I want to follow up on something from Wednesday’s post. Specifically, a few words I said toward the end:

“…comprising just a handful of different shots…”

One of the most interesting aspects of Sunday River’s videos during the powder days of last week’s storm was how long individual shots where. Take a look again at how rarely the camera changes relative to other edits.

Notice that? Notice how long the camera stays on a shot?

That’s four total shots at about 0:10 each. You’re not seeing them link 1 or 2 turns carefully choreographed turns, you’re seeing a dozen or more before that shot ends and other begins.

Sunday River isn’t alone in this style. A recent video from Loon takes a similar approach in both simplicity and shot length.

The rider isn’t doing anything special, they’re just making smooth linked turns down a wide open run which is one of the pure, simple pleasures of skiing.

But in that sense it’s not lazy editing, maybe it’s smart editing. Think about it this way.

Something the Audience Can Already Do
Loon’s video isn’t about getting us to aspire to a level we aren’t yet at, it’s about inspiring us to do something we can do but aren’t at the moment

Catch the nuance there? One may never be achieved and, thus, may lose the ability to actually get us to act. The other, however, is within our reach. Or within a one hour drive of Manchester.

Time to Really Get “Into” It
But perhaps what I like about this content style the most is the way it gives the viewer a chance to really get mentally engaged in that one experience.

If our brains take longer than 2-3 seconds to go from seeing, to understanding, to remembering, to feeling, then there’s a case for shots like these that let our brains get deeper and deeper into their vicarious experience with the story you’re telling.

Maybe that’s why I found myself watching this video 4-5 times after becoming mesmerized by this rider’s smooth turns.

That’s definitely an easier approach to take when 24″ of pow are the setting, but Loon’s use of this same concept coupled with what probably makes more sense to our actual clientele and suddenly this approach can make a bit more of a case than it typically would.

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.