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.

If you are a sponsor looking to back something with a high production value, unique storytelling, and something that hasn’t been seen in ski films before, give us a shout at info (at) dendritestudios.com
Thanks
-Nic

Perspectives #7 – Traveling to the Ski Salt Lake Shootout

This Perspectives provides a look at travelling with ski gear, as Nicolas Teichrob leaves the Sunshine Coast and heads to Salt Lake City, Utah, to compete in the Ski Salt Lake Shootout. During the photo competition, he worked with a number of athletes, each of them represented in this webisode. All of the travel footage was shot on the GoProHD.

For all your helmet cam and accessory needs, visit pointofviewcameras.ca
To see more photos by Nicolas, visit nicolasteichrob.com and stayed tuned to dendritestudios.com for the next webisode.

Perspectives #8 – Unsponsored Cheddar

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

By the way…Cheddar won. Congrats to him!

Or just read it below…

Get to Know Dendrite Studios
Interview by Reed Purvis
Photos by Nicolas Teichrob

While Spanglish is a commonly-known term referring to the mixture of Spanish and English in an attempt to speak Spanish, its lesser known cousin, Frenglish, is beginning to make waves in the southwestern mountainous region of British Columbia. Although many French Canadians living in this region constantly bitch about how much better things are in Quebec, there are a few who actually sort of try to speak English. A new film project from Dendrite Studios is already documenting this sudden rise of Frenglish. The current leader of this linguistic movement is Christian Boucher, aka “little c”. A man of very few and very confusing words, little c’s dialogue is set against the musings of other non-French speaking Canadians in order to make it stand out even more. In a brash move by Dendrite Studios’ Athan Merrick and Nicolas Teichrob, they have been putting to use other non-conventional techniques to bring out the characters behind the skiing. Among these are some sort of high tech camera equipment that elevates their production quality way above porn, a focus on big mountain skiing, a camera mounted to a miniature blimp operated by midgets, and a Bollywood-style musical segment featuring the hit single, Hara Rama Kushboo, from ski mountaineer Amar Andalkar. Even though Dendrite Studios has only been on the scene for this season, revealing words such as gnar, mind blowing, and awesome are already being used to describe this project. An article in the Hollywood Star commented that the film was “a titilating masterpiece that leaves steam on the inside of car windows, and will strip the last shreds of innocence from your 16-year-old daughter.” We here at Newschoolers wiped the steam off the windows, so to speak, so that our readers could see the soul of this project, opened up to the world like a young flower spreading its pedals in the morning sunlight.

What inspired you guys to make a ski film of your own?

Athan: It has always been a dream of mine. I was just waiting until I had the proper knowledge and people around me to tackle a project of this magnitude. I’ve been trying to be successful as an athlete and it is a hard road. I thought long and hard after last season about the decision to give up a bit of my athletic endeavors in skiing for the dream project. The dream won.

Nic: I have always tried to use my passions for the outdoors in a creative manner, and finally the chance came to do a film with a strong working relationship with Athan. I saw a need for something different in the ski film industry and I was in a position in my life to help use this time to create a new type of ski film.

Athan Merrick

Favorite ski films? Mine is Better off Dead (it’s actually a feature film starring John Cusack but it’s focused around skiing rather than high school football).

Athan: There are too many to count. My first ski film, MSP’s Pura Vida, was a gift from my Uncle, when I was probably around 12 years old. The VHS for Global Storming got completely worn out. From there I have pretty much seen every ski film out there, except Better off Dead, I guess I should get on that one. I go to all the premieres and buy too many DVD’s or back in the day VHS’s. It’s hard on a ski bum budget to afford the ski film fix though. I have also always been a supporter of the new guys when they come on the scene. Rage, Team 13, Wink Inc, Level 1, etc. It’s great to see a new perspective. I bought Heavy Hitting’s and Pimpin Frogz Whistler classics on VHS when I lived in New Mexico in high school. Those film’s convinced me to move up to Vancouver and Whistler to go to film school at UBC and ski as much as possible at Whistler.

Nic: Yeah, too many to list. As a kid I loved watching ski films whether it was featuring footage of pro skiers or of my cousins. I have always worked at creating moving imagery in a way that was enjoyable, and the ideas I have are inevitably shaped by everything I have seen in the past…or haven’t seen.

Favorite ski film segment or scene or both?

Nic: Todd Ligare’s unreleased self edit of unused TGR footage…it’s all about super deep pow.

What other types of films have you guys made or worked on?

Athan: My real job is a lighting technician in the film industry. So I have worked on countless feature films and TV shows from small indepedents to mega budget studio releases. I have been a Director of Photography on many short films with nice festival runs and helped produce some as well. Being a DP is my ultimate career aspirations once the ski world has had enough of me.

Nic: A couple years back I entered the Telus Filmmaker Showdown and we managed to make it into the finals on our first try, with a film about ‘Creeking’. I come from a photography background and as such I look at things in an artistic way. My brother and I have created films since we were 10 years old and recording on VHS’s, so I am stoked to finally be in a position to create something that a larger audience can appreciate.

Who is involved in the project?

Nic: Athan Merrick and I are the two main producers of the project, although there are many people helping us out along the way.

Did you see an untapped opportunity to do something different than the status quo of ski films?

Athan: I think we see a balance. We want to try to find untapped audiences and bring the ski film to a larger world, but most importantly you can’t forget about the core and dedicated audience that expects a certain amount of pure stoke and ski porn. We want to blend those ideas into an evolved type of ski film.

Can you give some insights as to how your project is different than the standard ski flick?

Nic: You’ll have to watch the film to find out…although we will say that the film won’t just be about the most well-known shredders killing it via heli access zones that the average skier cannot relate to.

Have athletes, potential sponsors, people involved in the industry, etc. been receptive to your ideas or have they been more skeptical, wanting to stick with what is safe?

Athan: All of our athletes have never really had their “shot” at a ski film segment. So they are amped and willing to put the time in. The potential sponsors/industry folk have been much more skeptical. Some people believed in us and we can’t thank them enough. Everyone we have talked to is super excited about the Perspectives clips we have put out so far. The tide is changing for sure. I was talking to an athlete the other day about money in the ski industry. He was on one of the major companies ski teams for around five years and got cut recently. The first year he was one of 143 athletes receiving gear and money. The next year those athletes receiving payment got cut to 70. It has been declining ever since and this year they are down to only six paid athletes. I think that speaks volumes to the current state of the ski industry. All we have is gear to help offset our costs, and our budget is out of our own pockets. Hopefully we can change that.

Nic: It has been interesting, but somewhat what we expected. The skiers have been so willing to input their ideas and time and I think some of the guys that will have killer segments have really been lacking the attention within the ski industry that they deserve. As Athan mentioned, the ski industry has been less receptive and everything is out of our own pocket.

Chris Turpin

To what degree does music serve as an inspiration in dreaming up sequences or ideas?

Nic: I am a strong advocate of music, but I think music adds to a segment vs creates a segment. I always have music ideas in my head, but it is the footage and athletes’ styles that create the vibe of a segment. We just try and put music with the footage that compliments it.

The people involved in Dendrite Studios come from different backgrounds don´t they? Does this give you a more diversified look at skiing or making a ski film?

Athan: We are from very different backgrounds. I think it is essential to have different minds involved to look at all the different possibilities. The right people and the right talent have come into place. Nicolas and I worked as a photographer and athlete very seriously all of last winter and a fair bit the winter before that. We were both so drawn to the visual aspect of playing in the mountains that the idea for a ski film incubated and was discussed for a long time. It was a natural evolution in my mind. Without Nic I wouldn’t be making this film, plain and simple. There are so many other great minds who have contributed to this project so far and there will be many more to come.

Nic: Athan has been instrumental to helping this project see fruition. Like he said, we have worked together creatively for a couple of years and it was a common vision for something new and original that is allowing this to happen. As a photographer I naturally enter this project with a different perspective than Athan and that is very important. We also have a number of other people that are helping to make our ideas come to life and we are very thankful for that.

How has coming from a real background in filmmaking outside action sports helped you take a different approach to ski filmmaking?

Athan: I guess it has allowed me to see that there is major room for aesthetic, creative, and narrative growth in the ski film arena. We are trying to push the boundaries of all three.

Any interesting or funny obstacles that have come up?

Athan: Time. Can’t I have more time, please. I feel like this in pretty much all aspects of life though. Brett Crabtree, the 2008 Freeskiing World Champion, has been crashing a lot this year as well as stomping a lot, partly because he always seems to choose rather large airs in not the greatest conditions. Sickbird winner Christian “Little C” Boucher has been looking on a lot of those times. Christian is kind of a dark individual who is pretty quiet. He has been laughing a lot at Brett’s decisions and crashes. Hearing him laugh is so unexpected that it makes everyone else laugh. Then Christian mumbles on and on in a mixture of English and French while he is laughing. It is already hard enough to understand him, so it’s pretty hilarious. Now even if Brett isn’t there one day and we pull up to a new zone the guys will say, “I will ski the straight line. I will ski the double. Those turns look nice.” Then they all point up at an unjumpable 500 foot cliff and say, “And there is a cliff for Brett.” It always gets a chuckle out of everyone. Brett takes the ridicule like a champ though and always bounces back.

Nic: So many moments of unpredictability all the time. Like hiding in a zone for two hours until sundown to get a shot of a line, only to be skunked out by deteriorating avy conditions and skiing home with no footage at all.

You’re trying to achieve a high production value aren’t you? What types of equipment are you using to achieve this?

Athan: Shhhhh. It’s a secret. Some of our production value is in our Perspectives clips. Watch them and figure it out for yourself. This question would require way too long of an answer.

Is there an overall message or purpose that you want to portray other than showing exciting ski footage?

Athan: There is no “cause” behind the film. The Fine Line was in my mind the best ski film of the last few years and it had a great purpose behind it. There will be underlying tonal messages throughout the film though. We are excited to bring it to the people and the skiers everywhere.

Nic: As Athan put it, there is an underlying message we want to present, but basically we want to portray the age old sport of sliding downhill on skis to as broad of an audience as possible, while maintaining a high level of skiing action and awesome footage.

For more information on Dendrite Studios, check out dendritestudios.com

Canadian race car driver Jake Thompson announces “Racing for the Right To Play” to raise money for children around the world

Calgary, AB, March 30, 2010 – For the 2010 season, Canadian race car driver Jake Thompson will partner with Right To Play to raise money and awareness for children in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world. Corporations and individuals will have the opportunity to pledge donations for each lap Jake completes this summer in his #19 car, as well as bonuses for each time he scores a victory or podium finish. Right To Play will receive 100% of the proceeds from ‘Racing for the Right To Play’ which will support the work they do in 23 countries around the world and help them continue to reach over 688,000 children each week with their sport and play programs.

In addition to the pledges, Thompson will put 25% of the prize money he wins during the 2010 season towards the final donation. “I have been lucky enough to be involved with sports my whole life, playing hockey growing up, and now with racing, so I’m excited to be able to give back to such a great cause”.

The goal is to raise $10,000 in 2010, and over the course of the season progress will be tracked on the web at www.jakethompson.ca/righttoplay/. All of our donors will be listed on the website leading up to the season finale in Puebla, Mexico on September 26^th, where the name of every single contributor will be displayed on the hood of the race car. To find out more information on the pledge program or how you can get involved, please see the attached PDF file, or contact Jake Thompson at 403.629.2945 or jake@jakethompson.ca.

Right To Play

Right To Play is the leading international humanitarian and development organization using the transformative power of sport and play to build essential skills in children and thereby drive social change in communities affected by war, poverty and disease. Right To Play creates a safe place for children to learn and fosters the hope that is essential for children to envision and realize a better future. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child guides their work. Right To Play programs target the most marginalized individuals including girls, persons with disabilities, children affected by HIV and AIDS, street children, former child combatants and refugees. For more information please visit www.righttoplay.ca.

Jake Thompson

Jake Thompson, from Calgary, AB is one of Canada’s most promising young race car drivers. Shortly after graduating from the University of British Columbia with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Thompson was selected from a pool of over 1000 applicants to be one of 30 factory supported young drivers competing in the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup, the world’s only “green” racing series. In his rookie season, Thompson was a standout, scoring two victories, before eventually finishing 5^th in the Championship. Returning for his sophomore season in 2010, he will be a strong contender for the title. In addition to raising money for Right To Play, Jake Thompson Motorsports is still looking for personal sponsors to help take his racing career to the next level. For more information please visit www.jakethompson.ca

Perspectives #6 introduces skiers Chris Turpin and Eliel Hindert. These two skiers both rip the mountains with a similar flair and style, even though they have a 10 year age gap. Stay tuned to Dendrite Studios’ debut film dropping in Fall 2010 to see Hindert’s and Turpin’s full segments.

For more about the tasty beverages coming from Russell Brewing, visit www.russellbeer.com. Local BC beer at its finest.

Filmed by Athan Merrick and Nicolas Teichrob
Edited by Nicolas Teichrob

Check out the athlete profiles for Chris Turpin and Eliel Hindert on the ‘People‘ page at Dendrite Studios

Music:
Unity on Plastic ft. DJ Epoch (Prod. Elaquent) by Thesaurus Rex of Archivists Records
www.myspace.com/boombaptist

Eliel Hindert’s blog

For more web videos from Dendrite Studios, head over to their video page here

Enjoy!
-n

I think it was easy when I was concentrating on just being an athlete. Stepping out into this other role of film producer/director/cinematographer leaves me absolutely drained after the day even if I spend 90% of it on my ass, cold as all hell, in the snow. Mentally concentrating on making sure each shot is recorded perfectly is somehow extremely physically demanding. Sometimes I wish I just was just sending it all day like last year.

The footage keeps rolling in and Dendrite Studios is making stellar progress on our debut ski film. This is the latest Perspectives and it is the first truly showcasing some of the athletic talent behind the film. We have many skiers making their ski film debuts. These are just a couple of them.

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!

2010 Driver Selection is now in the books! Yesterday we were out at the beautiful facilities of Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, NV to get in the racecars for the final day of driver selection. What a place, the facility is a country club style, with rows of garages for people to keep their cars and a beautiful club house (tile floors, pool table, etc). Unfortunately, when we arrived the weather did not match the facilities. I got a ride out with AJ Nealey and we passed through snow over a pass just before the track, it was definitely ugly. First up was the track walk and just as we arrived at Turn 1 the hail came, ugh. We headed back to the tent for Jan Heylen (chief driving instructor) to give us a “verbal” track walk instead.

Luckily, next up was breakfast, which gave some time for the weather to ease up ever so slightly. The first scheduled session of the day was for the returning drivers, and we were faced with ALOT of standing water, very very tricky conditions. Despite just doing some slow laps behind a pace car to get a feel for the track, the cars were dancing all over the place, and I definitely had a few “oh sh*t!” moments as the car got loose. Luckily this was the turning point of the day, as while we were on track, the weather started to break, and we never saw any more rain. It took a few hours for the water to disappear, but by the time we were out on the track for our second session, the Pirelli slicks had been slapped on the car for some dry running.

It took a few laps to get up to speed, but once I got going, man was I having fun. It had been way to long since I had driven anything in anger, and it was awesome to be back behind the wheel throwing the car around. The loop that we were running at Spring Mountain was a lot of fun, with some great corners, and if it had more of a straightaway it would have been a great place to have a race. The session ended up, and I managed to run a time of 1min 22.1, which was fastest of the session save for our instructor Mr. Heylen (who somehow threw down a disgusting 1min20.8, despite the track being damp, Im calling foul play! lol).

After the second session it was back to the clubhouse, for lunch and more importantly the cuts to announce the 25 drivers competing in this year’s TDI Cup. Unlike 12 months before, it was pretty relaxing for us returning drivers knowing we were probably through, but its still good to hear your name called. We look to have a very deep field this year which includes 9 returning drivers: AJ Nealey, Andrew Cordeiro, Taylor Broekemeier, JD Mobley, Ryan Ellis, Andrew Novich, Juan Pablo Sierra Lendle, Juan Pablo Delgado, and myself. Also, there is some great new talent including some National champion karters in Michael Hogg, Arie Ouimet, Jarvis Gennari and Chris Wehrheim, as well as Wyatt Gooden, who won his seat in the series through iRacing, and showed great speed all weekend. Obviously, I know to look out for the names I recognize from the karting world, but I know some other guys that I haven’t got to know as well yet are going to be fighting for wins.

After lunch, the final 25 drivers got 2 full practice sessions to let everyone get familiar with the cars. The track was now fully dry and I was able to really get after it, dropping 1.2 seconds to put in a lap of 1m20.9, fastest of the series drivers and just a hair slower than the benchmark that Jan had sent. In the final session, I was able to shave a little bit more time and get down to a 1m20.6, but full credit to JD Mobley, who found a little bit more and ended up with a 20.5, the fastest time of the day. There was a whole group of drivers just behind JD & I, who ran 20.9s including Nealey, Gennari, and Cordeiro, so that shows just how close its going to be all season.

All that was left after that was the drive back to Las Vegas. By now the snow was really coming down in the mountains, but AJ got us back. I have to say, that for whatever reason, I found it to be a very taxing week. As I write this I feel mentally run down and exhausted, I suppose that comes from trying to be at the top of my game all week. The first race is at VIR in a couple months and I will be working hard to get ready for the season until then.

Here are a few pictures we close the books on another edition of TDI Cup Driver selection….

The #33 Pirelli Car I was using at Selection

Cars on track going through some practice starts

Take Care

Jake Thompson

Monday February 8th, 2010

Just got back to my room after Day 2 of the Selection event, which was another good day here in Vegas. Bright and early at 6AM I regrouped with team Purple (temporarily nicknamed team Grimace) for another day of evaluation. Once again we were woken up by an early morning workout with Athlete’s performance. While yesterday focused on testing our physical fitness, today they ran us through some nutrition training and took us through a full workout tailored for racers. After the workout it was helmet on for our second crack at the autocross course with the 2010 Golf TDI’s. I will say right now, autocross is not my forte. For those of you that don’t know, autocross involves taking a car through a course defined by cones, usually in a parking lot. Unfortunately, no matter how many times our instructors told me to pretend the cones were a cement wall, there still cones and I couldn’t help clipping quite a few in my never ending pursuit of going faster. Ultimately I was pretty disappointed in myself, as I have worked very hard to prepare for this season, and it was silly of me not to leave a bigger margin for error.

Autocross Car - Golf TDI

Next up was karting, and although i have a lot of karting background, once again there were cones to hit, and I couldn’t resist crossing the limit a few times. Again, pretty disappointed with my performance. The karts were CRG Rotax engines, and the people from SSC East did a great job getting them ready to go, and I had a lot of fun on the track.

After a quick lunch, we had a sponsorship seminar with IndyCar driver Townsend Bell. I have sat through a number of these type of seminars from fellow drivers, but this one was hands down the best. Townsend has a great story, great advice, and is a great speaker, so I learned a lot as well as throroughly enjoyed his presentation.

Kart Track

Then Cuts. Last year I can’t even tell you how nervous I was, and I could relate to all the terrified faces in the room. As a returning driver it was nice to be able to relax a bit. I know how hard these decisions are for the coaches, and I really feel for the people who didn’t make it through to tomorrow. On a positive note, all 6 drivers in team purple made it through to tomorrow when they will cut it down from 30 to the final 25.

Tomorrow I finally get to knock the dust off after the long winter and get back in a race car, so I’m totally pumped up. We are headed out to Spring Mountain Motorsports Park, to log some hot laps in the TDI Cup car before final cuts. It should be fun. Im excited to be back with Volkswagen and this outstanding program for 2010, and I know I can better last year’s performance and win that championship. One more day tomorrow, so look for another blog…

Sunday February 7th, 2009

Today official festivities kicked off at driver selection, bright and early at 6AM, as 40+ finalists arrived to compete for the 25 spots in the 2010 VW TDI Cup. I was assigned to the purple group, which included JD Mobley from last year, and Michael Hogg from Vancouver who I know well from karting. Team purple was put through the ringer early as our first stop was Fitness Testing with the good people from Athletes Performance. They ran us through a push-up test (props to JD who CRUSHED out 70 reps), an excruciating wall sit, and finally a VO2 Max Test.

Still reeling from the early morning workout we headed outside to hit up the autocross track. This year they have a fleet of 2010 VW Golf TDI’s, which with their short wheel base are ideal for the tight autocross course. If you got after it you could really make the golf rotate, even getting it up on 3 wheels, and I had a blast, although I hit a few too many cones. After all that early morning excitement, the rest of the day was spent in the classroom where we were put through a series of written tests and sponsorship training.

Tomorrow it’s another 6AM start with karting and more autocross on the docket. First cuts come tomorrow so Im sure there will be a lot of nervous faces from the new drivers. They let us off a little early today, so im just relaxing in my room watching some Superbowl, although a little more craps might be on the cards.

I forgot to get the camera out during the day,  but I took a couple shots of the hospitality setup they have here at the Southpoint.

More to come tomorrow…

Saturday February 6th, 2009

I`m here in Vegas at the 2010 VW TDI Cup Driver Selection, and although the weather is right miserable, its not enough to take away from the excitement of the weekend. The event is hosted at the South Point Casino Resort and i spent the morning wandering around looking for familiar faces. It was great to see all of our mechanics again who deserve all the credit in the world for the hard work they put in to make this thing happen. I also ran into a few buddies from last year, and was able to spot some nervous faces of guys who are here for the first time. I can relate, I remember feeling exactly that way last year.

TDI Cup Car on Display at the South Point Casino

Right now I’m thoroughly enjoying the view from my room on the 11th floor of our driving instructors (Jan, Andy, Ryan & Mark) sloshing around in the rain setting up the autocross course for tomorrow. I know they’re going to be hard on us once the competition starts so I can take a certain amount of pleasure in the fact that right now I’m dry and they’re not.

Very Wet looking Autocross/Karting Circuit

Right now I’m thinking that I’ve swallowed enough casino smoke for one day, so Im gonna grab some dinner and try to get to bed early tonight. Driver selection starts in earnest tomorrow morning at 6AM sharp, so it’ll be an early one.

PS. Gambling is a bad habit that I don’t condone, so I can tell you that I didn’t play craps with AJ Nealey this afternoon, and we both didn’t win a couple hundred bucks

Cheers,

- Jake Thompson

Racing Under Green 2009 from Volkswagen Motorsports on Vimeo.

- Jake Thompson