Interview with Pirate’s Basti Balser - Page 2
May 19, 2008 @ 7:21 AM
OB: The Pirates movies always included a “Boardbagged” movie as a bonus in the past, a kind of travel documentation. What is that all about?
BB: The idea behind it was that we wanted a kind of movie that shows that we are not just those stereotype snowboarders that a lot of people might think we are. When we travel to places like China, Russia or Scandinavia, we really enjoy seeing different countries, learning about new cultures and meeting new friends. But when you travel to five or six different countries throughout a year, there is not enough space in snowboard movies to show all this. We wanted to do a more lifestyle-based movie - in “Boardbagged” you will maybe see 40 % snowboarding and the rest are lifestyle or culture shots from places we have been to. We also always involve other friends of us, for example we were shooting with a guy from Japan who is one of the best breakdancers in Tokyo and last year René Margreiter had a part in “Boardbagged” – for us it is a way to show different things than just riding. “ Boardbagged” is always on the bonus of the main movie and is cover mounted on different national magazines throughout the world!
OB: Speaking about travelling, which other countries are still on your “wish list”?
BB: A lot! I would be super stoked to go to places like India, Bolivia or Iran. There is an endless list of places. We also have never been to Alaska, a place where we all want to go - we just still need to figure out how.
OB: Why did you never go to Alaska so far?
BB: I would say lack of big mountain experience and big mountain riders. I think all the riders and crews that are going to Alaska really know what they are doing there. Trying to do the same like Absinthe is totally out of our range because they have so many years of experience up there, that is why it works so well for them. But going up there with RV’s like the Blank Paper crew did last year and sledding the pass is something that sounds really interesting for us and will happen sooner or later.
OB: Will there be any girls in the movie this year?
BB: No girls.
OB: Why not?
BB: I don’t know. I think it is probably because girl’s productions are getting bigger and better. You don’t have just one girl movie anymore that the girls have to be part of but there are a few now and they really push each other now. The other reason is… No, actually this is the main reason.
OB: Quite diplomatic…
BB: Of course.
OB: Okay, let´s move on to another topic then… Last year’s “Walk the Plank” was a real banger and you got so many props for it. How do you handle the pressure to come up with a new idea and a better movie each year?
BB: Flo (Eckhardt), Ludschi and me don’t really feel the pressure from the outside too much. Of course there is some pressure as sponsors and money are involved, but most of the time it is the pressure that we put on ourselves because we want to top the movie from the year before. Most important for us is that at the end of the year we can present a movie to the snowboard world we are happy with ourselves and that is the hardest. But I guess we work good under pressure…
OB: Snowboard movies are not just editing some sick riding and hardcore music together anymore, it turned out to be much more than that and it seems like the filming techniques are advancing every year!
BB: Everybody tries to show snowboarding in a different way. Teleshot and wide angle are still very important but cable cams, travelling rails and heli shots are getting more and and more attention. We used the paraglider last year and also used it this year, for example. I think it is good that every film production works on progression and for sure there will be much more to come. But the main focus is still the riding! We can’t make a movie better by just using a lot of different filming techniques if the riding level is not showing the progression in snowboarding. If a rider would do a progressive trick that a buddy of him filmed on an HD camera, which is maybe not such a good quality as our 16 mm shots, we would still use it because snowboarding is defined through progression. You can help it out with better film techniques but it is not gonna make the movie.
OB: You are not only editing the movie but I heard you are also filming on trips?
BB: I always bring my Super 8 camera but I’m not doing too many trips. I was in the US mainly because Vegas was really important for us as met up with American magazines and sponsors. And I’m in Riksgränsen right now because I just have to – eleven years ago I have been here for the first time and every year since then! Coming to Sweden is a special thing for me as I went to the snowboard school in Malung for four years and I still have many friends here.
OB: Ingemar Backman made this tiny village famous in 1996 when he did this massive backside air. Did the role of Riksgränsen in snowboarding change through the years?
BB: Certainly. Six or seven years ago and at this time you could see most of the faces in European snowboarding and a lot of Americans up here every spring time. Last year was pretty funny and kind of a reunion because there was a Burton, a Roxy and a DC crew, plus Yeah Productions and us. You got a bit of this feeling back again as there were so many riders and friends here that you haven’t met all winter long. I was thinking that way more people will make it up here again, especially as last year was really good and productive for all of us.
OB: What is so special about Riksgränsen?
BB: The midnight sun is a really special thing! You fight a lot with the bad weather here but on the other hand you have the possibility to go out at 10 p.m. when the light is good and come back at 3 a.m. in the morning. Usually it has a lot of snow until really late - last year we left end of May and it was still very good, we just got tired after three and a half weeks of shooting. The terrain is really nice, you have a lot of natural wind lips and many cliffs that are good to hit. The mountains are not really high but it is really “bumpy” I would say. Especially for us Europeans who have no sled skills it is a very easy sled access compared to North America.
OB: Is Riksgränsen the last Pirates trip this year?
BB: I think so. Lukas, Sani and Marko will still stay here for another two weeks but I´m going back to Innsbruck next week to start editing “Overseas”.
OB: I´m looking very much forward to finally see it! Will it have such an elaborate intro like “Walk the Plank”?
BB: I don’t know yet how much we will involve the acting skills of our riders but we will keep it the analogue way like we did before. We are not going to have a pirates intro again but for sure it will be something special - the production name and the idea behind Pirate Movie Production is still the same: That we are just pirates in this snowboard movie world.
OB: Thanks Basti!
For movie premiere dates and more information about “Overseas”, next year´s Pirate movie, check out their website!
