In the midst of my second year studying a Bachelor of Communications (Media) at RMIT, I undertook a work placement/internship position with Ski & Snowboard Australia. The position was focused around the live capture of action, in particular covering the annual FIS Australia New Zealand Snowboard Cross Championships that took place at Mt Hotham, and the events leading up to it. I was also tasked with following the SSA Futures camp, in which prospective junior athletes are given insight and instruction by some renowned professionals of the snowboarder cross event. I was given a lot of creative control over the kinds of shots and footage that was required, and I also gained some valuable experience with shooting in some extreme and unpredictable weather conditions.

This was a dream placement for me. Having been an avid snow enthusiast for some years includes some hefty costs just to get to the mountain and pay the resort to use the lifts to repeatedly carry me back to the top. So when I heard about this opportunity to spend a week in the snow while being immersed in the mountain culture and being tasked with capturing it all, I jumped to get involved. After going through an interview process and eventually being accepted to undertake the internship, the months leading up to it were filled with expectations and anticipations of how amazing it would surely be. And it did not disappoint.

I was on location for the duration of a full week, from Monday to the Friday. It was a requirement that I have all my own snow gear, (excluding camera equipment) so I backed my snowboard bag and jumped on the bus that took around 6 hours from Southern Cross Station all the way to the Victorian Alps. I was staying in a chalet provided by SSA, located about 15 kilometres away from the summit of Mount Hotham, in Dinner Plain. I had the opportunity of meeting some of the friendly and enthusiastic staff of SSA who were staying at the same place and organising the events of the week. It was a great experience for me, to be immersed in this lifestyle both on the slopes and at home in the downtime and I soaked up as much of it as I could.

I was to be working under the direction of Lucas Wilkinson, who was the creative director for SSATV, the media outlet where all of the videos and interviews are curated. Lucas is an independent content creator and editor who is contracted by SSA to cover their various events and promotions. His own skillset and outlook on the industry was a great model for me to observe and try to replicate. I learnt some interesting and very useful tips during my time spent under his wing, about the industry and live-action capture in general, as well as dealing with clients and working with children.

The first two days on location were devoted to getting footage from the futures camps. This was a good opportunity to document the young snowboarders interacting with their peers, taking instruction from some professionals that they quite clearly idolised, and honing their skills on the course before the actual Snowboard Cross races scheduled to take place later in the week. There were athletes from all over Australia, and internationally who travelled to Mt Hotham to participate in this week of training and competing for a spot on the podium.

I was given control of a Canon 5D Mark III, and instructed to capture footage and stills of the training sessions, with particular emphasis on the group led by World-Champion Alex “Chumpy” Pullin. I also had a shotgun microphone to grab some sound from the warm up sessions in the morning. It was very innerving at first and I was unsure how to approach the task, as this was my first experience getting footage like this. I was apprehensive to approach the groups and film them, and also interrupt their training for small interviews or pieces to camera. After some coaching from Lucas and some friendly encounters with the other snowboarders on the mountain, I was able to ease into the role of being a fly on the wall and capturing the happenings of the day while integrating with the training groups documenting their progress.

I learnt fast that there wasn’t an end concept that anyone had in their minds for the footage. This kind of shooting was simply about improvising with what I had and trying to get the best content possible. At the end of the first day, I learnt the hard way about not checking exposures on some of the stills that I took: they were all either really bright or quite dark. I improved as the days went on, and learned from watching Lucas and other photographers at the event about where to be and when to be there in order to capture the perfect turn or jump.

As a camera operator, there is an obligation to capture what is in front of you in a way that evokes some sort of reaction. Filming first-class athletes, there are bound to be some amazing moments ready to be preserved on a SD card to be slowed-down and shown to impress and inspire others. That is what is known as the ‘money shot;’ that slow motion, mid-air shot of the athlete as they lift-off at impossible speeds and stomp back down again. Sometimes this shot can go for five seconds, sometimes fifteen. It all depends on the edit and what footage was taken. For example, for the week I was at Mount Hotham we made sure to get a lot of footage of ‘Chumpy,’ as he is a world class athlete and was the favourite to win the competition there. When he inevitably won the gold medal, we had a hard drive full of practise runs and lots of other B-roll footage of him, that we could then use to edit together a complete video of his journey through the week from dishing out advice to the young kids, to letting his board do the talking and putting his philosophy to practice on the course.

I also got the opportunity to operate a RED Epic camera that was owned by Lucas and cost over $30,000. This was the first time I had touched a RED camera before and I was noticeably quite nervous. I operated it on the tripod and captured some amazing 4K-quality footage. Then Lucas, who has many years experience in filming and skiing, took the camera handheld down the course. He skied the course backwards while shooting the snowboarders as the raced towards him. I was undeniably way more impressed with Lucas’ technical abilities than any of the professional snowboard racers I saw.

My own snowboarding ability was tested, as I was needed to follow the athletes around the course as they were lapping, (riding the length of the course, then catching the chairlift back up and doing it over) and having the foresight to spot interesting locations to set up shots. I learned quickly that it was hard to capture tracking shots following the action, as I had to be aware of my own movement across the snow that in turn detracted from the quality of the shot. I soon developed a better knowledge of the course and could pick out at which turns and features to set up my camera and tripod to capture the snowboarders as they came past.

Although my role with SSA was unique and individual, I really appreciated the core team of staff they had there and their enthusiasm and willingness to help and explain anything to me. If at any stage I was unsure of myself or needed some direction, I felt comfortable approaching any one of the SSA team to talk about the races, technical issues, or simply logistics of snowboard racing. They did not put a great deal of expectations on my shoulders, but I did take it upon myself to seek out little jobs such as putting up the promotional banners and flags to have in the shots of the starting line, to show initiative but also just to get the best possible result out of my time there. I shared a room with a few other people and we became well acquainted, while being courteous of each other and our mutual admiration extended to buying beers at the pub after a long day on the slopes. To experience this culture, I really felt a part of the team and could work and play just as hard as everyone else. It was so supportive to have a small core group of people I could turn to for guidance and in turn emulate how they carried themselves around the other officials and athletes.

A particular uncontrollable variable that we had to deal with was the weather up the mountain. I was fortunate enough to be there during a period of some sunny days and blue skies, which made for some amazing backdrops when shooting. This is not always the case however, and just the week before they had some heavy snowstorms that affected the opening of the mountain resort and would have forced cancellations of any race events scheduled. We had a company car that was driven from our chalet to the slopes each morning, and we stored any unused gear and equipment there while we were out on the mountain. There was also a staff room inside the Hotham resort building that we were able to leave things like the banners and other promotional material.

One of the most important lessons I learnt while on my placement was to accept my surroundings and continue to be myself by trusting my abilities and work. When I first arrived I was in awe of everything and had to remind myself to be a professional, rather than a fan. Although I was still pinching myself every morning when I woke up, by the end of my time spent in the snow I was having conversations with colleagues and networking with other organisers of the event, as well as the very athletes that I had been focussing my lens on. It made me realise that at the end of the day everyone is human, and that if you show people respect through your own actions, you will form a reputation as an individual. I tried to carry myself with professionalism and dignity at all times while I had a camera or was entrusted to work under the name of Ski & Snowboard Australia, and it was because of this that I could be social and enjoy the down time at the end of the day with my colleagues. I felt like I had accomplished a lot at the end of my placement, and had made some good industry connections who I still keep in contact with.

Since being with SSA in 2014, I have been asked back as an event photographer for their annual awards night earlier this year. That was a fulfilling experience, as I was grateful that they thought of me again. I was paid as a contractor this time, and I was reunited with several of the persons that I met at Hotham. The work was fairly straightforward, although I still tried my best to be professional and ensure that everyone who I came into contact with was impressed.

Reflecting on my whole experience with live action capture, it is still something that I am interested in and would want to pursue as a career. My next step is to purchase some of my own equipment and create my own showreel, in hopes of impressing some prospective clients with my camera and editing abilities. I want to work in amazing and inspiring locations like up in the mountains, in the snow, and be able to create evocative and powerful pieces of content, depicting skill, beauty and wonder.