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April, 2025

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The evolution of jib flicks

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loganimlach
Posts: 5132 - Karma: 14,102
I was looking through Level 1's vimeo the other day and noticed that they had uploaded all 13 of their trailers. As we all know, Level 1 has been at or near the front of the pack in jib flicks since their inception, and teasers usually showcase the bangers from the season before.

So my question is, what year do you think freeskiing made it's biggest leap?

In my opinion, the jump from 00-01 to 01-02 was nuts. In 00-01 they were hitting tiny down rails with little consequence. 01-02 showcased them hitting some quads and long wooden rails that even by todays standards would be sick.

what's your favorite? i had to have watched the LSS trailer hundreds of times and it remains my favorite.

Balance Official Trailer from Level 1 on Vimeo.



Second Generation Official Trailer from Level 1 on Vimeo.



Strike Three Official Trailer from Level 1 on Vimeo.



Forward Official Trailer from Level 1 on Vimeo.



High Five Official Trailer from Level 1 on Vimeo.



Shanghai Six Official Trailer from Level 1 on Vimeo.



Long Story Short Official Trailer from Level 1 on Vimeo.



REALTIME Official Trailer from Level 1 on Vimeo.



Turbo Official Trailer from Level 1 on Vimeo.



Level 1 - Refresh Trailer from Level 1 on Vimeo.



Level 1 Eye Trip Official Trailer from Level 1 on Vimeo.



Level 1 After Dark Official Trailer from Level 1 on Vimeo.



Sunny Official Trailer from Level 1 on Vimeo.

12 years ago
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S.C
Posts: 3071 - Karma: 2,517
1. RealTime
2. Sunny
3. Refresh
4. Turbo
5. LSS
6. Eye Trip
7. Shanghai Six
8. After Dark

My rankings for the ones ive seen.
12 years ago
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snowfinder
Posts: 2939 - Karma: 34,903
i had Second Generation on vhs and watched it so much the tape got destroyed
12 years ago
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~~~~~~~~
Posts: 2345 - Karma: 2,104
I don't even want to think about how many times I watched the trailers for LSS and shanghai 6.
12 years ago
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cultrara
Posts: 5147 - Karma: 46,849
Shanghai Six represents the most progression in my eyes. The skiing and filming is on a whole new level.
12 years ago
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AwR
Posts: 5148 - Karma: 1,899
nice.

While riding up the lift today I had a ponder as to what Steele Spence is up to now?
12 years ago
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I.B
Posts: 8137 - Karma: 24,367
This for sure.
12 years ago
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WVskiing
Posts: 3007 - Karma: 1,949
I think Turbo is the best
12 years ago
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Drail
Posts: 14045 - Karma: 10,323
He's pretty much the face of the AFP. Thought that was common knowledge.
12 years ago
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Sklar
Posts: 8865 - Karma: 31,617
AFP head judge
12 years ago
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BChaps1209
Posts: 1350 - Karma: 2,441
LSS is the dopest... i forgot about some of the crazy shit vanular did.
12 years ago
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casual
Posts: 6712 - Karma: 6,753
He's the head judge of every slope contest that's mattered in the last 3 or 4 years.
12 years ago
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AwR
Posts: 5148 - Karma: 1,899
I bet common knowledge would be knowing what AFP stands for as well. Either way good for him. He always had a smile and was stoked to ride.
12 years ago
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Drail
Posts: 14045 - Karma: 10,323
Isn't it though? At least it should be for anyone that follows the competitive park scene (which I would think is everyone on NS).

In case you aren't in the know:
http://www.afpworldtour.com/afp10/

12 years ago
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NotGhood
Posts: 2809 - Karma: 1,255
this is a great thread
12 years ago
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danderson.
Posts: 6560 - Karma: 5,252
Balance looks like it was filmed with a calculator
12 years ago
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CedrikDP
Posts: 113 - Karma: 271
Shangai six.
12 years ago
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skiRay
Posts: 7558 - Karma: 926
LSS is still my favorite as well. have to think about this though
12 years ago
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caddyshack
Posts: 706 - Karma: 192
shanghai six was my favorite by far. but i really love what stept has been putting out. i don't know if it'd be possible but if stept and level 1 did a nice collab somehow....
12 years ago
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casual
Posts: 6712 - Karma: 6,753
I think it's gotta be Shanghai Six. For me, that's when skiing really started to look like the skiing we know today. On top of the that, I think for Level 1 it marked a sizable bump in production quality across the board on every level, and the film company itself grew up and found its identity and role. The trailer for SS is by far my favorite and is still one of my all-time favorite ski trailers. Ratatat, the editing is on point, they build drama and suspense for the hammers without tipping their hat too much, and good balance of lifestyle and b-roll (Symms rolling the doo is amazing).

As far as my personal favorite Level 1 flick? I think I have to go with Realtime or LSS. I guess it's got as much to do with the fact that I had just moved to Taos, skiing had gone from something I liked a lot to something I loved, and I really dove headfirst into the culture and lifestyle. I really liked the format and calendar theme of Realtime, and the skiing is nuts. The park shoots were buckwild and it was the beginning of the T Wall takeover. His shots along with Ahmet, AD, LD.......shit. Just murder mission across the board.T Rain staking his claim as one of the most stylish and smoothest pow/BC riders in his many segments. Ahhhhh....gotta watch it now.
12 years ago
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zahava
Posts: 7791 - Karma: 12,039
I thoroughly enjoyed the throwback Mont Tremblant footage, crazy to think I was there for that stuff but had absolutely know idea what and who it was.
12 years ago
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percs
Posts: 2280 - Karma: 5,816
It be like jiberish and saga releasing a line of clothes
12 years ago
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Matt_Rossi
Posts: 431 - Karma: 785
Crack the Vault tee?
12 years ago
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XtRemE11
Posts: 5680 - Karma: 246
damn what the hell happened to level 1? their movies used to be fucking amazing. i can still watch shanghai 6 and long story short for like the 50th time and still be super into it. the skiing in their new movies is obviously better in terms of being technically harder, but something between the skiers (shanghai 6/lss had THE best skier lineup by far) and the filming style just isnt near as good. their new movies feel like an edit i can see online, their older stuff definitely had its own style.
12 years ago
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Bateman
Posts: 8593 - Karma: 8,600
shanghai six is such an awesome movie. Still have it laying around in my room somewhere.
12 years ago
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Charles_Grant
Posts: 428 - Karma: 206

Dave Crichton Forward Opening Segment from Level 1 on Vimeo.




This was way ahead of its time and my fav section !
12 years ago
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loganimlach
Posts: 5132 - Karma: 14,102
same. still up among my top 3 favorite segs of all time.

forward is hands down my favorite level 1 movie. couldn't beat that crew and the soundtrack was so sick. i tried to emulate liam's rodeo 5 criticals for years.
12 years ago
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FightClub27
Posts: 486 - Karma: 416
This thread is awesome, it shows the progression of skiing in about 15 minutes of video! I remember watching the trailer for long story short and turbo about a thousand times on the freeskier podcast in like 8th grade

12 years ago
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Matty.
Posts: 9458 - Karma: 105
strike three and forward were the shit back in the day. over time the movies got a little repetitive with the jumpy cuts and techno songs and they lost their personality in my opinion.
12 years ago
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zahava
Posts: 7791 - Karma: 12,039
That podcast was the shit back in the day!
12 years ago
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Kevski
Posts: 7056 - Karma: 2,788
Dude same! I had the LSS trailer and then a couple outtake segments from realtime on my ipod that I just played in class all the goddamn time, often trying to show people how cool skiing was again. Crazy to think I've had 7 years of watching history with that company...

And to everyone saying that the movies have lost their edge/soul/flavour, I'd have agreed until seeing sunny this year. Possibly my favourite L1 movie yet.

This thread is so full of nostalgia. I love it.
12 years ago
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K.C.Deane
Posts: 1730 - Karma: 315
My favorite trailer is every single one without Logan Imlach.
12 years ago
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SPUTnik.
Posts: 1487 - Karma: 2,555
they just keep getting better and better
12 years ago
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SKI.ING
Posts: 2695 - Karma: 2,536
Zing!!!
12 years ago
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mistaT
Posts: 2336 - Karma: 79
Sooooo goood.

Right up there with Pep's Session 1242 segment as "Best Ever" segment
12 years ago
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Charles_Grant
Posts: 428 - Karma: 206

Dave Crichton Strike Three Segment: 2002 from Level 1 on Vimeo.




actually .. hard for me to decide if i like DC in forward or strike 3 three better. Id say strike 3 was more influential to me.
11 years ago
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baaangthat
Posts: 2245 - Karma: 2,587
ill always remember watching the LSS trailer for the first time. every shot was mindblowing
11 years ago
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RubberSoul
Posts: 11249 - Karma: 14,642
tipping their hand*

and interesting post, i like everything you said but i sorta feel the opposite, i liked strike 3 forward and high 5 much more than S6 and on. 3 4 and 5 i felt had their own identity, while S6 and on always gave me that berman-copying-snowboard-movies vibe. just my 2 cents. no hate intended by correcting you on something you probably just did absentmindedly and then disagreeing with you lol
11 years ago
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Maximumsushi
Posts: 7837 - Karma: 3,354
I've got a copy of every level 1 movie to date, and I'd have to say that there was a huge jump in quality of production between second generation and strike 3. The skiing itself was changing rapidly in those first years but I remember thinking that Dave's segment from Forward and Vanular's segment from Shanghai Six were totally game changing. In Forward, Dave was throwing big tricks with a really clean style. His alleyoop flatspin 5 with critical over the gap was crazy. He absolutely went to work on that big spring jump with that switch 10 and zero spin. In Shanghai Six, if I remember correctly, Cory was landing switch in ways people weren't really doing up to that point. He was throwing tricks on urban that again, weren't really being done.
11 years ago
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T-Bell
Posts: 375 - Karma: 233
I like seeing the evolution of sunglasses
11 years ago
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@LANTASKI
Posts: 647 - Karma: 1,642
Logan,

First let me commend you for creating such a compelling post.

This is a topicI have spent a lot of time contemplating.

As you stated the 2000-2001 were characterized by progression of the sport... new tricks, grabs, etc... however there was little emphasis on style as the skiers of the day hadn't been able to fully reconcile both aspects of Jibbing.

The 2002-2004 season marked a paradigm shift or "Quantum Leap" for skiing to where style and technical difficulty were married.

Look at Tanner's segment from High Society... yea he was throwing down but his style was pretty generic for the time.

Fast forward a year to his segments in Happy Dayz and SM3... they were ground breaking. All of a sudden we see the beginning of steezy butters, slow corked out spins, and smooth rail style.

The leap from 2002-2003 was not as dramatic but built on the prior year's rapid progression.

It is absolutely crazy that in a span of 2 season we went from Happy Dayz to 1242. The skiing in both of those movies are light years apart.
11 years ago
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papermache
Posts: 1097 - Karma: 616
threads
11 years ago
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mski
Posts: 4791 - Karma: 3,803
Strike 3 got me into the freeskiing scene, but Forward kept me enthused
11 years ago
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Holte
Posts: 10751 - Karma: 7,996
In terms of favorite, Shanghai Six was the first trailer I downloaded so I could watch it on repeat (life was tough before Youtube). With Teddybear Crisis and War, that was a good year for trailers.
11 years ago
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trevorwoulddoit
Posts: 6153 - Karma: 201
All of the above.

The two seasons that occurred while these movies were filmed was the biggest leap:

Strike III to Forward
SM3 to Focused (Immersion, anyone?)
Happy Dayz to 1242 (Peace to all the guys who were lost in RFA)
Salad Days / High Life / Soul Purpose (Whatever, but can't forget Sage)
EXACT SCIENCE TO REDTAPE
Breathe & Stop to Safety Meeting (That's for you Charles)
*Honourable mention to Neil/SAS Wicked for being very important to this era as well*

Plus it was when skiers figured out how to really ski pipe. CR and Candide. Crichton, Belan, Dumont... Pep was the Neo to Wallisch's Agent Smith

2004 should be established as skiing's golden year / Year 0. Kind of like B.C. - A.D. or B.C.E. - C.E... Nothing before it or after it was the same.
11 years ago
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NPF
Posts: 5153 - Karma: 12,122
that last crash was so brutal

11 years ago
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Dan-Man
Posts: 7488 - Karma: 3,630
strike 3 babe.
11 years ago
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