Dendrite Studios

New Season and New Work

Athan Merrick — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:37:57 +0000

When Nic and I first started Dendrite Studios we envisioned a long steady and growing career of making adventure visual art under the Dendrite banner. It has not been an easy road, but new work continues to trickle in and our previous efforts continue to accumulate accolades. Parallels was recently featured on the vimeo homepage as well as the travel section of USA Today’s website and finally Atlantic Magazine’s homepage. To have our work featured in some of the biggest magazines and newspapers in the world that are completely removed from the ski industry is very gratifying.

Our heads continue to fill with ideas and visions, but funding remains elusive for a full length project. So while Nic and I will continue to keep the Dendrite dream alive with short films and small projects for clients we are also accepting other work to fufill our creative ambitions. Nic has some very exciting things going on which I’m sure he will fill everyone in on soon. As for myself, things have come full circle. As a child I was drawn to the mountains for their beauty and power and the fun I had in them. When my uncle began to give me ski films for Christmas every year my head popped off at the beautiful imagery and the unimaginable skiing I was viewing. That was the beginning of the end. My childhood dream was formed. Some of those films were the early Teton Gravity Research films. I literally wore those VHS’s out I watched them so much. This winter I am the Whistler based cinematographer for TGR. I couldn’t be more stoked to be creating imagery for this iconic action sports film company that had a major part in inspiring the path I have chosen for my life. I am very excited to be bringing the Dendritic aesthetic to a new place and new people.

Dendrite is alive and well and our creative energies will not go un-noticed.

Here’s some pics from the year so far taken with the phone. Follow me on instagram to keep up with my adventures this winter. amerrick is the name to follow.

I've worked so hard for this? Classic ski bum living is the price I pay for spending my summers in the culture of the city. Winter space in Whistler is limited on short notice. But I wouldn't have it any other way!

We continue to fly.

Sunlight has been extremely scarce this January as per usual in BC.

TGR cine Dan Gibeau and Griffin Post and Todd Ligare came up from Jackson to sample BC pillows and pow. We brought an 18 foot kessler crane into the backcountry with us for a week straight. Heavy load and long days.

Another day shutdown for light, but the beauty of the mountains remains.

Dendritic.

Enjoy the season everyone!

-Athan

Occupy Mountains: Maxim Arsenault 2011 Segment

Athan Merrick — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 05:57:14 +0000

Watch Here: Occupy Mountains: Maxim Arsenault 2011 Segment

Maxim Arsenault is one rad dude.

Maximus is his nickname. Filled with stoke and always, without fail, picking the biggest airs and lines when we pull up to a new zone.

His enthusiasm is infectious. Every skier loves the sport and the mountains, but Maxim’s love of skiing is the strongest we have ever seen. He truly deserves to be included in the upper echelon of big mountain skiers. He has a strong future ahead of him.

So thanks Maxim for being a blast to shoot and dedicating your life to the simplicity and adventure of the mountains, away from the occupied chaos of the cities.

Maxim skis for…

ospreypacks.com/
ridedna.com/
swanyamerica.com/
icebreaker.com/
surefoot.com/
smithoptics.com/
pmgear.com/

Produced by dendritestudios.com/

Director, DOP, Editor Athan Merrick

Additonal Cinematography Anthony Bonello b4apres.com/

Music
The Soft Moon “Total Decay”
The Glitch Mob “Warrior Concerto”

TLH Heli Skiing with Epic Planks – Video

Athan Merrick — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 14:43:00 +0000

Nic and I were skiers before we were film makers. We have since merged our passion for art and the mountains into one, but before that happened we dreamed as kids that one day heliskiing would be in our future. As I grew older heliskiing seemed so far off and so close at the same time. The dreams didn’t stop, and they never should for a skier. Heliskiing is the pinnacle of our sport whether you are a recreational skier, a racer, a jibber, or a full fledged pro. It is a bucket list item for everyone who has ever strapped two sticks to their feet.

The Bird of Dreams.

Here’s the video
http://vimeo.com/28143662

When we first received a call from Epic Planks it was asking if any of the athletes in our film “Out of the Shadows” were without ski sponsors. While most already had them, a few did not. I put forth their names and contacts. Epic Planks chose Alex Blais, a long time Blackcomb local who can be seen at the lunch tables beneath Glacier lodge nearly every day. He shreds, is super stoked, and a ridiculously funny guy with some of the most absurd one liners you’ve ever heard. Besides for the communication with Alex I expected that to be the last of hearing from Epic Planks for a while. They were a small start up company. The skis shipped to Alex looked great and he raved about them. I was ecstatically surprised when Epic Planks called to offer Dendrite Studios the opportunity to film a week long heli trip just north and east of our backyard at TLH Heliskiing.

Alex Blais sending it at TLH on the Epic Planks Crop Duster.

Alex Blais of course came along with Epic Planks athletes Danny Arnold, a young up and coming jibber from Michigan, and Jon Whelan, a young shred head from Nelson, BC. Epic Planks owners Bill Wanrooy and Brian VanDenBrand graced us with their awesome presence. Nic and I were pretty stoked to meet those two guys and are happy to report that both of them were like little groms in expectations of the trip. When the owners of a ski company are that stoked you know the skis are built with passion and determination. We rounded out the trip with two of our favourite skiers from the Dendrite stable, Maxim Arsenault and Matt Elliott. Both of whom are incredibly strong skiers, love the sport as pure as one can, filled with stoke, and are simply rad human beings. For all these great people to come together on, for many, their first heli trip, was exceptional. We tip our hats to Bill and Brian for putting this trip together, childhood dreams were about to be fulfilled.

The Crew below one of countless beauties.

TLH heliskiing is in Gold Bridge, BC. We rolled up to the lodge, luxury living at its finest, everyone exchanged smirks of, “Can you believe we are here right now?” We gorged ourselves on fine dining for breakfast and dinner. Lunches were packed with nutrients to eat in the field. Hot snacks were ready when we got back and the end of each day.

First course of many at dinner.

The bartenders kept the spirits flowing and foosball, pool table, ping pong, and the hot tub were all frequented. Simply put the time before and after skiing was as good as it gets, but really that isn’t what matters. What matters is what those childhood dreams visualized. The heli approaching, staring out the window as you fly by so many of the most beautiful peaks you can imagine, the nervous anticipation of landing, jumping out into the snow with the whir of the blades overhead, the heli taking off right over your head, exchanging shakas, fist bumps, and yells and laughter as the heli pulls away, and finally skiing the most incredible runs of your life. Those were my dreams from the age of 12 on onward, and TLH manifested them into real life.

Jon Whelan was not dreaming.

One of the dreaded fears of heliskiing is the down day. Up in AK you hear stories of the slow roast. Two weeks of amusing yourself as the storm rages and the bird won’t fly. I was pleasantly suprised that at TLH because of there alpine and treed terrain down days are very rare. There needs to be extremely high winds for the heli to not fly. It was dumping our first day and we flew through the storm to ski deep tree runs. When the skies cleared later in the trip we ventured into the alpine where big AK style spine lines roll onto glaciers as far as the eye can see. Every type of skiing that exists in the mind’s eye is here at TLH with the massive terrain they have available. Ten lifetimes worth of lines, many of which are on the official Dendrite hit-list if we ever get the chance to go back to TLH. I’ll let the video do the rest of the talking, but if you haven’t been heliskiing drop everything and make it happen, and consider TLH as the spot to go. Our minds were blown and I am desperately trying to figure out how to make it happen again! Bucket list item checked.

Danny Arnold far, far away from Michigan.

Thanks to everyone at TLH! Our lead guide Greg Johnson and the rest of the guides for opening the goods and keeping it safe, the chef, the staff, pilot Steve, and the rest of the pilots. Everyone and everything was incredible!

Pilot Steve would do a little hike for some turns while we did a lap. Our kind of heli pilot.

Enjoy the edit…winter is coming sooner then you think and dreams never die!

TLH Dreaming…

-Athan

DVD’s are on sale…$19.99!

Athan Merrick — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 01:08:44 +0000

Parallels is flying. In the two days since releasing it to the public we are closing in on 10,000 views.

View a piece of art inspired by playing and exploring the mountains right here… and share it far and wide with your friends.

To celebrate we are dropping the price on DVD’s of our debut film from $27.95 down to $19.99! Go get your copy of the award winning Out of the Shadows in our store…

PARALLELS – a short film

Nicolas — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 04:39:42 +0000

Produced in its entirety in 7 days by 2 people, Parallels is now out for the world to see.

Parallels is a short film that explores parallel moments that we experience when we play in the mountains. Whether you are skiing or snowboarding, lift, sled, or foot access, we all seek the mountains and the pow for the same reasons. From making fresh tracks on the way up and down to our mountain lifestyles, we do the same things but in a different way.

This video was shot for the Telus ski and snowboard festival event, Intersection, sponsored by Drift Innovation. Unfortunately we did not win the event, but we did get our creative vision to a massive audience as we seek to push the conventional sports film world.

In recap of the event, I do not know even where to begin. For 7 days, Athan and I spent 20 hours per day shooting and editing. There was no downtime, that was when we got to sleep. 2 hours here, 2 hours there, then up to go touring. We kept the pace high throughout the whole production process and with 280 hours of work in it, Parallels is the end result of that hard work. I speak for myself, but I’m sure Athan would be on the same page, that after 7 days of the most intense work ever, I felt like a complete zombie. A state I had never ventured into, not through two degrees and 6 years of university did I ever get so worked from relentless work. An experience to remember.

It was a great experience to shoot in this event and kudos to Voleurz for taking the win.

Please spread and share the film with many.

-Nic

A big week is upon us – Intersection film event in Whistler, BC

Nicolas — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 20:53:33 +0000

So Athan and I are embarking on a seven day mission beginning tomorrow, April 12 at 10am. As part of the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Festival there is a new event called Intersection. This event allows 6 invited teams to shoot and produce a ski and snowboard film in 7 days.

The requirements we are working under:
April 12 – 19 10am to 10am
30 seconds must be inbounds WB
30 seconds must be park
75% must be on snow
total length is 5-7minutes and music rights are a must

That’s all the info to give out at the moment and in just over a week from now we’ll post our show online. Oh ya, the prize, we are working towards a grand prize of $15k…pretty damn good for the first year of existence for this event. We are stoked to get after it in a big way

-Nic

ZERO DEGREES – a West Coast winter culture film

Nicolas — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 17:16:52 +0000

I am very happy to finally be able to release this video. This project culminates my feelings towards winter living in the Coast Mountains, and living by the ocean. Two and a half years ago I made the move to the Sunshine Coast. This move has taken my mindset, spun it around and has changed the way I value different outdoor pursuits. Don’t get me wrong, nothing is like a powder day, getting faceshots all day long, but something about living by the ocean and with mountain bike trails in my back yard that has decreased my need for those powder runs. The pull of the ocean, the energy contained in it, the weather generated because of it, the wildlife, the surf, everything about the ocean pulls me to it.

During the month of February I shot this art piece for the Kootenay Mountain Culture / Arc’teryx Multimedia challenge. 4 invited teams created shows containing various artistic mediums. I was stoked to take home the win at this event, but I’m more stoked to get this visual stimuli out to the masses. I chose to do most of my work with photos and video, along with a bit of painting (helped by the rain), as well as a lot of audio work. I worked for 26 days straight…straight, and now I’m enjoying a break.

here’s the vid:

-The ocean is where it begins and where it will always return
-Vapour, liquid, solid, liquid, vapour
-Mountains sprout upwards and extend their roots deep into the frigid ocean below
-The continuously chaotic dance with zero degrees, blankets us with snow, violently rips it off, and pulses our swollen streams
-Winter in the Coast Mountains flows to a different beat
-That is why we are where we are

Thank you to Backcountry.com, Bluehouse Skis, GoalZero, and Smith Optics for their support. These companies believed in the project and you should go support them.

More of my photo work, although somewhat older, can be seen on my photo site Nicolas Teichrob Photography

At Dendrite we have a trip planned in one week to TLH heli, which should be rad. Joining us will be Matt Elliott, Alex Blais, Max Arsenault, as well as a crew from EpicPlanks.com, and the Kashmir documenting master, Anthony Bonello.

Ciao and enjoy the show
-Nicolas

Coldsmoke Powder Fest project update

Nicolas — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 19:32:09 +0000

So, finally some time for an update. This month has been crazy, fun, but crazy. I’ve managed to shoot many things I’ve thought up in the past, and seeing those ideas take animated form is pretty rad.

For the past month I have been working on a multimedia show for the Kootenay ColdSmoke Powder Fest in Nelson, BC. Arc’teryx is the host again for this multimedia event and I am very thankful that companies like them exist, helping to provide us with an excuse to spend a lot of time working on a tightly edited creative project. The festival and dinner evening take place this Saturday in Nelson and is sure to be a killer time. Anyways, here’s a summery of the past month

26 days shooting
25,000 photos/videos/timelapse stills kept
40+ timelapses
26 nights with less sleep than desired
1 remixed track by Mr. Clean
1 concussion
1 wrecked shoulder
deep pow, loam, and surf
sun, rain, wind, snow
1 awesome flight
1 awesome supporting company (Smith Optics)
800+ GB of memory used
1 person ready for a break.

Next week I’ll be posting my show for all to see. I’m pretty stoked on it, and hope you will be too. In addition, I’ll be editing up a little video showcasing the amnesiac state I was in after my concussion, as captured by Dylan Dunkerton of The Coastal Crew

Now it is off to Nelson with a handful of exported files to make sure one of them works properly on their non-Mac system…who the heck runs a PC these days anyways?

-Nic

Creeking – a pre-Dendrite short film

Nicolas — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 23:03:35 +0000

Years before Dendrite Studios was even an idea, co-founder, Nic, produced a short film with some buddies for the Telus Ski and Snowboard Festival filmmaker showdown. Shot and edited in 72 hours in 2007, the film titled Creeking was shown on the big screen in front of thousands. Entering the contest with the idea of creating a short on the act of moving up a creek was purely an excuse to have some fun and create art at the same time….and plus, free lift tickets were nice bonus in the days of student life. Without any more gabbing, here’s the short

Oh yeah, the reason for bringing this up. I recently received news that Creeking has been selected for a Gala Screening as the 10th Anniversary of the 72hr Filmmaker showdown. Film 10 Screening & Awards Show is the event, and it takes place on Monday, April 18th, 2011. Creeking has been nominated for an award in the category of “Best Stunts”….right on!! Steve and Eric Clegg, Robin Munshaw and my bro Dave Teichrob were the big helpers and stars in this little nug.

-Nicolas

Long Overdue Update! New Videos!

Athan Merrick — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 21:35:41 +0000

Hi everyone,

We have been busy. Recovering from a sleepless year of making, releasing, and promoting this little film we made titled “Out of the Shadows.” It’s funny, once the film is shot, edited, color corrected, sound mixed, too many other tasks to count, and the final stamp of approval is given, the work has only just begun.

We had sold out premieres all over the globe with a few more coming up here in the next couple of months. “Out of the Shadows” was an official selection of many film festivals: Freshtival, IF3, Danish Adventure Film Festival, Up There Film Festival, Steamboat Mountain Film Festival, North Bend Mountain Film Festival, with more coming. We won Best Big Mountain Film at IF3 and were nominated for Best POV at the Powder Video Awards.

Here are some new clips to wet the appetite. Head over to the video page to check them out. The mini-teaser and part of Turpin’s segment have been out for a while, and our newest clip is our crash reel, because everyone loves a good crash segment! 90% of these crashes are not in the film, even though we purposely kept a lot of crashes in the film because that is a part of skiing and every skier crashes. If you don’t crash you are not skiing hard enough! So check it out and watch and laugh and cry at the boys making mistakes. Thankfully no one was hurt during the making of this clip.

If you haven’t purchased the film yet do we have permission to ask what are you thinking? This is the most affordable professional ski film ever released – get yours now for a pay what you want rate or get a dvd for your collection if you already purchased a download. Head over to the store to get inspired before you embark on your next skiing adventure.

Our skier Brett Crabtree teaches the people on how to negotiate a triple drop from our trip to Selkirk Wilderness Skiing last year over at Skiing Magazine. Go check it out here…

Thank you and hopefully everyone is skiing gratuitous amounts of pow right now!

-Athan and Nic

Soundtrack Listing for Out of the Shadows

Nicolas — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 20:07:29 +0000

We have been getting many requests for this, so here is the soundtrack listing for Out of the Shadows. A big thanks to all the artists who allowed us to work together, check out their sites!

Intro – Summer’s Gone, by Golopapas

Brett Crabtree – Song 1: Gravity Taste Test, by Devices Disguised
-Song 2: Nail ‘em Up, by Current Swell

Chris Turpin – EEUOUAA (TheClapSong), by Chewy Chocolate Cookies

Max Arsenault – Heats Rising, by Los Furios

Ian Watson – JYD, by Espionage

Dave Gheriani /Adam Topshee/Alex Blais – So Heavy, by Black Pistol Fire

Athan Merrick/Jake Cohn – Simon Says Instrumental, by BoomBaptist

Matt Elliott – Matt Elliott’s home jam session

Little C – Signature, and Run to the Devil, by Entropik

Dave Treadway – Marmalade, by Sea of Bees

Jon Larsson – New City Anthem, by Sex with Strangers

Eliel Hinder – Be My Television, by The Racoons

Matty GT – June Bug, by Little Foot Long Foot

PY Leblanc – Air 6 (Mr. Clean Remix), by Luke Atencio and remix by Mr. Clean (Colin Smith)

Outro – Organ Inc, by Phontaine

Thanks

-nic and athan

Out of the Shadows- Now available for purchase- webstore open!

Nicolas — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 01:02:00 +0000

We are very pleased to announce that Out of the Shadows is now available for purchase. We have a web store built allowing you to purchase the film in a variety of formats. Here is what will be for sale

- HD Download- Pay what you want rate, minimum of $1.99

-iPod/SD Download – Pay what you want rate, minimum of $1.99

-DVD-Limited run of only 500 – $27.95

-tshirts and hand knit toques/beanies as well

Help support us by spreading the word of the online downloads and the low cost. We want everyone to get a copy, and for the price of a beer, there’s no reason why not.

We also thank you for your patience and apologize about the long delay. Everything is done legally, professionally, and correctly and that took a lot more delays and hurdles than we ever could have anticipated. We are wiser for it!

Here is the link to the store – http://dendrite.myshopify.com/

Thank you very much,

-Nic and Athan

-Dendrite

Kelly Slater wins his 10th World Title! Congrats!

Nicolas — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 17:55:57 +0000

Kelly Slater has just won his 10th World Title in surfing! A feat that has been in the works over two decades, he is the both the youngest and oldest person ever to win the ASP World Title. He is both the youngest (at 20) and the oldest (at 38) to win world titles. That is epic.

Kelly secured his 10th in by winning his quarterfinal heat at the Rip Curl Pro Search 2010 in Puerto Rico. What an incredible sportsman and by far the most consistent athlete of all time. Way to go Kelly.

-Dendrite Studios

Out of the Shadows available soon – HD downloads and DVDs

Nicolas — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 00:37:15 +0000

So the past couple of months we have been putting the finishing touches to our online store, and getting the DVD innerds ready for printing. It seems like all the paperwork is nearly complete and we are shooting for our store to be open on November 1(Edit: we are now looking at the end of this week. As soon as we can get it out we will, we are just waiting for the credit card billing company to get their paperwork finished. We hope that you can catch the film at a premiere of film festival near you.)

The movie will be for sale in 2 major formats:

1) Online Downloads – the full film will be available for download at a ‘PAY WHAT YOU WANT’ rate. We have a minimum on that rate of $1.99. At the price of a beer or a coffee, you can’t not afford to pick this movie up!! All of the funds go directly to helping the filmmakers pay off this film and generate funds to be able to produce their second film, which already has a developed concept prepared.

We will have 2 formats for downloading: HD (high definition), SD/IPOD (standard definition for older computers + for your ipods, itouchs, ipads, other portable media devices, etc.)

2) DVDs – We have only printed a Limited run of DVDs for Out of the Shadows. We want to encourage the online purchasing to decrease the overall waste, and as such only 500 DVDs will be available for purchase. These are $27.95. The DVDs and cases are made locally in Vancouver, BC. They are made with 100% post-consumer recycled chipboard stock, soya based inks, waterless printing technology and 100% wind power. We want to minimize our impact on the environment and as such, these are as plastic free as possible.

I’ll keep things updated here as we near the 1st, but hopefully that day many people will be having a movie night at home.

-Nic

Note: all prices are subject to HST and shipping.

IF3 recap- OOTS wins ‘BEST BIG MOUNTAIN MOVIE’

Nicolas — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 16:56:18 +0000

Wow, IF3 was an experience for sure. Athan and I traveled to Montreal for IF3 and expected to get our show to a larger and a more jib/jump/park oriented crowd, but not much beyond that.

Montreal. New city for Dendrite.

IF3 was a blur. Late nights of parties, long days of watching numerous awesome ski flicks!

During the final evening of the festival, the Newschoolers Awards were given out. We were extremely stoked to be awarded ‘Best Big Mountain Movie’ in the Open category. The nominees were: our movie, MSP’s The Way I See it, and PBP’s Revolver. To beat out MSP and PoorBoyz who both have some rather large budgets and our film shot and produced out of our pockets, feels pretty damn good.

Pleasantly surprised and uber stoked!

We are super thankful to even be nominated in the same realm as these two juggernauts. MSP’s film was amazing, with plenty of humor and as they always do, amazing cinematography.
Poorboyz’ Revolver was incredible as well. These companies have been inspirations for us. So to be considered amongst peers is an amazing feeling.

The venue for the madness.

We also want to give a shout out to our favorite film of the fest “Azadi” by B4Apres. We spent a lot of time hanging with Anthony Bonello and his documentary was a beautiful portrayal of the people and hardships of Kashmir and how skiing, as it brings joy to us skiers, can bring a new light to the locals.

We are ready for more and the next couple of projects are brewing. Look for “Out of the Shadows” to be available soon right here on dendritestudios.com. We appreciate the patience in getting our film out to the masses. It is almost here!

see ya
-nic

Travel to IF3- a 2 is not a 5

Nicolas — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 14:15:53 +0000

Athan and I are sitting in Vancouver airport currently, it is 7am, and we are heading to Montreal for the International Freeski Film Festival (IF3). Out of the Shadows will be premiering at IF3, and competing in the pro category, which we are stoked about.

Now, here is a lesson to everyone, well maybe just some, or maybe just us. I arrived at Athan’s house in Vancouver last night at 11pm. We had set our wake up alarms for 5:15am. I woke up and my watch said 5:20am. After getting dressed, I woke Athan up, and he too looked at his clock and saw 5:20. After some breakfast we walked 10 blocks to the skytrain station. Hmm, weird. The skytrain had big sliding doors over the entrance…it was closed. This prompted a relook at the old wrist clock, and to my shock it was 3:00am. We had both actually woken up around 2:30am and read the 2′s as 5′s and had both fully thought it was 5:30 when we woke. So we headed back to Athan’s house, slept 2 more hours, then back to the skytrain at the proper time.

Lesson of the story a 2 is not a 5.

Head over to Zapiks.com and Zapiks.fr to see our trailer and to vote for us for the IF3 Best Teaser Award….voting on both sites counts.

off to YUL.
-nic

Dendrite Tour Schedule

Athan Merrick — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 06:21:32 +0000

Get stoked, come see a rad ski film on the big screen with tons of other fanatics and cheer and scream and clap and salivate at the winter ahead filled with deep pow and endless airs.

Dendrite Studios Presents the “Out of the Shadows” official, always updating tour schedule!

Whistler, BC – World Premiere – Aug. 9th 2010 – SOLD OUT

Vancouver, BC – Vancity Premiere – Aug. 27th, 2010 – SOLD OUT

Montreal, Canada – IF3 Pro Category – Friday Sept. 17th, 2010. 4:45pm – Cinema Imperial. if3.ca for more info and tickets.

Salt Lake City, Utah – University of Utah and the Utah Freeskier Society – Sept. 28th, 2010. Doors at 6. Show at 7:30. – Fine Arts Auditorium at the U of U.

Calgary, AB – Freshtival – Oct. 14th, 2010. 6:40pm – Uptown Theatre. freshsports.ca/freshtival for more info.

Brunswick, Maine – Bowdoin College – Oct. 14th, 2010. 8pm – Visual Arts Center Kresge Auditorium.

Vancouver, BC – UBC – Oct. 22nd, 2010. Doors at 6pm. Show at 7pm – Frederic Wood Theatre.

Traverse City, Michigan – Oct. 23rd, 2010 – Inside Out Gallery – 7pm. epicplanks.com for more info and tickets.

Seattle, WA – Oct. 26th, 2010. 8pm. EastLake Zoo Tavern – Benefit for NWAC! THIS RAISED $1600 FOR NWAC!!!

Revelstoke, BC – Oct. 28th, 2010 – Village Idiot Pub – Benefit for Revy Jr. Freeride Team!

Hanover, NH – Dartmouth College and the Winter Sports Club – Nov. 3rd, 2010. 7pm. Collis Commonground.

Sofia, Bulgaria – Nov. 5th, 2010. 19:30 local time. Vlaikova Cinema – Organized by Tribe: Freeski Internet Media.

Nelson, BC – Nov 6th, 2010. Doors at 7pm. Show at 8pm. Capitol Theatre – Benefit for Avalanche Awareness Beyond the Boundaries Society for youth avy education! For tickets and info go to http://www.capitoltheatre.bc.ca/

Santa Fe, NM – Nov. 7th, 2010. 7:40pm. The Screen at Santa Fe University of Art and Design (formerly College of Santa Fe). Put on by whiteroomskis.com

Golden, BC – Nov. 12th, 2010. 9pm. Rockwater Bar and Grill. Tickets at the door.

Whistler, BC – Nov. 15th, 2010. 6:30pm. Rainbow Theatre, Whistler Conference Center. Benefit for the Whistler Community Services Society!

Victoria, BC- Nov 18th (thursday). Doors open at 6:30pm, movie around 7ish, at Club 9one9 at the Strathcona Hotel, downtown. Also, Absinthe’s film Nowhere will also be showing. Put on by Mount Washington Ski Resort.

Vancouver, BC – IF3 Travelling Show – Nov. 20th, 2010 – Vogue Theatre downtown. 2:30 pm.

Steamboat Springs, CO – Steamboat Mountain Film Festival – Nov. 20th, 2010 – Ghost Ranch Saloon. 7pm. $5 at the door.

Waterloo, Ontario -Nov 25th, 2010. Princess Twin Theatre. Ticket cans be purchased at the theatre box office.

Grand Rapids, Michigan – Nov. 26th, 2010 – Fifth Third Ballpark (Pepsi Club). epicplanks.com for more info.

Chicago, IL – Dec. 4th, 2010 – 7pm. Martyrs. http://www.martyrslive.com/

England – Nov. or Dec.

Copenhagen, Denmark – Danish Adventure Film Festival – Dec. 2nd-5th, 2010. adventurefilmfestival.dk/ for more info.

North Bend, WA – North Bend Mountain Film Festival – Dec. 6th, 2010. northbendtheatre.com/ for more info.

Schaumburg, IL – REI – Jan 15th, 2011 – 2pm.

We will constantly be updating this list with more shows and detailed info as it becomes available. We are working hard, but can’t quit our day jobs yet! Have to pay the bills! Also if you want a show in your hometown contact us and organize one. It’s a fun and easy way to make some cash for yourself or donate to a charity.

Vancouver Premiere and afterparty keep everyone stoked!

Nicolas — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 04:18:46 +0000

sweet venue!

Our Vancouver premiere went off to a pack house! Sold out show- As occurred in Whistler, the Vancouver show sold out the day before the event. We even had friends who were just going to buy tickets at the door, but with none available we had to send them away empty handed. We squeezed in as many people as possible in the theatre, the limiting venue, and it was packed. Eliel’s UBC crowd was cruising with some pre-party wobbly pops and they were super vocal to see little El bomb through powder. There was crowd stoke throughout the show, from the intro that calms everyone down, to the closing segment and onward. There was a rather high stack of swag to give out as well. There were gloves from Swany, hats and toques from Discrete and Smith, Doglotion tossed in some T’s, Intuition gave out some liners, a footbed from Surefoot, poles from Joystick, a pair of skis from Surface, and a whale watching trip from Geord at Adventure Whale Watching. The whale watching prize went to 11 year old Gabe Goerzen, one of three kids at the event, and the crowd was super amped to see a kid win!

Filmmakers stoked on a packed house!

The pre and post- party venue was pretty nuts. It is the crazy shaped room with a whole bunch of interactive displays and visuals to keep your science mind stoked for hours. There is a piece of a real spaceship engine (that has been to the moon and back), a piece of moon rock that is touchable, and you can even try your skills and landing or launching a spacecraft…I crashed. A big thanks to the Space Centre and their staff for being so accommodating to our antics and allowing us to bring a ski movie to such a rad venue.

Mark and Nic rocking the grass green Dendrite T

Colin Smith, aka, Mr. Clean, was spinning fresh beats all night. This guys spins one incredibly smooth sound and if you are ever in the Victoria area check him out!!

Mr. Clean keeping it fresh and the crowd stoked

Russell provided the beer that flowed all night. Their Rocky Mountain Pilsner and Pale Ale were huge hits with the crowd.

Space theme party room and Russell!

beer, music, people, chip, great times

Many athletes were on hand to take in the scene as well and have a good time. Crabtree, PY, Blazer, Eliel, Turpin, Topshee, Dave G., Max and Little C were all at the show to feast their eyes on Out of the Shadows, and quench their thirst with some brews.

Blazer pulling the name for the whale watching tour

Thanks for everyone who came out and for those who tried and got shut down by the sold outness of the show, stay tuned, because we hope to have another Vancouver show in mid-late Fall (late Oct hopefully). Next stop, Montreal for IF3.

-nic

World Premiere Goes Off!

Athan Merrick — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 21:12:50 +0000

First let Nic and I apologize for being silent for a couple of weeks. We were recovering. Non-stop sleepless weeks up until the premiere. Then as soon as the premiere finished we were off to our pay the bills jobs. Nic was in the midst of Deep Summer where against an absolutely stacked field he took 2nd! As I left Whistler the morning after the premiere seeing Nic staring at a computer screen with hundreds of photos in front of him and an evening deadline to get his slideshow in, I felt his pain. But he crushed it…maybe if he wasn’t in the middle of a premiere he could have moved to the top spot. His show rocks. He then went immediately to shoot a wedding. I went on to work 12 straight 12 hour days pulling cable and hanging lights in rafters of a giant warehouse for a feature film. We have to pay the bills people.

Our web designer Gideon Baldridge from corknine.com shows the world where people should be.

Ah, but how amazing was the premiere? A year of work all boiled down to the next hour. We shook with nerves, but reveled in the confidence of our work. Since this was our first go at a premiere we only did one show. Big mistake. We sold out the show rapidly and could have easily sold out a second. My phone rang non-stop all day with people begging for tickets. They all received the same line, “You are about the 20th person to call. I wish I had them.” The athletes echoed the same sentiments…non-stop calls for tickets.

Should have gotten those tickets early eh? Don't make the same mistake with Vancouver.

Dendrite T-shirts. That's right. #1 in "The Artist Series." Info coming soon.

Custom hand made Dendrite toques by Nic's lovely wife Heather and our t-shirts for sale. Get them at Vancouver as well!

Out of the Shadows Posters!

Stickers!

Shwag!

Costumes!

Rowdy Fans!

Full House! This is a ski film premiere everyone!

After the shwag being thrown to the crowd in utter chaos courtesy of Surface, Smith Optics, Surefoot, Swany, Doglotion, Comor, Intuition, and more, the lights dimmed and Out of the Shadows began. People hooting and hollering during the show happens at every ski film, and it was in abundance at our show. But what happened when the credits rolled made all of the exhaustion, the pressure, and the nerves worth it. The crowd started clapping, and the ovation lasted for a solid minute while the credits rolled. Never have I seen that at a ski film premiere. People cheer always. This was different, Nic and I knew we had succeeded. The ovation meant we had entered the minds and hearts of the audience. We did what films are supposed to do. They need to elicit an emotional response in people and not just stoke the eyes.

We exchanged a bro brah handshake and then proceeded to let the night and the party sweep us away. So many people I had never met before came up, shook my hand, and said things like the following, “You captured the vibe of this place perfectly. I can’t believe it.” “Amazing film. The stories, the pictures, everything. Incredible.” “It makes me proud to live the ski lifestyle.” You couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces, which many people commented on. Tired eyes but electric smiles. That’s what being a film maker is all about.

Let the party begin! Courtesy of Black’s pub and Russell Brewing!

I apologize for never coming out on the patio. Clearly I should have.

Festivities!

Meanwhile out on the village stroll people were part of our viral marketing campaign without even knowing it.

This deserves one big fat cheers. Scratch that. Hundreds of giant cheers!

What a day. An absolutely beautiful day and night. Come out and experience it for yourself here in Vancity. Friday, August 27th at the HR MacMillan Space Center Planetarium at 1100 Chestnut Street. If you are coming from downtown go over the Burrard St. bridge. Stay right at the fork and take your first right. Planetarium is on your right. Pre-party begins at 6:30. Show is at 8:00. After party with DJ Mr. Clean goes until midnight with 3 buck Russell beer flowing for the good times. Come get tons of shwag, watch a rad ski film, party on, and live the good life. Tickets are available now at Comor Sports on 4th Ave.

We will see you there!

-Athan and Nicolas

-All photos are courtesy of Aaron Schwartz who also did our awesome posters. Thanks Aaron!

Tickets for Whistler Premiere

Nicolas — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:56:43 +0000

Tickets are now available for purchase from Millennium Place.

There are two ways of purchasing, in person or over the phone.

In person (cash, credit, debit): 4335 Blackcomb Way, Whistler, BC, V0N 1B0 (across from Whistler brewhouse)

Over the phone (credit): 604-935-8410

Tickets are $11 ($1 of which goes to a theatre improvement fund that helps keep local theatres affordable and accessible to all).

SHOW TIME: Monday, August 9th, Doors at 7pm, show at 8pm. After party at Black’s pub.
-nic and athan

Vancouver premiere of Out of the Shadows

Nicolas — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:55:35 +0000

Our first Vancouver date is set and location dialed in. We are stoked to have our Vancouver show on Friday, August 27th. This will be at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre (aka, the Planetarium). We’ve got a fun space venue for the pre and post party as well.

We will have local, BC brewed Russell beer flowing before and after the show, as well as fresh beats being spun by fellow UBC geo alumni, Mr. Clean (check out his sets here at SoulGroove.ca ). Come out, have some brews, watch a sick ski film, have some more brews, bring your dancing feet and be merry.

Stay tuned to facebook for an official posting on the event soon. Tickets will be $10, and beer will be $3.

-Nic

Deep Summer

Nicolas — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 06:19:07 +0000

So some cool news on the photography front for me. I received an invite to the Deep Summer Photo Challenge, held Aug 7-11 in Whistler, BC. This is a major mountain biking photography event that puts 5 pro photograhers and 1 wildcard (determined via Pinkbike.com) on the mountains for 3 days (Aug 7-9) and then they have to make a slideshow of their images.

I have competed in a couple of these before, most recently, the Deep Winter Photo Challenge. The lineup this year for Deep Summer is probably the heaviest hitting lineup possible for this event. Jordan Manley, Sterling Lorence, Sven Martin and Paul Morrison. I am very stoked and honored to get an invite amongst this elite crowd and it will be awesome to get my imagery out to the mountain biking community in this format. The Coastal Crew (Curtain, Dungee and Norbs) will be riding with me and the 3 days of shooting will surely be epic times of nugs, fun, and hopefully some laugh attacks via Norbs.

On the final day of shooting (Aug 9), I will have to cut things a bit early to attend Dendrite’s World premiere of Out of the Shadows. Ticketing info for that will come shortly, as well as details on our Vancouver show. Here are some mountain biking shots that haven’t seen public eyes yet, nor are being held by mags. To check out more go here: nicolasteichrob.com

pc
-nic

World Premiere- Whistler, BC

Nicolas — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:58:49 +0000

We are stoked to fill you all in on our World premiere date for ‘Out of the Shadows’. It will take place on August 9, 2010, in Whistler, BC. The show will be held at Millennium Place, and ticketing info will follow shortly. Please visit our facebook page for more info and to stay up to date on more premiere dates soon.

This show will take place during Crankworx, the largest mountain biking festival of the year, and is sure to fill up quickly, so keep posted!

Thanks
-Nicolas and Athan.

Trailer season

Nicolas — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:27:25 +0000

Dendrite Studios is proud to release the official trailer for our debut 2010 HD ski film “Out of the Shadows.” We at Dendrite are in the full on post production process now as we piece together the individual segments. We are stoked on the feel and uniqueness of the trailer and you’ll see more of that in the film. Out of the Shadows is a ski film produced without a budget, but with a lot of passion. Enough talk, here’s the trailer.

Proudly shot in the mountains of British Columbia, Out of the Shadows features the finest athletes who have been in the shadows for too long. This is their shot and their opportunity to break out on film. They bring their lives with them and shred the mountains with un-inhibited passion on a daily basis. We bring you their stories.

Featuring the return of PY Leblanc, the forgotten legend Chris Turpin, World Champion Brett Crabtree, Swedish sensation Jon Larsson, and a giant swarm of new comers including Maxim Arsenault, Eliel Hindert, Christian Boucher, Dave Treadway, Mathieu Gagnon Theirault, Ian Cheddar Watson, Dave Gheriani, Adam Topshee, Alex Blais, Athan Merrick, Jake Cohn, Matt Elliot, and Matty Richard.

Arriving in the fall of 2010…

Sponsored by:
Selkirk Wilderness Skiing
The Ski Journal
Russell Beer
Surface Skis
Joystick Skiing
PM Gear
Swany Gloves
Smith Optics
Surefoot
Intuition Liners
Doglotion.com
Indisystem
Point of View Cameras
Lightcraft Workshop
Lowepro
Pelican
Corknine web design

Produced, Directed, Shot, and Edited by Nicolas Teichrob and Athan Merrick of Dendrite Studios.

Official title announcement of Dendrite’s first production

Nicolas — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:33:13 +0000

We are stoked let you all know that we have chosen a title for our upcoming full length ski film. The title is “Out of the Shadows” and speaks to the athletes and crew that have been a part of this film. From us as producers who received no backing beyond product by the industry, to the skiers who have world class talent, some even displayed on the freeskiing tour, yet they remain hidden to the visual world of ski films.

We came up with this title while sitting in a hot tub at Selkirk Wilderness Skiing. After another great day at SWS, we put our brains together to discuss ideas for a title.

As well, Dendrite has caught the attention of some people in the industry, including ESPN. Here’s a little write-up about Dendrite on their weekly freeski blog update .

Stay tuned, as within the next couple of days our full trailer will be released, and it is bound to turn a few heads.

Peace
-Nic and Athan

Discrete joins Dendrite as a supporting sponsor

Nicolas — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:37:30 +0000

We at Dendrite HQ are pleased to let you all know that Discrete has come on board as a supporting sponsor for our debut ski film.
Discrete makes the finest toques/beanies and hats in the world and we are stoked to have them on board. Discrete founder, Julian Carr, is a super shredder himself, and it is the fit, comfort, and functionality of his product that make Discrete toques so awesome. Athan and I have been rocking a Doyonator and Banger beanie for a while now and they are simply the best beanies we have ever worn. Thank you Discrete for the support!

In other news, our full length trailer is set for a release in the near future, so stay tuned for a sound and visual experience.
-Nic

Perspectives #9 – Selkirk Wilderness Skiing

Athan Merrick — Mon, 17 May 2010 22:46:50 +0000

Perspectives #9 highlights Dendrite Studios’ trip to the original cat skiing operation on the planet: Selkirk Wilderness Skiing. In one of the lowest snow years on record for the operation and no new snow in a few weeks we still found nothing but the absolute goods. We were fed like kings and were welcomed as part of the family. All of the guests had permanent smiles and the staff reveled in this delight. We can’t think of a better place for a ski or snowboard experience.

For more details on the trip check out our trip report/blog at dendritestudios.com/2010/04/selkirk-wilderness-skiing/

Head on over to their website to see more: selkirkwilderness.com/

Athletes on the trip were Brett Crabtree, Eliel Hindert, Maxim Arsenault, and Chris Turpin.

Music by Ki:Theory
“The Smallest Piece”
Free Download @ KiTheory.com

Stay tuned to dendritestudios.com for our official trailer for our upcoming debut full length ski film.

Perspectives #8 – Unsponsored Cheddar

Athan Merrick — Sun, 02 May 2010 06:24:56 +0000

This is a short and sweet little vid of Ian “Cheddar” Watson. Cheddar is a ripper who is as passionate as they come. His gear has holes and patches and insulation falling out. He has a 12,000 dollar sled to get him to the goods and a 500 dollar truck. He’s broke as can be, but always with a smile on his face. This vid hopefully helps him win some new gear in the doglotion.com Big Mountain Freeskier Search.

Music is by BoomBaptist of Archivist Records.
Track is Albert Jones Lost My Love.
myspace.com/boombaptist
archivistrecords.com

To see Cheddar’s full segment look for the debut full length release from Dendrite Studios coming soon.
dendritestudios.com

Oh and by the way…he won.

Perspectives #7- Travelling to the Ski Salt Lake Shootout

Nicolas — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 16:30:09 +0000

Perspectives #7 is online and ready for your viewing pleasure. This webisode takes a bit a different look at the skiing world as a GoProHD is used to capture angles that you normally don’t see, such as through the security scanner and on the luggage.

Nicolas Teichrob flew down to Utah, leaving the Sunshine Coast, back in mid-February, 2010. During his time there, he competed in the Ski Salt Lake Shootout. This is a photo competition that picks individual images (rather than whole slideshows like most events), and the final image of this Perspectives, is of Leo Ahrens, and it won the City Lifestyle category.

To see more work by Nicolas, please visit www.nicolasteichrob.com

Here’s Perspectives #7:

To see more from the Perspectives series, visit our video page here.

This webisode is brought to you by Point-of-View-Cameras where you can get all your accessories and HD helmet cams, and deal with no border hassles by shopping at either the US or Canadian store respectively.

-Dendrite Studios

Russell Beer and Parties!

Athan Merrick — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:55:41 +0000

So here at Dendrite Studios we are extremely thankful that our favorite beverage in the world: beer, happens to be one of our sponsors. To be more specific about our sponsor it’s Russell Beer.

Why is this a great fit besides the fact that every skier knows an epic day is not complete without the apres brew? Because Russell is BC brewed and is all natural with no preservatives. Maybe its placebo, but once I figured that out the beer really did taste cleaner. When I have other beers they taste a bit chemically now. Maybe I’m biased. Regardless, congrats to Russell for recently taking home two bronze medals at the World Beer Cup in Chicago for their beers: Russell IP’eh! and Russell Wee Angry Scotch Ale. After a look through the list I’m pretty sure they are the only BC brewery to bring home some medals. Strong work boys!

Nic and my alma mater has a wonderful club called UBC ski and board. This club is also reknowned for throwing ridiculous parties. So for us it was a no brainer, let’s influence our exact market share by giving them lots and lots of beer. Welcome to the party.

All photos are courtesy of Hamish Baxter.

I think this was how everyone was seeing things by the end of the night.

Ah the joys of carefree university.

This UBC ski and board club party was a formal. Apparently I made the giant mistake of never attending a formal while in university, because well, I thought they were lame. Why should I attend a university formal you might ask? Because girls outnumbered guys three to one.

What?

My lovely girlfriend helped me pour beer as I tried to figure out this mystical error in my ways. I said to her, “I don’t understand. I never went to a uni party with this good of odds.” “Girls like to dress up Athan.” Damn. What was I thinking back then?

Ya you.

As the Russell beer continued to flow my girlfriend eventually said, “If you’re a single guy here tonight and you don’t get laid…” I’ll leave the rest of statement blank. But you get the idea.

There's one guy in this pic. Enough said.

The guy in this pic is Ian Brown. He's el presidente of the club. Needless to say he had a good time.

Russell Beer makes you defy gravity.

This is Morgan. He's the treasurer. He also got the title of drinking the most beer that night while still keeping it together.

Thanks Russell for providing great moments like these!

Right to left. Dendrite athlete and club member/student Eliel Hindert, Samantha Wong who helped pour beer and keeps the guy to the right, Dendrite head Athan Merrick honest.

The girl on the right had a minumum of 4 beers by that point in the night. My guess is it was many more.

We saw a lot of this going on. Where were all the guys?

4 ladies. zero dudes.

Same caption as the last one, + 2, eh?

Everyone by the end of the night looked like they had been hit by the tornado of fun!

Two ladies in the back by the beer. What more can a guy ask for?

Number 1 Dendrite!

Thank you Russell for the shifty times.

So what’s the moral of this story?

If you are a single male in university make sure you go to formals. If you go to UBC, join the UBC ski and board club, you won’t regret it. Make sure you find the Russell kegs and the UBC ski and board club at the beach this Thursday on campus. If you are in high school and want to ski during college, come to UBC. If you want skiing stoke stay tuned to Dendrite Studios. If you need a fresh brew buy yourself some Russell beer. And always keep the good times rolling and living the dream!

All photos by Hamish Baxter.

-Athan

Selkirk Wilderness Skiing

Athan Merrick — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 02:24:14 +0000

Selkirk Wilderness Skiing? Never heard of it. But that is the name that kept popping into people’s minds when we asked around as to what the best catskiing operation on the planet was. SWS is the orginal catskiing operation and it began in 1975. Since then, hundreds have tried to imitate them. But the original is still the best.

The machines and the lodge at SWS.

Why had we never heard of them? Well, pretty much ever since their inception, SWS has had a waiting list hundreds of people long. In the last few years with the economy not looking so positive, the waiting list has vanished and they have finally began a marketing push. Needless to say everyone at Dendrite Studios would be very suprised if that waiting list doesn’t start up again. All those people who suggested SWS were right. Damn right.

Fuel up. You'll be riding pow all day!

The crew consisted of Dendrite Studios heads Athan Merrick and Nicolas Teichrob, as well as athletes Chris Turpin, Eliel Hindert, Brett Crabtree, and Maxim Arsenault. The boys were amped to get after it.

The athletes are hungry.

Welcome to the Selkirks. Meadow Creek to be exact. On a normal year the town would be buried in snow and guests would take the cat right from town to the lodge. This year the town is dry and we drove in cars almost all the way to the lodge. As we arrived to the lodge we noticed the high freezing levels (which was expected based on reports). Welcome to El Nino. We could see the anxious looks on our athletes’ faces, while the guides assured us even though it is one of the worst snow years ever for the operation there is plenty of pow to be had.

No snow in a couple weeks? High freezing levels? You'll still ski pow. Eliel Hindert does just that.

And pow we feasted upon. Selkirk’s terrain is unmatched. They have the classic trees and pillows of every cat op in BC, but they also have spectacular alpine terrain. There are faces in every direction. Since this is an El Nino year with high freezing levels and hard sun we mostly stuck to North faces. It hadn’t really snowed in weeks but the pow was deep, plentiful, and light. Was it over the head blower? No. We had a hard time fathoming how much better the trip could get. Many times between gigantic smiles and laughter all of us said, “Can you imagine if we had blower pow on this trip?” With stoke levels at an all time high, it is hard to imagine life getting any better.

Right to the top with a cat? Ya, that's right.

The guides assured us that 95% of the time it is better. Speaking of guides hats off to Kevin and Scott who kept up with our antics and brought us to the goods safely and effectively. Those two guys are top notch and a blast to ski with.

Those are some cool dudes. Our guides Kevin and Scott eating dinner and keeping the good times rolling.

Turpin kept everyone entertained with rope swing antics and a different vision.

Chris Turpin is from a different planet. But we like that here at Dendrite Studios.

Crabtree became known as Stomptree.

Brett Stomptree...er I mean Crabtree.

Eliel continued to push the envelope.

Eliel Hindert giggling like a school girl. We love that laugh!

Maxim just did what he always does, fast and big.

Maxim Arsenault giving er!

The boys worked up a hunger feasting upon Selkirk’s delights, which brings us to food.

Fresh OJ at breakfast. Yes please.

Wow. We are all ski bums. We eat things like PB and J, and ramen, and free soup crackers from ski areas. We had never eaten so much food in our lives. Giant hot and fresh breakfasts with things like dill omelettes, eggs benedict, pancakes, and bacon. Lunch is eaten in the cat so you don’t miss any skiing time with two different types of giant sandwiches. Ruebens and seafood one day and Ham and Turkey the next. Veggies, fruit, fresh baked cookies, and the special Selkirk tea complete the mid day feast. Just when you thought you were full you get back to the lodge and appetizers are served with Thai soup and lamb kebobs with tzatziki and spanikopita. By the time the ski clothes are off and a quick hot tub rests those tired muscles, dinner is served. Steaks one night and seafood pasta another. Always with fresh salads. Awesome veggies and bread and desert. Needless to say no one ever left the dining room hungry or unhappy. Many thanks to the kitchen staff for working hard to keep hungry skiers immensely happy.

Dinner doesn't get much better.

Besides all these great things the best thing about Selkirk is the vibe. You are home, among family. The dining room has a few big communal tables where everyone mixes and mingles and stories from the day are shared. We never sat next to the same person. After dinner the small bar becomes a hang out place where the ping pong table and the pool table light up. The couches are full and people are stoked. And when the staff rallies everyone for a game of the famous Selkirk Crud, make sure you participate. It is ridiculously fun. Only a pool table, the cue ball, the number thirteen, and everyone in pure chaotic fun.

That face means they really like the famous tea in their hands. Can we get the recipe?

Stay tuned for the Selkirk Wilderness Skiing edition of Dendrite Studios’ Perspectives web clip series and many, many thanks to all of the guests and the staff at Selkirk for one of the most amazing weeks any of us have ever had!

Forest can drive a cat like no other. He's the man.

All photos taken by Nicolas Teichrob

IndiSlider and Indi (shoulder rig)

Athan Merrick — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 19:14:43 +0000

indiSystems makes simple, affordable, and quality cinema accessories. So if you are part of the growing wave of cinema production aficionados get yourself over to their website and check out their products to bring your footage to the next level over your competitors. Tim is an extremely busy man who stands by his product. It may take a while to get through via email, but give him a call and he will answer any questions you may have. It’s very gratifying to deal with someone who is as passionate about their job as we are about ours.

indiSlider on a tripod. Pan and tilt. Or mount with tripod head on top of slider with accessory.

The indiSlider. Why spend valuable time on set setting up track and a dolly when you can get beautiful, smooth, tracking shots in mere minutes with a simple slider? Every sliding shot you’ll see in Perspectives clips and in the finished film was done with our indiSlider. Put it on the ground or mount it on a tripod, hang it in the ceiling. Why spend thousands of dollars on competitors offerings when you can start sliding your camera at a mere 99 bucks at indiSystems?

indislider at Selkirk Wilderness Skiing before a big boom!

The indi (compact shoulder rig) isn’t listed on the product page yet but a similar offering is available in the indiRailsPro DSLR line. The compact rig folds into itself to fit in a small box and is a beautiful shoulder rig with endless options for configuring it to body size. Having used other shoulder rigs like Cavisions and RedRock’s the little detail I like most about this unit is the small arm with a padded bracket that rests against your chest. Now you have 3 areas of support for smoother handheld shots and less fatigue in the long run. Trust me. Even supporting a lightweight DSLR rig for a whole day on set can put the strain on the back when only your hands and your shoulder take the weight. Call Tim. Hopefully he has more of these in stock, because it is a very sweet little unit that hopefully will be up on his website soon. If not you can’t go wrong with his current shoulder rigs.

indi (name not yet released compact shoulder rig)

The best thing about these products is they cost a fraction of the competitors offerings. More indiSystem product reviews coming soon.

That handle at the top is a nice add on for ground level shots. Details folks.

Cheers!

- Athan

Telus Re:Action Portrait Contest Finalist

Nicolas — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:42:39 +0000

Hello skiing friends,

This is a brief announcement to share some stoke. I just found out that my entry to the Telus Ski and Snowboard Festival’s Re:Action portrait contest has been accepted as a finalist and will be on display throughout the festival. The winner will be announced at the Pro Photo Showdown..which you should go to anyways, because it is going to be unreal. All the photogs in that comp have some serious nugs in their portfolio and I’m sure the shows will be amazing.

The Re:Action photo comp asked photogs to submit 1 portrait image, and I went with one of Leo Ahrens shot down in Utah, about 1 month ago. Check out the show to see the shot yourself!

-Nic

Heading Catskiing With SWS

Nicolas — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:32:33 +0000

The crew at Dendrite, Athan and I, are heading to Selkirk Wilderness Skiing on Sunday. We have to leave Vancouver at the ‘way to early to be doing anything’ hour of 04:00. With a long drive to Meadow Creek ahead of us, we want to get an early start. Athan, myself, and Brett Crabtree will be heading up in my trusty Fit, while Eliel, Max, and Chris will be heading up in El’s truck. The skiers coming along with us to film for the week have changed a lot over the last 2 weeks. We really wanted to get Matt Elliott out there but his knee injury is still holding him back from hucking the flips and 3′s he is so known for. Heal up buddy. As well, Dave Treadway was invited back to the Red Bull Cold Rush, and with a world class invite like that, he had to bail. Good luck Dave, we hope you crush it!

Luckily, living in a mecca like Whistler means that there are always keen rippers more than stoked on a free cat skiing trip and film exposure. Brett Crabtree and Max Arsenault are two guys who have put in a lot of time in front of the lens the season and they earned our last 2 spots. The final roster includes Maxim Arsenault, Brett Crabtree, Eliel Hindert and Chris Turpin. These 4 guys are going to kill it at Selkirk and hopefully the high pressure will let Max and Brett get into some big terrain while Eliel and Turpin show the mountains more style than ever before.

We are stoked on Selkirk Wildnerss Skiing‘s support of our project! These guys were the first ever catskiing operation in the world!! I’m sure they’ll show us the goods.

-Nic
Ds

Perspectives #6 – Ten Years is online!

Nicolas — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:20:47 +0000

Our 6th Perspectives clip is online and ready for your viewing pleasure. ‘Ten Year’s outlines the abilities of Chris Turpin and Eliel Hindert with their smooth and playful styles and a ten year age difference. Russell Beer is the presenting sponsor for this clip and everyone should check out their brewskis because they are tasty and local. The new Rocky Mountain Pilsner kills it.

The Perspectives series of web clips are about providing viewers with small amounts of eye candy on a regular basis as we lead up to the release of our debut film dropping in Fall 2010. A full teaser will be out in the next couple of months as well, so stay tuned for that and more Perspectives.

Perspectives #6 can be seen below or, along with #1-5, over on our videos page.

Chris Turpin athlete profile added to the People page here

Eliel Hindert athlete profile can be viewed here

We are also less than 1 week away from our film shoot at Selkirk Wilderness Skiing. Joining the production team of Athan and Nic will be Brett Crabtree, Chris Turpin, Eliel Hindert and Max Arsenault. We look forward to bringing you some quality content from this trip.

How to? – Perspectives #4 – Mounts

Athan Merrick — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:33:49 +0000

We have been asked by many fine folks how we accomplished many of the angles in Perspectives #4 – Point of View. First off we shot the clip with GoProHD cams set to the third setting 1280×720 and 60p. This allowed us to use very smooth slow motion. When we feel we don’t want slow mo for a specific shot we shoot at regular 30fps. We used mostly the many accessories available with that cam, but we also used mounts from other POV camera companies. Mixing and matching mounts from different companies is the only way to get certain shots. Many combination’s were tried and the shots didn’t quite come out first time around. Be creative, build your own mounts, and mix and match until you get an angle no one has seen before.

All of our mounts can be viewed and bought through pointofviewcameras.ca or .com.

Below we will go through the clip shot by shot and describe the mounts used.

:08- Here we used the GoPro Suction Cup Mount at the rear of the ski. Disclaimer: Shortly after this shot was taken I lost the helmet cam off the back of the ski. It was found after digging through the pow still recording. What we learned: The suction cup is rock solid. We could not pull the unit off even if we used all of your strength. But the unit could slide on the slick topsheet of a ski with a lot of force given in a horizontal direction. I hit a small air and one ski tail banged into the mount and slid it off the edge of the ski, instantly the suction was lost. For a tail of the ski shot I would now suggest simple duct tape. If there is not a chance for the suction cup to be hit with a horizontal force and slide off the edge of the surface it works perfectly.

:13- Suction cup mount again but mounted at the tip of the ski. This we deemed acceptable after our near disaster earlier in the day because I can have a visual on the mount the entire time. Plus only beginners cross their tips right?

:16-Suction cup mount. Mounted right in front of the binding.

:19-Sucti0n cup mount. Mounted on the tip of the ski. We also tried these shots with the VIO Ultra Clamp (fabulous mount by the way). But the part hanging below the tip would get caught by the snow too often shaking the camera violently.

:27-GoPro SeatPost and Handlebar Clamp. This mount works great for ski poles when used in conjunction with a right angle adapter (they call it a pivoting orientation arm) that is included with the mount.

:32-VIO Ultra Clamp, with a GoPro tripod adapter attached to the waist buckle of my backpack.

:35-GoPro Vented Helmet Strap attached to vents on the hood of my sled. Just because the title states one purpose doesn’t mean the mount can’t be used for many other applications.

:38-GoPro Seatpost and Handlebar Clamp attached to my ski poles that were in my ski rack on the back of sled.

:43 until the end-The rest of the video is using the GoPro CHESTY Chest Mount and the vented helmet strap mount. The cameras are mounted on these two mounts facing forward or backward or by using the right angle adapter’s-sideways. So go out and enjoy the next powder day with a buddy chasing, following, leading and riding side by side. You’ll get some of the coolest footage on POV cams that capture the fun vibe of charging through pow with buddies, and as far as we are concerned there is no better way to spend the day.

Since the video we have used many other mounts. The GoPro sticky mounts for the top of helmets are great for people without vents. The GoPro Roll Bar Mount is great for shovel handles. The GoPro tripod adapter is very handy for anything with a 1/4″ screw. The VIO flex mounts are also very cool tools. 12″ and 6″. The 12″ is a little long for skiing as the forces of jumping are too great to hold the camera up. But for unique frames with less force it is a great tool.

People can best our video with different angles. We know it. So go out and give’er!

Keep visiting dendritestudios.com to see more POV from our debut ski film coming later this year!

Athlete Interviews added!

Athan Merrick — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:05:02 +0000

The People page has been updated with 4 of our many athletes including the two from Perspectives #5, Matt Elliot and Brett Crabtree. So go check out the People page and click on the photos to read the interviews, because hidden behind every skier on a screen is a story about how they became the skier and person they are today.

We will be updating the people page regularly with more athletes and interviews so keep checking back.

Read on…http://dendritestudios.com/people/

Salt Lake update from the airport

Nicolas — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:57:28 +0000

Here is a quick little update as I sit in the airport in Salt Lake City, Utah. The awards party for the Salt Lake Shootout went down last night and I walked away with $1k and 1st place in the ‘city lifestyle’ category. The winning shot was an image of young gun ripper (only 16 years old) Leo Ahrens. Leo was super keen on getting some lifestyles and I am stoked we found the stadium because as soon as we went in, i knew the shot would be rad. In addition, I got 2nd and 3rd in a number of categories (mountain lifestyle, big mountain, powder). It was a great contest and I have a lot of cool shots to get off to the mags.

A big thanks to Adam Barker for running this and to all the athletes I worked with during the week. All the photogs killed it and it made for a pretty stacked show of images for the judges. -Julian Carr, Michele Manning, Leo Ahrens, Carston Oliver, Parker Cook, Todd Ligare, Josh Van Jura, and Jesse Hall
.

Leo Ahrens just chillin

-Nicolas

Day 1 of the Salt Lake Shootout

Nicolas — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:54:24 +0000

Today was the first day of the Ski Salt Lake Shootout. I was fortunate enough to shoot at Alta today and was able to shoot some big lines in the sun on probably our only blubird day of the event. I was shooting with Julian Carr and Todd Ligare. Both these guys just crush it out on the hill. The showed me the zones to get the shots and they were great to work with. After some editing tonight, I feel like I have a decent start to the event with a few shots in many of the 5 categories (we submit 3 images for: Big mountain, powder, air, mountain lifestyle, and city lifestyle). The snow was good, the light was good, everything was good…except for the lack of my skis. My ski bag didn’t make it on my flight, so I skied today on borrowed skis from Sam Elias…brand new Black Diamond Zealots, and the Alta ski shop borrowed me some poles for the day. My ski bag arrived sometime during the day today and I am stoked tomorrow get on my Lhasa Pows with duller edges and a more buttery feel. Here are some shots from day 1 that won’t be making the final cut.

Todd and Julian heading up in the morning

Todd getting ready to slay a big line

Julian and the bluebird pow

Julian- Discrete headwear- check it!

Todd from across the way

Julian at the end of the day

Todd trying to work last light before patrol gave us the boot.

Heading to Utah

Nicolas — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 05:08:47 +0000

So here I sit in my brother’s suite in Vancouver, making sure I have everything dialed and ready to go for my trip to Utah. As previously announced, I am participating in the Ski Salt Lake Shootout over the next week as a photographer. This will be my first time to Utah and skiing outside of BC or WA. I’m stoked to get some solid time shooting photos after having been focused on filming. Filming, by the way, is going great and Athan and I bagged some nice lines with great light over the past week. I’ll be updating the blog throughout the week as things progress and will get some visuals up for your viewing.

peace
-Nic

Perspectives #5 is up and ready for viewing

Nicolas — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 04:36:08 +0000

Perspectives #5 is about introducing a couple of our athletes. Matt Elliott and Brett Crabtree star in this web clip outlining some of the terrain inbounds on Whistler as well as some nearby sled zones as skied by Crabtree. Matt Elliott is an all around ripper and kills pretty much every line on Whistler and Blackcomb. Brett Crabtree is the 2008 IFSA Freeskiing World Tour champion and skis with so much strength and makes everything look easy with his smooth style. A lot more will come in the final film of these two guys.

Enjoy!

-Nicolas
Dendrite Studios.

Crazy perspective on Earth and the Universe

Nicolas — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 07:44:15 +0000

This is too good of a video not to post. A visual representation of where Earth fits in with the rest of the Universe and the extent to which science has been able to see light. Essentially looking back in time, light coming from galaxies that don’t even exist anymore is still traveling to and around us all the time. Definitely a cool ‘perspective’. Video is poached from Malcolm Johnson’s blog (editor for SBC Surf).

-Nic

Tracks Gallery Added

Athan Merrick — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:47:52 +0000

I have always had a fascination with looking at photos of tracks. Every skier sees a face and envisions different ways to leave one’s mark. Here are some of our athlete’s interpretations. How would you ski these faces? What lines call out to you?

To check out the gallery head over to the photo section at : Tracks Photo Gallery

Adios.

Athan

Dendrite upcoming trips

Nicolas — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:55:28 +0000

Filming has continued with a lot of great footage lately. Athan has been killing it behind the lens and Brett Crabtree, Little C, Chris Turpin, Eliel Hindert and PY and others have been killing it in front of the lens. We have a few trips and subsequent sponsors that we would like to announce. Later this week we are headed for a touring trip to Valhalla Mountain Touring. This is a lodge tucked into the beautiful Valhallas, along Slocan Lake. Joining Athan and I will be Griffin Post and 1 or 2 other skiers that are still being finalized. After a week of cold smoke we’ll head back to Whistler where Athan will continue to film in the many zones around Pemberton and I will head to Utah for the Salt Lake Shootout photo comp. The next Dendrite trip takes place during the last week in March. We will be heading into the Selkirks to shoot the great terrain around Selkirk Wilderness Skiing. 2 confirmed skiers for that trip are Dave Treadway and Matt Elliott and more will come. We are excited to have these trips lined up and provide the viewer with both touring and cat-propelled adventures into the mountains. Stay tuned for a behind the scenes series of photos and video from both of these trips.

-Nic

Dendrite publications

Nicolas — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:44:32 +0000

Our friends and sponsor over at Doglotion.com recently did a great interview with us. Check it out here.

As well, Dendrite founders Nicolas Teichrob and Athan Merrick teamed up for a full pager in the Gallery of the Jan 2010 issue of Backcountry magazine. Stoked to see this go to print after sitting idle all season. Nothing like a gallery shot.

Athan Merrick in the Blackcomb backcountry- Backcountry Mag, Jan 2010

Back to producing content for your viewing pleasure.

-Nic

Perspectives # 4 – Point of View

Athan Merrick — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:46:55 +0000

Perspectives #4 is now online. This is Dendrite Studios POV testing of many different mounts combined with the GoProHD helmet cams. This was all shot inbounds on Whistler Blackcomb.

This Perspectives is presented by Pointofviewcameras.ca. Without their assistance we would not have these fun shots. Visit our video page to see Perspectives 1-3.

Skiing is by Jake Cohn and Athan Merrick.

Music is courtesy of BoomBaptist and Archivist Records. The track is called “Drumatic.”

Cheers!

-Athan

Perspectives #3 – Behind the Scenes of Deep Winter

Nicolas — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 04:47:25 +0000

Perspectives #3 is a now online. It is a behind the scenes look at Day 1 of the Deep Winter Photo Challenge, held in Whistler in early January, 2010. Dendrite co-founder Nicolas Teichrob was one of the invited photographers and took home 3rd place behind Paul Morrison and Jordan Manley. Athan Merrick came along during the first day to record some of the skiing that went down.

Skiers: Matty Richard and Matt Elliott

To see this and the first two Perspectives clips, head over to the videos page or view just the 3rd one below.

Enjoy!
-Nicolas Teichrob

Photos Page is Live!

Athan Merrick — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 03:05:51 +0000

Feast your eyes people. Sit back and relax at the instances from last year while Dendrite was brewing in our brains. The hours of standing in the cold, throwing snowballs, “No not there. Yes there. You didn’t go there. Bam! Banger!”

No bangers in here folks, because the A-list stuff could make Nic some coin, but the shots are fun and filled with actions. We will be adding to the photo page as more and more shoots go down this year. So stay tuned.

Enjoy from Dendrite Studios.

Deep Winter Photo Challenge 2010 wrap up

Nicolas — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 01:17:50 +0000

So last week I spent the majority of my time shooting or editing photos. I was an invited photographer for the 2010 Deep Winter Photo Challenge put on by Whistler Blackcomb. I was stoked to get an invite and worked hard to make sure I represented my style of photography. I had so much fun over the 4 days of the event and despite some stresses, I’d do it again any time I have the chance. I took home 3rd place, $1000, and most importantly, I was able to present my style of photography to a large audience. Unfortunately, the sound techs were not on the ball during the event and the sound for my show (which ran first) was way too quiet. Hopefully I can get the show online and you can crank the sound in the comfort of your own home.

I shot with Matty Richard and Matt Elliot, both Rossignol riders and both rippers. My game plan was to use my creativity as a way to shoot every single action shot in a different way. I utilized a few techniques I’ve practiced while shooting mountain biking and others that I tried for the first time and they worked great. A bunch of these unique shots will have to remain off line until printed in the magazine, but here is a sample of some of shots from the event. Stay posted for Perspectives #3 which will provide a behind the scenes look at Day 1 of the event. Thanks to Matty and Matt for skiing hard the whole time and getting up early and staying up later to get the lifestyle images I was after. Dylan Dunkerton also came up to Whistler to help with some editing…although his computer crapped out Wednesday morning but we managed to run final cut on another comp. thanks for the help Dyl, and thanks to Stevo for constructing the music from scratch.

peace
-nicolas teichrob

Product Review: POV Cameras

Athan Merrick — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 02:45:03 +0000

It seems these days everyone is sporting a headcam on the local hill, and when it comes to making a ski film here at Dendrite Studios, POV cameras are absolutely essential to getting unique perspectives. Plus they are easy if you like easy. You put it on in the morning and press record every time you want some footage.

Here at Dendrite we can’t do easy. We need to push the cameras to their limit. That’s why we partnered with pointofviewcameras.ca.

It allows us to test all of the different cameras on the market, but more importantly the different mounts. Just because you buy one camera doesn’t mean you should only use that companies mounts. There are many advantages to mixing and matching, and you can get it all in one place. And for the final plug, we are based in Canada, and trying to ship expensive products across the border is never fun or easy. Conveniently, point of view is located right here in Vancouver, BC. There is also a US version for you south of the border folks.

Cameras

No POV camera is perfect. But everyone can find a camera to meet their needs.

The logical place to start is do you need the full resolution of HD or is the easier to work with SD sufficient? HD looks great but unless you have an HD TV or are using the cameras for professional applications, standard definition (i.e. the quality of a DVD) is probably fine. If you do decide to go with an HD camera keep in mind that you should have a fairly new computer to be able to handle editing and playing with the footage. HD, and especially very compressed HD that comes out of the popular models is very processor intensive.

The next thing to consider is a stand alone or a tethered unit. Stand alone units are great and lightweight, but many of them you cannot review your footage until you get home to the computer. So adjustments in viewing angle need to be made through trial and error. Tethered units, while slightly more cumbersome also have a margin of safety. The camera head is attached by a wire to the recording unit. Think of this like a safety line. You are not going to lose your unit. The stand alone units are simple, but if something breaks there is no safety line. And good luck finding that camera in deep powder if your primary use will be in the snow like ours will be.

The third point to consider is sensor type: CCD or CMOS? Of all the cameras on the market only the SD models offer a CCD sensor. The advantage to a CCD sensor is the camera does not have a phenomenon known as rolling shutter. Your footage will always look crisp and clean and not distorted. CMOS sensors cannot always read the entire sensor quick enough when there is a sudden movement or shaking. The best way to explain this is if you pan the camera very quickly past vertical window panes or railings. The vertical lines will become diagonals on the screen with CMOS sensors. With CCD sensors the lines will always be vertical. To most people this effect is not even noticeable, but to the trained eye it can be distracting. When a pov camera is put through the rigors of action sports violent shaking is bound to occur. Some cameras deal with their CMOS sensors better than others. Dendrite’s recommendation: Watch footage from cameras and decide if you can tell the difference.

The final point is everyone’s favorite. What can you afford?

Dendrite’s Contenders

Here at Dendrite Studios we considered our options and narrowed our choice down to three cameras.The GoProHD, ContourHD, and the VIO POV 1.5.

The following video is from last year with the VIO 1.5 before Dendrite was a reality. Took it up a few days in the grey light. The exposure issues you see in the sunshine have since been fixed through a firmware upgrade provided by VIO.

The VIO is bomb proof and a tethered unit, therefore it has a safety margin. It has a CCD sensor and is SD. The footage is easy to work with. For many people this is the right unit to buy. It is tried and true and you can view your footage right away on the built in screen and make adjustments. The footage can be easily edited on any computer built within the last 5 or so years. We decided against it because we wanted true HD capabilites for our film that is being shot in HD. But if you go HD, you need a brand new computer within the last year or so.

The VIO. Tethered and with a screen.

The ContourHD is wow, light and compact. The laser levels are a nice touch and the unit is very simple to use. Slide the lever forward to record, slide it back to stop. It offers smooth slow motion at 60fps as well as the standard 30fps. It is a great unit and will make a lot of people very happy. We eliminated it because the rolling shutter is slightly more pronounced than the next camera in consideration. With that said, the ContourHD produces some stunning images.

ContourHD. So lightweight it's crazy. Stock image.

Here’s some recent video from the Revelstoke comp that highlights the strengths of the ContourHD. Our video was somehow misplaced and is no where to be found. Back up your files people! You can see the rolling shutter action in the top of the frame when it seems the horizon shifts in wierd ways. Not really that big of a deal in my mind but some people don’t like it. Congrats to Arne for throwing down this run with no inspection. I’ll plug unofficialsquaw.com as well as a great place for stoke.

Dendrite’s Winner: The GoProHD

The GoProHD is not perfect, but it is damn close for our specific uses. It shoots in full HD and shoots 1280 x 720 at 60fps, which is very nice for smooth slow motion. Its CMOS sensor does have noticeable rolling shutter, but it is acceptable and the advantages of the camera far outweigh that negative. The camera also comes with a great waterproof cage. Yes if you are a surfer this is the camera for you, and in the wet mountains of BC this seemed like a very good idea. The problem with the waterproof casing is sound is non existent while using it. There is a non waterproof case that allows for sound recording, but the camera itself has open ports and is not water resistant at all like the other units. I would not use this for skiing. So if sound is important and you are in a moist environment like skiing or snowboarding or mountain biking in the rain the GoPro may not be the right camera for you. We choose it for the image quality. We are very happy with it. Stay tuned for a POV Perspectives clip and a review on POV mounts. Because a small POV camera is pointless without the mounts to put the camera in really cool and dangerous places.

The GoProHD with the new very not dangerous "chesty" mount. Dangerous mounts in the next installment.

To see our GoProHD testing you’ll have to wait a bit and check back. But I promise it will be out soon.

Cheers from Dendrite Studios!

The importance of crashing

Nicolas — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:35:23 +0000

As a kid, some of the biggest influences on the development of my skiing and mountain biking skills were some of my cousins. Particularly, my neighbour as a kid and now my neighbour in Roberts Creek, Mark. He always told us that if we didn’t fall or crash, then we weren’t trying hard enough. He was right, especially on snow. As you progress in a sport, the only way to continue pushing your levels is by pushing the size, speed, or gnar factor of everything you are riding. In turn, as you push these limits, you will go down. I try not to crash that often anymore because it now takes longer to recover from injuries, and the consequences of crashing are much bigger now than when I was 10 years old.

The last couple of days I have been reminded of how important crashing is in order to keep myself alert and aware of my current limits. In an action sport, if you push yourself, you will crash. The hope is that when you crash, you are mentally prepared for the outcome and you know how to crash safely. Last Saturday I was ripping Blackcomb on a fun day with my bro and cousin. All 3 of us managed to hit a knoll at mach speed only to realize in the air that the tranny was way behind us. Flat landings suck, and this was the biggest to total flat that I have participated in. Surprisingly though, because I prepared myself in the air for the flat landing and the impact that compressed my body like an accordian, everything was fun. A sore neck and tight back, but nothing major. The next day I was back on the Sunshine Coast. Curtis and Dylan from the Coastal Crew have been building a super fun and flowy trail, and it was time to hit the first part of it. A big drop into a loamy landing and then a creek gap were on order. This kind of stuff scares the crap out of me and I was not too keen on hitting it on the first run. Fortunately, for the sake of my riding progression, riding with Dyl and Curt just builds confidence. These guys are so damn smooth and provide so much positive energy, that usually their presence allows me to step up my game. As I hit the drop i went too big, landed too low down the tranny and I bounced off my bike and into the loam. Again, I was prepared for the crash if it were to happen and I knew which trees were potentially bad news. All was good, and for sure I’ll continue to hit it until i nail it. Moral of the story, when you are pushing your limits, be smart and mentally prepared for what you and your body will do if something goes wrong, but know that you can make it. Hopefully if you go down, it will only mean a few scrapes and bruises and nothing stopping you from hiking back up hill to hit it again.

David Teichrob going down...luckily in deep, soft, powder

Behind the scenes of Perspectives clip #1

Nicolas — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 04:12:34 +0000

The first Perspectives web clip, ‘Winter Prep.’, was shot exclusively in Roberts Creek, BC. Dylan Dunkerton of Coastal Crew Productions was on hand to help out shooting and editing the web clip and we are thankful for his involvement. There were a few major items that needed to be built before the ski season began this year. These included a sled trailer to get gear out into sled zones, a lightweight portable slider, and some skis needed be mounted.

Athan Merrick came out to the coast to finish up his sled trailer and get his skis mounted, while I worked on designing and building the lightweight slider. The slider went through many prototype phases and the final result is lightweight and incorporates some fun machining shown in this clip.

December has shot past us and we are full on ready to capture some great images in 2010. Jan 1 was spent packing and getting ready with all my gear for the Deep Winter photo challenge. It was a great day of just relaxing and checking the mental checklists, with a bit of surfing and beach fire in there as well. I am currently up in Whistler and we begin shooting on tomorrow, the 4th. Stoked to have a lot of fun this week working with Matty Richard and Matt Elliot. Stay tuned to Dendrite Studios in a few weeks to see a behind the scenes look into the photo competition.

Happy New Year from all of us at Dendrite Studios, and enjoy the show for those of you who make it out to Deep Winter.

-Nicolas
Get creative.

First two ‘Perspectives’ web clips are online

Nicolas — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 08:26:04 +0000

Hey everyone,

The first two of our Perspectives web clips are up and online. Head over to our ‘Videos’ page to view them. The first clip titled ‘Winter Prep.’ and features some workshop building as we prepared our gear for winter. It was shot with some help from Dylan Dunkerton of Coastal Crew Productions . Dylan did a banger job and we are stoked to have him along to help with aspects of our debut film. The second Perspectives gives you a chance to see some of the ideas and techniques we will be employ in our filming this winter. A bit of November powder yielded some great conditions to get a few early season shots. Enjoy and have a great Christmas holiday season

Come check out The Deep Winter photo competition on January 7, 2010. I have been invited to shoot in this photo comp and I am stoked to be able to show a bunch of people my images taken during the comp from January 4-6.

Peace

-Nicolas

Dendrite Studios is live!

Athan Merrick — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 15:00:41 +0000

Welcome! Dendrite Studios is finally live and kicking. We are excited to debut the site with our first two of many Perspectives webisode clips that will be released throughout the winter ahead of the launch of our debut ski film in Fall 2010.

Check out the clips on our video page. We hope you keep coming back as we will bring you fresh content including blogs, photos, videos and new faces to the skiing world all winter long.

Get ready for Dendrite Studios!

-Athan and Nic