IDEA was one of Eric Iberg’s biggest contributions to ski filmmaking and a major break from the ski porn of the time, which was just fading out of its obsession with ska and fast action at the time. You can clearly read the strong hints of Pre-Nimbus Nimbus style in this movie, along with the same crew, most of the same tricks, and definitely the same style and pace. Here’s what you gotta love in IDEA:
-Andy Mahre doing one of the first stalefishes
-Eric Pollard shredding in that ridiculous orange Helly Hansen one-piece survival suit on his EP Pros, some of the noodliest sticks on the market
-Most of the Nimbus crew, especially Pep Fujas, throwing some of the best tricks of their career
-Skiing pow switch for the sake of skiing pow switch, which no one does anymore because it’s ugly
-Entry of shitty Cali P-esque reggae into ski edits, never to leave
-Annoying or slow piano and other kinds of slow music, a precursor to all future Nimbus soundtracks.
-Pep more or less owning the movie
I’d add to the list of likes:
-The entire Baker segment. Pep’s laid out back flip sent into a wide open field of deep stuff and Pollard’s resurfacing after bonking a tree. Shit was aquatic.
-Rockered skis minus poles in the park and pipe. Would’ve seemed kooky by anyone else but Pep and Mahre. Made the Hellbent a ski even the little park kids wanted.
Not so sure Pep owned the film. He was more like the captain of the switch pow landing and butter off everything in sight team. Stand out performance for sure, but the other guys held their own.
Another like: The alaska segment, first one I’d seen in a major movie (I say major because of the people involved in making it) where the pros access Alaska like the rest of us, sleds. Never seen pros come to AK to go to Thompson pass and really work for their turns. I got this movie when it came out I was like 15 or something, and to this day it’s still my favorite ski movie ever and totally changed the way I looked at everything.
You make Idea seem a lot older than it really is? Or am I that old?
I feel like Idea launched in the post archaic era ski movies from 1999-2005 where Freeskiing was still an experimental fringe sport that lagged behind snowboarding in quality of films, style, and innovation (think Ski Movie to High Five)
I think Skiing moved up a plane in the 2005-2006 season with War! Shanghai Six, etc, which is like the Cretaceous era of the sport, or the Pre -Wallisch Era. Tanner was at the top of his game, Dumont had ascended to the highest ranks in the sport, Jon was dominating the comp scene and Andreas Hatveit had the same generic shitty style as he does today. Guys like Stefan Thomas, Travis Redd, Luke Van Valin and Craig Coker were producing solid and creative video segments as well, further refining certain elements of jibbing all mtn, in the park and back country. It was the Pre Wallisch Era. By the time Idea came out I feel like freeskiing had established itself as a worthy peer to snowboarding and we were at the dawn of the Wallisch Era. It was pre-Afterbang, but I think skiing had arrived.
I wish the sport would have followed the route of Idea more so than where it is today- I thought with Idea and Hot Lunch dropping in subsequent years we would see a lot more creative,simple and fun all mtn and back country riding, including skiing faces switch and doing simple jibs on moderately sized natural features. However we are stuck with robots like Nick Goepper and Gus Kenworthy
Yo IB, what was your roll with Idea? Didn’t Pollard edit nearly all of it? as well as film a good portion? was this more of an early nimbus movie or an Eric Iberg Film?
Newschoolers – shame on you for having such a poor description allowed on the main page of your site. Long time member, poor to see such a bias view of a ski film being allowed to be published.
“-Entry of shitty Cali P-esque reggae into ski edits, never to leave
-Annoying or slow piano and other kinds of slow music, a precursor to all future Nimbus soundtracks.
-Eric Pollard shredding in that ridiculous orange Helly Hansen one-piece survival suit on his EP Pros, some of the noodliest sticks on the market”
All ridiculous points – I’m sure people could be equally harsh to other films from a new crew with a new idea, anyone remember WSK106? Can anyone actually say they managed to sit through that more than once.
INSPIRED – get off your high horse, I’d say you guys have a long way to go.
Oh and on a side note, can someone in Inspired tell Tanner how to point his GoPro so we see more than his knees bouncing around. I’ve loved his skiing since the start, lets get some decent edits rather than terrible gopro POV runs.
tacodon,
I was questioning BroBomb’s assessment that Pep “more or less” owned the movie. I think Pollard and Mahre got hurt through parts of that season, so Pep seemed to have a few more shots; however, I’d say Mahre’s rodeos and Pollard’s flatspins were as transcendent as anything Pep did. Splitting hairs I guess.
Pretty sure Iberg was the director, but Pollard always seems to have a hand in editing anything he puts out. I’d say it was an Iberg movie that informed/inspired later Nimbus ventures. Idea and Royalty were Iberg’s two best efforts.
My role with idea was to organize everything…. pretty much produce it. poor boyz productions is who sponsors wrote the checks to, pollard edited the film, shane nelson assisted, i filmed with justin wiegand and matt schwagler. there is a million jobs in ski film making… i never started a production company until like a lion, so i would use an eric iberg film as sort of a production company name at the times of those films.
idea was a effort of the skiers, filmers, editors, music makers, designers and photographers together. we traveled 3 skiers and 3 filmers everyday together from mid november to end of may… this is not normal. i mean everyday. it was a very special project to all of us and i am happy to have had all the headaches i had that year trying to make it happen.
Also, Angus beef patty dude… stoked you couldn’t make it thought wski! i think that is the only ski film in history people would walk out during premiers with their kids and also get shitty reviews a year after it came out in magazines! i always like when people have a opinion on things i create. if you didn’t i would be wasting my time.
also, inspired does have a long way to go… we are all young and we for sure as fuck are never disappearing no matter how much people my want us to!
Happy Winter all!
INSPIRED!
Just thought I would let you know…Pollard does a “stalefish” in Propaganda soooo yeah