Downloaded

"Downloaded" is the 2008 video for Stepchild snowboards. "Downloaded" is the sequel to last year's video titled "Child Support." What is best about "Downloaded" is that it is available for free download, which is kind of a bummer at the same time because I like to have a hard copy to pop in the DVD player. The video is short, approximately 12 minutes in length. Stepchild media is one of the best snowboard teams in the business today. Since the last video that Stepchild put out they have added "the don" of snowboarding, JP Walker. I think a lot of the people are curious to see what JP is going to bring to the table. The full line-up of riders consists of Simon Chamberlain, Joe Sexton, Stian Solberg, Markku Koski, Scotty Vine, Chris Wimbles, Fredu Sirvio, Risto Ruokola, E-Man and Brian McClatchy. In my opinion I thought the O.G.'s like Simon and JP held it down. Also young shreds like Joe and Scotty had epic parts. I thought that editing met the norm for Stepchild media, and the riding was just incredible. In conclusion, I would recommend you go out take 15 minutes to download this video and watch it, you will be impressed. I would rate this video 4.75 snowboards out of 5. To download the video check out Stepchild's Media Page.

It's Always Snowing Somewhere

Today I downloaded from iTunes the new Burton snowboard video titled, "It's Always Snowing Somewhere." Burton snowboards is the biggest snowboard company in the world and arguably sponsor all of the best riders in the world (men, women, groms). In this year's video they travel the world in search of the best powder, half-pipes, big mountain lines, park runs and urban features. The riders in the video are Burton heavy hitters such as Shaun White, Terje Haakonsen, Gigi Ruf, JP Solberg, Heikki Sorsa, Nicolas Muller, Tadashi Fuse, Freddy Kalbernatten, Jeremy Jones, Jussi Oksanen, DCP, Mads Jonsson, Trevor Andrew, Keegan Valaika, Kevin Pearce, Danny Davis, Kazuhiro Kokubo, Mikkel Bang and Mike Rencz. This is arguably Burton snowboard's best video yet. Some of my favorite parts were the tree section with Keegan and Jeremey, and also the Northstar village handrail session. It's the first time anyone has attempted these rails and they were set up by the mountain for them to session. Also, I thought the music and editing flowed really well. I think this movie is one of the top five for this year. In conclusion, I would recommend this movie to all snowboarders, and would rate it 4.5 snowboards out of 5. 

Shots N' Goggles

"Shot N' Goggles" is the debut video for Dinobots. Dinobots is an up and coming film crew out of Salt Lake City, UT. The video has no sponsors and was basically produced by a bunch of friends who have wanted to make a video for a few years. Most of the kids are in school so it can be tough to get people together to get shots for a legit video. Lucky for the Dinobot crew they are based out of Salt Lake City where they get plenty of snow so they have plenty of opportunities to film. The riders featured in the video are Clif Reagle, Noah Lohr, Sean Kelly, Brandon Hammid, Chris Brewster, Matt Wild, Travis Anderson, Cole Taylor, Nick Catmur, Jason Heckle and friends. In my opinion these amateur videos are some of my favorites to watch. Usually the footage and tricks are raw which I enjoy. Amateur snowboarding videos without sponsors are about passion. Overall the production of the video wasn't that great and neither where the shots but overall I thought it was pretty good and maybe this year they will put out another video thats bigger and better with sponsors. You can download the video for free at dinosnow.com. I would rate this video 3.5 snowboards out of 5. 

These Days: Director's Cut

Recently on iTunes I purchased a video titled "These Days." "These Days" was produced by Transworld Snowboarding, which is the biggest snowboard magazine in the world. This is the first video that Transworld Snowboarding ever produced. The version of "These Days" that I saw was the director's cut. It is basically a remix of the real movie with some additional footage and director narration. I thought the director's cut was done really well and was very intriguing. They go into talking about why they made the video, how some of the shots came about, and some behind the scenes footage the you wouldn't see in the other version. "These Days" features the newest upcoming riders throwing down all terrain. In the video they absolutely destroy street rails and backcountry booters. The riders featured in the video are Chad Otterstrom, Dustin Craven, Jonas Michilot, Jonas Carlson, Lucas Debari, Louif Paradis, Nick Dirks, Robbie Walker, Tim Eddy and Jed Anderson. In my opinion I thought Jed Anderson had the best part in the director's cut. Jed is a young ripper out of Canada who throws down crazy tricks. His style is unreal. In my opinion I thought the director's cut was put together really well and made me really want to see the real version. In conclusion, I would rate this movie 4.5 snowboards out of 5. 

All Day Every Day

"All Day Every Day" is this year's video from Sandbox productions. Sandbox productions is a film crew out of Canada that is out there to produce movies for everyone to enjoy. This year the Sandbox crew stepped their production up to HD. The last Sandbox video that I saw came out 2 years ago and was titled "Flavor Country" and was filmed entirely in 16 mm. "Flavor Country" was one of the better movies to come out that year. "All Day Every Day" is also one of the better movies that I've seen this year. The movie was shot on location at Whistler/Blackcomb, the BC interior, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland and Spain. "All Day Every Day" features the riding of Ryan Tiene, Etienne Gilbert, Nash Lejeunsse, Andrew Hardingham, Geoff Brown, Kevin Sansalone, Andrew Geeves, Brendan Keenan, Rube Goldberg, Rusty Ockenden, Ryan Hall, Max Ritchie, Logan Short, Andrew Burns, Jody Wachniak, Dwayne Wiebe, Mikey Pederson, Jake Kuzyk, Kevin Griffin and Steve Cartwright. In my opinion I thought Steve Cartwright had the best part in the video. Some things I liked about the video was the creative filming and editing they used, not to mention it was all filmed in HD. The level of riding was also very good. I thought the music flowed well for all of the parts. In conclsuion, I would recommend checking out "All Day Every Day." I would rate this movie 4.75 snowboards out of 5. 

Forum Or Against 'Em

"Forum Or Against 'Em" is this year's Forum snowboards team video. This is the first full-length movie they've done since 2006 because last year the team underwent a facelift and were only able to produce a not-for-sale download only video.  Forum snowboards is one of the biggest companys in the entire snowboard industry, so they have a big budget to put together a really good video. Last year's video was titled, "First Chair, Last Call" and was very good to say the least. The lineup of riders for "Forum Or Against 'Em" features Nic Sauve, Travis Kennedy, Eddie Wall, Joni Malmi, John Jackson, Jake Welch, Stevie Bell, Peter Line, Jake Blauvelt, and Plymouth local Pat Moore. The team traveled the world in search of the best snow and the best spots to session. After watching the video I thought it was pretty stock. In my opinion I didn't think the filming was bad, nor did i think it was good. I just thought a lot of the shots were very basic and bland. By saying that I am not down talking the riding at all. The riding in the movie is incredible and I thought the music selection was very good as well. One thing I didn't like was Travis Kennedy's gangster act that he puts on. He is in no way, shape, or form a gangster at all. Some stuff he does and says is funny, but the majority of it is a bit played out and overboard. I think he should just ride and not act. In the end I thought the movie was pretty good, and would rate it 4 snowboards out of 5. 

Down With People

Recently I came across a copy of this year's Mack Dog Productions presents "Down With People."Mack Dog Productions is probably the biggest and highest-budgeted film crew today. Everything they film is in HD and they travel the world on what seems like a bottomless budget. "Down With People" is Mack Dog's new movie featuring the People crew. The People crew is their second of two film crews. The other of which produced a movie for this year titled, "Double Decade." The People crew consists of riders such as: Austin Smith, Bryan Fox, Curtis Ciszek, Filippo Kratter, Joe Sexton, Jon Kooley, Jordan Mendenhall, Josh Mills, Louie Fountain, Pat McCarthy, Ryan Thompson, Simon Chamberlin, Shaun McKay, Stephen Duke, and Zac Marben. In my opinion I thought Louie Fountain had the best part in the whole video. I thought the movie flowed really well, and was put together really well. The music featured in the video is perfect for the style of riding that goes on. A lot of the music is classic rock or rock songs. The movie features a lot of incredible shots and tricks on street rails and urban features. Also, the movie had a lot of pole-jams in it. A pole-jam is a usually a metal rod or pipe sticking out of the ground at a 45 degree so you can carry speed into and slide up it and jump off. The movie also didn't lack any back country hammers. In my opinion I feel like "Down With People" is one of the top 5 videos to drop this year and I would definitely pick up a copy of it. I would rate this movie 4.75 snowboards out of 5.

Pony Tale

"Pony Tale," is the first movie produced by Actionhorse Films. Actionhorse films is a Europe based snowboard movie production company that travels the world with some of the best riders to film highly-technical HD movies. The Actionhorse crew is reviving the method of documenting fun in a snowboard video. This movie features some of the most progressive riding to date. The movie features the riding of Hampus Mosesson, Jakob Wilhelmson, Knut Eliassen, Stian Solberg, Halldor Helgason, Markku Koski, Pat Moore, Gulli Gudmundsson, Fredu Sirvio, Kareem El Rafie and Mikkel Bang. The movie was divided up by date and location. Each section of the movie features a location that they were at for a specified length of time. They shred everything from street rails in Europe to backcountry kickers in Utah, and back to Europe for summer shredding. Lastly, I think one of the best things about this movie is that it is free to download. I would recommend that everyone who snowboards check this movie out. This is one the best movies this year and you can see it free of charge. I would rate it 4.5 snowboards out of 5. To watch the full video go to Actionhorsefilms.com. 

A Living Landscape

"A Living Landscape" is the first full-length movie by Happy Tree Films. This is an amateur  movie filmed entirely on the East Coast in the Northeast. The producer of the movie, James Thomas, is a New England local and a student here at Plymouth State University. Happy Tree Films is a PSU based snowboarding crew.  The video features riding by: Jack Karn, Marc Olivieri, Eugene Stancato, James Thomas, Cole Martin, Henry Padden, Charlie Benasich and friends. The quality of filming in this movie is extremely high and it is put together really well. I feel that music flows very well throughout the entire video. It is obvious that the filmers and riders worked closely in getting the best shots possible and producing the best movie they could with what they had. The movie was produced on the budget of broke college kids, and they had no major sponsors, but hopefully that will change for this year. In conclusion, I was very impressed with this movie and thought it was just as good as some of the legit videos that came out this year. I would rate this movie 4.5 snowboards out of a possible 5, and would recommend that everyone check it out. VIEW FULL VIDEO HERE.

Open Season 1

This past weekend Loon Mountain hosted their second snowboard contest of the year. The contest was the first of a three contest series called, "Open Season." This contest was held on the same setup as "Thanksjibbing," featuring a snake run that starts with a drop-in into a wall-ride, into the options of the "lift-tower" jib or a 20' by 3" in round single barrel down-rail, and then you hit the "dog-house" wall-ride. The contest got underway at high-noon on December 6th. Right from the get go the top riders immediately stuck out. The conditions were cold and everything was firm. As the first round went on we saw a variety of tricks. Advancing into the finals were riders like Brendon Rego, Mike Ravelson, Travis Nuehenhouse, Tanner McCarty, and Chris Ferdette. After the take-offs were reworked and the landings chopped-up the finals got underway. During the finals we saw some truly impressive riding. As finals concluded the judges got together to determine the top 3 riders. Taking home 3rd place and 1 point overall was Travis Neuhenhouse. Travis stuck some impressive tricks like a backside 360 backside on 360 off on the "lift tower" jib. Coming in second place, earning 2 points overall and a case of Red Bull, was Mike Ravelson. Mike stuck some very difficult tricks, such as a switch backside 180 on to 360 out on the down-rail. Taking home first place and winning a new Flow snowboard  and earning 3 points overall was Brendon Rego. He did nearly every backside 180 combination you could do on the "lift tower" jib. He definitely earned first place. To check out some of my footage from the contest check out my youtube page: repptheeast. 

The Event Formerly Known As...

"The Event Formerly Known As..." is this year's rendition of Loon Mountain's annual Thanksjibbing contest. Thanksjibbing is Loon Mountain's first event every season. It's called Thanksjibbing because the contest is held every year on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. The Thanksjibbing contest typically follows a rail jam format with 2-3 features to session. This year's contest contest featured two new features, a Red Bull wall-ride, and a recently refurbished doghouse box. The new features consist of a 30' Lift Tower jib, and a new 3" round by 20' long single barrel down rail. The contest was DJ'd by Plymouth State's own DJ Scrumpscious a.k.a. Avert Guldemond. The contest got under way and some serious thrashing went down. The top 3 stood out among the rest of the competition. Taking home first place was Wes Walsh. Some tricks he stuck were Cab 270 to regular, front-blunt 450, and front-blunt switch-up 270 out. Taking home second was Chris Fredette. His second place tricks consisted of front-blunt to switch 50-50 cab 360 out and backlip to switch to half-cab out. Taking home third place was Ian Hart. Ian stuck frontboard to 50-50 to frontside 360 out and switch 50-50 to 180 switch-up to backside 360 out. Overall the contest went extremely well and contest footage can be seen on reelcomp.com. 

FUN: A Parkumentary

Recently I picked up my copy of Loon Mountain's first terrain park video titled, "FUN: A Parkumentary." FUN is a promotional DVD that features the riding of Tanner McCarty, Rob Conners, Chris Carr, Luke Mathison, Andre Beriau, Kevin Bicknell and some other local riders. The movie was filmed entirely at Loon Mountain. The intention for the movie was to be a good way to show everyone what the Loon Mountain Park (LMP) has to offer. Last year, Loon Mountain's Park Staff really stepped it up and was voted, "Best Park on the East" by every major snowboard publication. Loon Mountain features 5 terrain park ranging in ability level, with scattered "secret parks" all over. The movie itself was fairly short, and I didn't think it was put together all that well. One thing I really didn't like was the intro. The intro was about 6 to 10 clips shot on I-93 from Boston, MA to Lincoln, NH. It appeared to be somewhat amature. Also, I thought there should have been more footage of local shreds, and more shots on the numerous setups that Loon had last year. In my opinion I didn't think the video represented "The Best Park on the East"well at all. I thought it looked pretty cheap and half-hearted. In conclusion, I would definitely check out the video, but don't expect too much. I would give this video 2.5 snowboards out of a possible 5.