photos: Gavin Rudy

Pressing play on Gavin Rudy’s new movie, “Recordings of the Sun,” elicited a few reactions:

Wait, where the hell are these guys? That’s a real torch… Gavin, what dude?

http://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/842055/Recordings-of-the-Sun

And then we get down to business.

The film opens with a cork sev blunt, because Gavin is keenly aware. We are at WCS, and the session is stupendous. Around the seven minute mark there is a grab combo that makes me react out loud. Gavin picks good shots out of a crowd.

Then we transition into the streets. Gavin’s artistic talent is highlighted in moments like these. His transitions are subtle but very effective. We’ve seen a million back fours out of closeouts, but that tow in shot was fantastic. Then quick cuts to the view from behind the dashboard give us a sense of moving from one spot to another. It reminds us how much of every urban mission is made up of driving and scoping and shuffling around. Young filmmakers out there could take notes from Gavin on how to move a flick along.

The shot at 12:35 is pretty incredible.

Am films always tend to let down a bit during backcountry segments. I think it’s more difficult than we might think to produce a good BC seg and this movie is an example of having to accept B-grade shots.

The thing is that these skiers are not necessarily the most gifted for their age. To be sure, they’re sick. There’s a lot of talent brewing in this circle. But there are also a lot of kids, right across this continent and the world, with roughly the same bag of tricks and the same ability to stomp and spin. The level has progressed to such a point over the last give or take six years that it’s tough to distinguish among 16 year-olds.

The difference is not everyone has Gavin filming them.

Nor do they have him crafting a narrative to frame their shots. That, I think, is testament to Gavin’s raw talent. And to his sense of humour. We’ve seen before that trying to turn a ski flick into a crime drama is … limited in its appeal. However if you create a storyline that’s inherently corny and then add Ethan Swadburg – who is impossible to look at without wanting to laugh – in a starring role, you don’t come off as trying too hard. To me it seems like they’re doing it because they need to break away from the pack. The result is tight, stylish and irreverent. And one last C7B is never a bad call.