Interview: Doug BishopSo sometimes as part of my job I like to interview random people in the industry. The world of skiing is saturated with people making digital films, and every year seemingly hundreds of small companies take their kick at the proverbial can.The Newman Administration caught my eye for a few reasons, one of which being that they are making the music track entirely themselves. Jonas, the guy behind the tunes is using a bank of electronic instruments, and various other recording techniques to come up with something truly unique and interesting.I’m excited to see how the film turns out, but for the time being let’s just toss these guys a few questions:Doug: Ok, so we’re talking to Michael Lifshitz here, who is actually the Creator of Jibberish. I’m totally taking this opportunity to clear the air… You’re not from France, rather Ottawa, Ontario… what happened with that?Haha, yeah well what actually happened is that some great guys from France made a wonderful website, jibberishgame.com, which is a big jibberish gathering and community where people post custom stuff and trade secrets etc. I guess the 4frnt guys got confused and posted on their website that we were from France, but it all got cleared up in the end.Doug: Lol… It’s hilarious that people don’t really know who you are. That game is sweet by the way.Thanks a lot. Really the credit should go to my brother Guy, who programmed the whole game and everything, I just tell him what to do and try to make it as sick as possible.Doug: What made you decide to become a part of the Newman Administration? Who was the one that first started the project?Cinematographer Newman and photographer Nick Iwanyshyn were the founders of the project, and they recruited some of us who shared similar goals and ambitions in skiing and snowboarding as well as film making. Slowly, our bunch grew into the awesome crew we have together now of dedicated jibbers, songwriters, photographers and videographers.Personally, I joined the project because I knew that they were looking to shake things up. I felt the same way.Doug: How did you get involved with Jonas? Where did the decision to make your own music come from?We take a lot of influence from films outside the action sports genre, and one of the things we noticed that really brought a movie together as a flowing documentation was an original score that emphasized and enhanced what was going on visually. We are trying to bring a more produced feel to our video, and felt that a sound track created for our movie would not only be a leap forward, but would really synergize with what we are trying to do.We knew Jonas from before, from NS and some personal encounters, and we realized he was a great guy with fresh ideas. After deciding to make an original soundtrack it was no tough choice deciding on Jonas.Doug: Do you feel that the film will suffer without the “gangsta beats” that are found in so many other ski movies?I have to admit I used to be pretty stoked on the gangster beats. However, lately they have really been becoming far too much the standard in ski movies. Our industry, we feel, simply needs more variety.Movie companies these days in skiing are all doing the same things. Rider parts with gangster or rock music with the same old lifestyle shots and boring repetitive soundtracks. Sure, the skiing is sick and the level of riding is getting ridiculous, but the filmmaking itself is getting over looked. This is something we want to change. And to do this, we have to make some small sacrifices, like gangster beats for instance, to replace them with things like original soundtracks by the great Jonas Bonetta.Doug: The market for digital videos is pretty saturated. I barely have time to watch each and every single new one that comes out. What is going to really set yours apart from the others?Our movie is going to be set apart in that we are making a great deal of effort to document what really goes down during our season. Too many videos are out there to just spit out ski porn. That is not what we are about.The first big thing we are going to do differently is abolish rider parts, because we don’t think they are at all a good way to show the vibe and feel of a session. We are producing a more documentary oriented feature, which will also include rider parts in the bonus for those of you who really need to see them.Skiers and snowboarders together is another big thing we are doing differently. We are really stoked on the idea of us riding together and building off each other. The skiing and snowboarding industries need to get closer, and we intend to start that bonding.Doug: A quote from your press release: “Skiers and snowboarders are one and the same and have been segregated for too long. As we already ride together, we feel we should shoot together.” How was it shooting with both? Was there many differences between the two factions of snowsports? Did you find that either boarders or skiers excelled or lacked at any aspect?We really found that we are all people who love snow, metal, and smiles. Going into the project we generally had similar ideas as to what we wanted to get out of it, so we never really ran into much conflict between the two sports. We all like our jumps on to rails small, so that certainly wasn't a problem.Doug: Will you be shooting mostly East-coast, or all across the map? Is the video going to be focused on Park, Backcountry, streetrails, or all of the above?Well, we are situated mainly on the east coast, but that doesn’t mean that we aren’t going to be shooting all over the place. We have already taken trips to Park City, Utah, Whistler, British Columbia, and Lake Louise, Alberta. We are also touring a bunch of east coast cities shredding up the urban scene, including Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto.As we do originate from the East, we have been doing a lot of urban riding. However, we have also had a couple backcountry shoots out west which went quite well, and have been trying to document a new side of the fun and excitement that goes into a backcountry shoot, as well as just shredding around the mountain. Our video is about fun and love for the sport, and we intend to show what really goes down on the mountain. For this reason, we are also including some park parts but really focusing on the vibe of the park, rather than just the tricks that go down.Doug: Tell me about everyone involved and what they do.First and foremost, Newman: This guy is the real deal. He shoots a great shot and is always a fun time. Our main cinematographer and the man who started it all.Nick Iwanyshyn: Never fails to make us laugh. Nick is also our manager and deals with all our business. He organizes everything and I don’t know where we would be without him.Michael Lifshitz: This is me! I pretty much shoot, ride and forget to charge my batteries, as well as tend to wake up late for shoots and miss out on them. Either way, I just try and have fun.Jonas Bonetta: The man behind the music. Jonas is an extremely talented musician who’s creative works inspire us every day. He is composing the original score for the video and we really enjoy his company. Check out his music here: http://www.myspace.com/myresearchwithdolphinsDanny Israel: A great guy, who now lives in Whistler and represents us on the West Coast, a really outstanding upcoming rider who is going to blow up in no time.Christopher Honeywell: A name I’m sure you already know. Chris Honeywell, when not being attractive and intelligent, tends to wow the ladies with his ski stunts and be a superunknown finalist. Everyone better watch this boy because he is really coming with fury. Urban rails run in fear.Mitch Iwanyshyn: With two injuries this year, Mitch Iwanyshyn has still been ripping hard. Mitch is pretty much just great. He just needs to learn how to not break his legs and arms.Luke Sheldrick: Awesome snowboarder who is stoked on riding and being out in the sun. Great urban rider who always throws down hard when necessary. Fun too.Jordan Gibson-Fraser: Sicker than AIDS. Jordan throws down harder on urban than anyone I have ever met on his snowboard. Name a trick he will throw it, with style. Not to mention your jumps onto rails will always be tiny and perfect, if Jordan has anything to say about it.Mick Reardon: Another one of our riders currently residing in Whistler. Always throws some crazy snowboard tricks. Great guy to have around.Scott Lemay: One of our new recruits. Super smooth in the air and on urban rails alike. Clean style and smooth hair. Look forward to seeing sick stuff come out of this boy.Many more riders as well. Just wait and see!Doug: Will there be a jibberish throwdown section from the man who created the game?Maybe in the bonus, but what we are really toying with is the idea of a special Newman Admin release of Jibberish, which might be made available only with the movie. We will have to wait and see what comes of that.Doug: Can you think of anything else you’d like to add?Get hyped for Content, and get ready to enjoy.One love everybody. See you all out on the mountain and in the streets.http://www.newmanadmin.com