Absinthe Films, In my opinion these guys have set the level of snowboard films many times over. Additionally their movies have held some of the most influential statements without words that I have seen in my life. The ability to portray a message through music, snowboard action and no words is something that exists only in a very talented group of people. This group of talented people is co-lead by Justin Hostynek and Patrick Armbruster. With their influence and my passion for snowboarding it has helped me realize things I never thought possible, for example, new ways to snowboard, new ways to perceive the elements around me and new ways to dream. All of these are messages I pull from Absinthe Films Snowboard Movies and I am stoked to have the chance to ask the co creator of this company some questions for our audience on Snowrev. Enjoy. - John Centi
Whats up with Neverland?
Hostynek: Neverland turned out pretty well. Might be our strongest film since Pop. Had a crazy amount of bangers to work with this year. Seems like there was more motivation among the riders than ever. Probably because everyone knew it was do or die this season when it comes to their sponsors.
Armbruster: We released the tenth film since Justin and me are working together and are very pleased with the result. The tour we had the last few weeks was off the hook and it was inspiring to see all the people showing up and being interested in the film.
In the video Transcendence your vhs copy has a slightly different soundtrack than the dvd, why did you guys decide to cut JP Solberg riding to the Beatles?
Hostynek: I had edited JP's segment to the Beatles track but we got denied on the music license. Actually we weren't denied, but at $200,000 per side, it was a bit out of our range and I had to re-edit, as painful as it was, to a different song. It's still pretty easy to find the original version.
Armbruster: The original version was cut to the Beatles. We couldn't get the music rights in the end so we released a second version with a different sound track.
- Jp Solberg breakout part in Transcendence.
Vivid, One of the greatest snowboard videos ever made, revolutionized the way snowboard films were made. What gave you guys the idea to use a heli with a monster park jump?
Hostynek: I don't know about all that but I had figured out a way to get closer to the rider filming from a helicopter by hanging off the bottom of the heli by two ropes attached at different points, to keep me from spinning under the helicopter. The rotor-wash is the limiting factor if you get too close to a rider, and by hanging below the ship, it eliminated that problem and I could float along next to riders close enough to shoot them with a wide angle lens which gives you a wider perspective and really gives you that feeling of floating along next to the rider. I was within high-fiving distance of Tristan on his backside 180. To this day, that is probably my favorite shot that I have ever filmed.
Armbruster: Thanks for the props! Justin had this idea during filming a commercial for Burton that Absinthe produced. I think it was Mads Jonsson's uncle who had a pilot permit and felt confident of attaching Justin on ropes dangling underneath the flying helicopter. A pretty dangerous undertaking that payed off. I think that was the first time such images were presented in a snowboard film.
In Romains part, when he falls on the jump in Helmsdel; was he knocked out?
Hostynek: yup. He's an animal.
Armbruster: Yes, he got knocked out for a moment. Romain always had an inner fire that needed to be released during sessions. His aggressive riding style pushed the sport to new heights but also took a tool here and there on his body.
Your films have featured the same riders for the past few years and Absinthe appears to be more of a family effort than just a movie making business these days, what qualifies a snowboarder to be an Absinthe Films Rider and why have you stuck with the same crew? Don’t get us wrong we think that you have done an amazing job with the line up.
Hostynek: We do it different at Absinthe. Take Solberg for example. He had a break out part with us in 2001 in the bunny suit and then had a series of shoulder injuries year after year. That has to be so hard on the mental side of things. It takes a lot to keep charging after being sidelined 9 months at a time spending way more time re-habing than riding. But his talent is exceptional when we got glimpses of his riding it was always the sickest style, so we kept a seat warm for him. Then last year he had a short but pretty sick segment. And this year is the payoff we have been waiting for since Transcendence. He crushed it.
Armbruster: You interpret that correct...we grew together as a good working crew of riders and cinematographers. When we started we picked the guys that we felt were the most progressive European riders. In fact because I was working with them already, I used to be senior photographer for monster backside magazine in the late nineties, it motivated me to bring their exposure to the next level. None of them received any love in snowboard videos cause there wasn't any platform for the European scene. Very few made it into the US productions at the time. Europe offers great mountains, riders and also a big part of the industry is based out of here. This was my motivation to start a European Snowboard film.
During the years we also brought in riders from North America like Travis Rice who had his first video part in Transcendence.
Back to your question...we are always looking for riders that bring something unique to the crew, style, action, creativity, personality. Secondly they need to have a connection with any of us. We had riders that nobody knew before we started shooting. That constellation is usually not that beneficial for rider as well as the movie.
The reason why you see a lot of the riders that have been with us since day one is based on deep rooted respect, experience on the mountain and loyalty. It payed out for both sides. Some of the young kids like Nicolas Müller that we invited ten years ago to come film with us belong to the leading athletes in the sport nowdays. Same with Gigi, Wolle or Romain.
- Nicolas Muller filming for Absinthe's Neverland. Photos by Cole Barash
First thing that comes to mind:
Transcendence: Jp Solberg riding in a white Bunny suit:
Hostynek: Romain's idea. He wanted to do this but rolled his ankle skating a week before we were supposed to shoot, so he had JP step in and fill his shoes. Turned out to be a good thing for JP.
Armbruster: summer in Mt.Hood
VIVID: Romain Demarchi in a dark room with money falling from the ceiling with tape covering his mouth with the words “More” written on the tape:
Hostynek: There's never enough. Maybe there are other more important things to go after in this life.
Armbruster: reflection of his persona
Futureproof: DCP and Nicolas Muller in Japan:
Hostynek: Good example of finding the right song to help tell the story. Imagine what the segment would have been like if Nicolas hadn't been injured after the first few days of getting to Japan.......or just watch his segment in Neverland.
Armbruster: best japan segment until Neverland came out
Pop:Chads Gap Session:
Hostynek: Never feared for the safety of the riders hitting a jump before this or since.
Armbruster: a session that changed snowboarding
Alaska In April:
Hostynek: The elusive goldmine.
Armbruster: Isolation
Neverland:
Hostynek: The place in our heads where we go when we daydream about riding.
Armbruster: One of Absinthe's best and strongest movies to this date
What inspired you to make snowboard videos?
Hostynek: Snowboarding has been my life since I first strapped in in 1986. Snowboard photography until 1991 but then I wanted to see my photographs move. Take it to the next level. What I didn't realize until I started making films, was the alchemy that is created by editing film to the right music.
Armbruster: See answer above
How do you guys develop your themes/ names for your videos?
Hostynek: There's no simple answer for this. It's different every time. Most importantly, don't try to control everything. Let it happen. Plant the seed and nurture it while it grows.
Armbruster: Picking the name is always a struggle. Sometimes we have names that we have been thinking of for a while and the season seems to be the right one for the name.
Justin is usually the one that comes up with our the movie names. He has a good feeling for that.
- JP Solberg tearing it up in Switzerland on his new board, YES! Photo by Howzee
What is your personal favorite video part?
Hostynek: I don't have one.
Armbruster: Jeremy Klein and Steve Berra in 'The End'
How do you pick your music and how much does the music rights issue affect the songs?
Hostynek: I have a panel of music advisors that changes all the time. People who's music taste I am feeling at the moment. I listen to what certain people give me and see what feels good. Licensing music is really expensive, but it's money well spent.
Armbruster: Everybody in our crew contributes or can contribute. Towards the end of the season we narrow down the selection and start lining up the songs in order to create the right flow for the film. Music rights is always a tough part. We have an agency who is taking care of this job.
Why do you edit in Hawaii?
Hostynek: So we can surf every day. It has the most consistent swell of anywhere in the US in June and July. Getting out in the ocean on a regular basis is good for the mind, good for creativity and helps to keep everything in perspective. It keeps the bickering factor down and is a reward for a year of hard work. We had to skip Hawaii this year though due to budget cuts. It was a tough pill but it will make it that much sweeter next summer when we go back again.
Armbruster: We did the summers in Hawaii for eight years in a row. The idea was to always edit at a spot where we could surf. The very first year we did it in France at Axel Pauporté's house.
After that we located the spot within the US that had the most consistent surf during July/August. The response we got back from Surfer Magazine was a spot on one of the Hawaiian islands which became our yearly destination during the summers. The first year we stayed 3 weeks with 5 people. Every summer more and more of our riders started coming out to visit us and supervise the editing of their parts. It was fantastic but also exhausting. The production crew had to stick to deadlines while the rest was on summer vacation. At high times we were up to 16 people out there and we stayed for two months in the end!
This year was the first time we didn't go.
Are there any new concepts you guys are focusing more on since the release of Travis’s video That’s It That’s All last season?
Hostynek: Less helicopter shots.
Armbruster: No
Are there any publishing, marketing practices you guys are focusing more on with the popularity of online video sharing?
Hostynek: We are going to release our Flipside show exclusively online this year instead of broadcasting it. About 20 4 minute pieces. Very entertaining.
Armbruster: Yes, we are about to launch our studio on iTunes. On November 2. 2009 the Absinthe Studio opens including Neverland in HD! At the same time we will offer a streaming solution on the
www.absinthe-films.com for all of our old titles as well. Check it out!
How do you feel the Internet has affected your business practices and how you operate? Is this a negative or positive effect?
Hostynek: Technology is the blessed curse.
Armbruster: The internet is crucial for us since our crew members are spread all over the world. It also allowed us to pack up our office and move to Hawaii for the summers. Also for people that are trying to find anything out about Absinthe can easily access our website. Of course there is also a lot of downsides to it particularly for movie producers. Probably nowhere else your product gets stolen like in the internet. We will see what the future holds for us but I'm optimistic that we can utilize the internet more and more to our benefits.
How soon will you roll out on your premier tour and is this separate from the Sphere of Influence Tour? Hostynek: The Sphere of Influence Film Tour is the North American part of our premier tour where we bring our new movie to the people in theaters, in a lot of cases before the dvds are in shops. It's the best way to watch a snowboard film and get pumped for the winter. Surrounded by hundreds of other enthusiasts and some of the featured riders in the film. It gets pretty electrified. We just kicked it off last weekend in Utah and people were pretty psyched. Heading on to Eastern Canada this week and will keep rolling until early October.
Armbruster: The Sphere of Influence tour is the name for our tour in North America. In Europe the tour is called Absinthe Films premier tour. It was a huge success. You can find impressions of the whole gang traveling in a nightliner throughout Europe in our website gallery. It was off the hook!
What is the future of Absinthe Films, I notice you guys are pushing stock footage now. I understand it can help spread general awareness of snowboarding at its best, but what is your logic behind this?
Armbruster: We are trying to maximize every outlet that we can think of. Our video game Stoked on Xbox360 was a very interesting project as well. The second version is already done and will be released before Christmas in the US called Stoked - big air edition. In my eyes the best snowboard game I have come across.
- Travis Rice is back on the program with Absinthe and this video is going to be epic. Photos by Tim Zimmerman
Hostynek: Thanks and we seriously look forward to watching one of the best snowboard films of the year. NEVERLAND.
Armbruster: Thank you. brusti::.