frederick.", and I shake my head in agreement, and they love it, so I feel like I'm all good.  Then the other guy across from me says "Woher weibt du dos?"... and then they all are really cracking up.  Hmmm?  I need to search that translation later. *
 
It's Over.
 
Finally later that day, I arrive at the bottom of the slopestyle arena, the Borat Glacier, or something like that.  And guess what, winter has busted up the party.  Liam of Burton is gathering the troops and announcing that it's over-  the slopestyle contest is canceled and in true Swiss socialist manner- the prize money will be shared among all the athletes.  Shaun and Mason were okay with it... as I'm sure most were glad that they weren't going to have to jump into blind oblivion for the sake of manhood.
 
And the booby prize will be shared evenly with the TV production and mountain crews... oh well at least the party isn't cancelled. 
 
* English translation according to Mini Karpf: "That snowboarder's breath smell like my uncle Fredrick's butt."  The other's response, "How do you know?"  Insert manic laughing here.
 
January 21, 2007
 
The X Factor.
 
After going through the insane business of moving the entire slopestyle course to the top of the Laax Vorab Glacier because of the sketchy non winter conditions here in the Alps, Mother Nature reared back and slapped us in the face with a winter weather system.  So it goes; be careful of what you wish for.  Windy and flat light conditions shut down the operation for the qualifiers and semifinals.  The Burton European Open is a week long affair and usually you might not panic, but then there's the x factor.  Many of the top pros here came from far off places just to compete in the slope.  The reason, The Winter X Games start mid week, and everyone was trying to fit this dandy contest in before jumping back on the jetstream to Colorado. 
 
Shaun White, Travis Rice, Mason Aguirre, Scotty Lago, Risto Matilla, Antti Auti, and Hana Beaman are all outa here on Tuesday, by-passing the BEO halfpipe and any more schnitzel for their x games glory.  So fingers are crossed that the entire slope contest can be squeezed in tomorrow.  Let us not cry for them, but how about yours truly and the working professionals here in Heidi-Land who have to come up with stories, drama and intrigue.  I'm talking about the working international press and professional bloggers and the TV production crews, 10 cameras worth of programming slipping away into the white windy cold... and the mountain course builders who have braved the elements to insure that our favorite action heroes can huck for bucks.
 
Well that's life in the "industry".  Remember THAT you little wannabe filmmakers, it's not so cool freezing your "#@#" off for nothing.
 
Anyway, we at lat34 took it in stride, giving us mucho more time to hang out with the guys and gals of shred... check it out in our video clips... and let's regroup tomorrow.  At least tonight's party is on.
 

January 20, 2006

Déjà vu all over again, sorta.

The last time I was in Laax, Switzerland I was chasing Shaun Palmer around a mammoth boardercross course during the 1998 Swatch World Boardercross Tour Championships.  No, I wasn't racing; I was directing the TV for ESPN and needed sound bites from the sports undeniable "bad boy".  Well things have changed. Now the Shaun I'm chasing was 12 years old back then, his nickname is the less intimidating "Flying Tomato" and he's the Olympic gold medalist in halfpipe.  Snowboarding wasn't even an Olympic sport back in the golden "Palm" days. What a gauge for how far the sport has come, huh?

So here we are producing the Lat34 web-cast for the Burton European Open (another quantum leap in progress) the kickoff event of the 2007 Burton Global series in its new found home in Laax.  In the midst of one of Europe's worst winter season ever— maybe we should rename it the Global Warming series, because the Alps are skinny with snow... so bad is the season, that the slopestyle comp has been moved to the top of the glacier... not exactly spectator friendly.  To get to the Vorab glacier it's a one hour transpo on 2 gondolas, 2 lifts and finally a t-bar to the top of the course.

Day one our camera crew settled in to the Euro way, a little ping pong and x box to combat the jetlag.  Unlike the states every hotel is very dialed in to the tech crowd, come on x box 360 in the lobby!  Our mission is to deliver to you a behind the scenes and in the mix scope of the event and the athletes... We'll be supplemented by a German television crew who will be shooting the event for European distribution, a nice change for me, since I'm usually the one with the boat load of stress of coordinating 10 cameras on a mountain. But that will give us a chance to get stupid with the athletes a little more than usual.  Luckily we have Mini Karpf as our on-camera host, he's been a Burton pro for years and he knows all the Euro riders and speaks German. They won't be able to make fun of us now!

As day one melted into day 2, the weather took a left turn.  Sunny spring like conditions deteriorated to a cloudy, colder more winter like offering. So today's slopestyle qualifications would be a little less comfortable way up on the glacier.  Mini and I rode up the first leg of the gondola marathon with Hana Beaman and Ellery Hollingsworth.  It's always great to hang with Hana, in my opinion the most charging female on the planet.  But look out for Ellery, she's here fresh off winning the Vail Sessions.  Ellery will be staying thought the entire event, where some of the pros are heading to the USA for the x games.  

So my first Shaun White story, and possibly my last (cause the guy is protected like a Swiss castle) was yesterday's encounter in the hotel lobby- apparently his snowboard gear didn't make it to Switzerland.  So he'll be ripping it up on borrowed gear- perfect!  Everybody needs the handicap.  Mason Aguirre was suspiciously nodding his head with a sly gleam in his eyes ... hmmm.

Gotta go- grab a swiss coffee and head to the "White out" ... stay tuned.