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Does This Edit Make Me Look Phat?

by Dan Giesin | January 1, 2019

Capturing the antics of skiers and snowboarders on film is as natural as falling down the mountain.
From the black-and-white travelogues of Otto Lang, to the droll, humorous vignettes of Warren Miller, to the outrageous stunts (and puns) of Greg Stump, to the high-res thrillers of Matchstick Productions and Teton Gravity Research, ski film makers have had an integral part in making the sport both enticing and exciting for generations of skiers and snowboarders.
And now with the proliferation of smart phones and GoPros and other digital means of capturing live action, any skier or snowboarder can be a film maker. But not all wannabe auteurs have what it takes to translate what transpires on the hill into the imagination of strangers.
And those that do have the chops often largely go unnoticed by a wider audience.
However, there is a great way to identify the next gen of quality ski film makers and it takes place in Lake Tahoe, where every winter for the last half-dozen years the Shreddit Showdown contest is held.

The Beta

Developed and organized by Granite Chief, a high-end skiing and mountaineering shop in Truckee, the Shreddit Showdown is open to amateur film makers anywhere who think they can capture THAT moment, whether it’s on the slopes, in the park or in the backcountry.
The rules are fairly simple: Entries must have a skiing or snowboarding theme and/or storyline, must be three minutes (more or less) in length, must be in the highest resolution possible and must be shot in 24 frames per second (fps).
There are three prize categories — Adult (18 and over), Teen (13-17) and Grom (12 and under) — and judging, for adults, will be based talent of the subjects, entertainment value, creativity, use of equipment and terrain and overall impression; the younger categories’ edits will be judged on the variety of skiing/snowboarding, the uniqueness and creativity of the edit, the technicality of the skiing and overall impression.

The Goodies

Prizes — from such sponsors as Blizzard, Tecnica, FlyLow, Orage, Smith and GoPro — will be awarded to the top three finalists in each category; there will also be People’s Choice awards (given to those edits receiving their most likes and hearts on Granite Chief’s Facebook page) for entries not the top three of the judged categories.
And the best prize of all? The submissions will be shown on the big screen at the Tahoe Art Haus & Cinema in Tahoe City sometime in early April (date not yet determined).
Deadline for entries is mid-March; check out granitechief.com for Shreddit Showdown details and a peek at some edits submitted to the five previous ski movie contests.

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