To: Sled Film Makers

[Thunderstruck]

AMEN! To what Phatty and 208 said! And great idea SNEng!!

I know companies on "sign-up" lists for music and they will literally send you 500 songs from 500 bands. 99.9% of them are GROSS and the other few songs are barely palatable. . .

And my quote from Nickelback was $40,000 for ONE song. The Eurythmics (Here Comes the Rain Again remade by Hypnogaja (GREAT SONG, search it on youtube)) laughed at my music budget. No kidding, they hand-wrote on my contract, "No Way, no how!" So I asked what it would take and they said 6 figures. . . With Linkin Park, just song fees (didn't even get to the publisher) it was only $7000.00. . . How these guys are using Metallica and Disturbed I'll never know. . . Oh wait, I do know. . .

I had a couple Snowesters refer bands to me this year and we are using 2 of them!!! So THANK YOU very much for the recommendations!!!!

JIM

 

[summithd]

I'd sure like the opportunity to utilize "Master of Puppets" in a DVD...one of my favorites and it goes so well with sledding. I've even thought about recording my very own version (well at least part of it) and putting that to some sledding....but would that even be legal?

But as small production companies are the record labels even gonna give two sh!ts if we use their copyrighted music? I'm not willing to find out.

Finding good music to fit with the film is probably the most exhausting task in creating a vid and expensive when you keep it legit!

Just my 2 cents.

 

[acs47x]

Maybe the fellow snowesters could help with the music hunt, time is all some of us seem to have on here Not volunteering myself per say but maybe it could be some sort of contest. Find us a great song and if we select it we will give you a free DVD with your song in it...I don't know. I'm sure this forum could help some how with this.

Great idea!

 

[INDEEP]

Its time someone (me) speak for the peolpe...

The teasers need more "riding of the sleds"...im not a guy who wants to watch 4.5mins of slow-mo star wars art crap...give me the thriller

Regards,

Back to the original post. He's totally right. One teaser I watched this year was half over before I even saw a sled in action. Needless to say it didn't hook me and they won't get my money. Flame away.

On the music subject you're never going to please everyone. I can't stand Mountain Mod Manias tunes but they usually still get my money because of the quality footage. It must be tough listening to music that you know you're going to pass on. I wear out the button on truck stereo trying to find a good song.

 

[deviant]

I don't get the Music Thing...

Watching Sick Riding to Sick Music just makes people go out and buy the song. Most half-*** songs are made good by the visuals in the movie..

Shouldn't the Record Labels be paying the Video guys?

 

[76FOMOCO]

I don't know how many guys will agree with me but most of the time I would rather listen to the sound of the sled and the background than music! the music is nice but the footage is what i'm after, but quality tree riding, sidehill tree riding and POWDER!!!!!!!! not much for the spring super man with turbo stuff. and make the tree riding tech stuff with the pow and now we have something. and more helmet cam.

 

[acs47x]

Back to the original post. He's totally right. One teaser I watched this year was half over before I even saw a sled in action. Needless to say it didn't hook me and they won't get my money. Flame away.

On the music subject you're never going to please everyone. I can't stand Mountain Mod Manias tunes but they usually still get my money because of the quality footage. It must be tough listening to music that you know you're going to pass on. I wear out the button on truck stereo trying to find a good song.

this one of mine gets pretty straight to the riding
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztuhzR2-Okc

 

[acs47x]

i don't get the music thing...

Watching sick riding to sick music just makes people go out and buy the song. Most half-*** songs are made good by the visuals in the movie..

Shouldn't the record labels be paying the video guys?

perfectly said george!

 

[Jaynelson]

summithd teaser looked siiiiiiickk....

Agreed with hatcher tho....we've all seen the sped up clouds and weather thing in every sports film uuhh, ever. It was cool in 1994....don't need 5 minutes straight of it.

 

[Thunderstruck]

I used to think movies that used stockfootage.com or some other canned footage site to BUY time lapse shots of clouds and sunsets were lame, too. Until I realized what goes into time-lapse photography. The stuff you see in the TS8 teaser was filmed with Thunderstruck cameras. . . Used as an artistic expression to introduce the film and relax the viewer for the onslaught and fast pace of the teaser to come. I mean, really, listen to the opening music of the TS8 teaser.... It's a guy yearning in a foreign language. . . But does it fit the footage and put most viewers into a different mindset then they were in before they starting watching??? Yes. But however each of the 22 sled film companies decide to tease or entertain the Snowest crowd, believe me, one filmmaker will NEVER please all videos junkies. . . We just try our best to please as many as we can. Through our music choices, our hill climbing shots, our powder shots, our time-lapse shots, our jumps and drops, or our backcountry tree riding. . . If you think one movie has it all, well, I would love to produce that film....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH1iXWqb91g

JIM

 

[Jaynelson]

Not saying it would keep me from watching a film, or that I think TS films have too much of it. Artistic is one thing, but in some movies it drags on and on....not just sled movies, but other sports/adventure films.

 

[PowderGirl]

I think there is some awesome cinemantography going on in a lot of the teasers I've seen! But the teasers that keep me interested and really make me want more of their film are the ones that are faster moving (music & footage) and get right into the riding but I do think a quick intro with slower more dramatic music is a great start and especially love the intermingling of quick scenary shots or abstract shots.

I'd sure like the opportunity to utilize "Master of Puppets" in a DVD...one of my favorites and it goes so well with sledding. I've even thought about recording my very own version (well at least part of it) and putting that to some sledding....but would that even be legal?

Not legal without the usage rights/license.

There seems to be a lot of controversy regarding music rights and the big dogs that hold those precious use licenses!!!! Like someone mentioned, shouldnt they be paying or giving free rights to the movie makers to play that song - the movie maker is only promoting the song, right? But one of the main arguments is that it's still a performance by the the original song maker no matter how played (radio/live performance/tv/movie/remake by different band/etc.) and, for example, that songs make up half the quality of the movie - they set the mood and dramatically increase the enjoyment factor of the viewer/listener. (And I have to agree with that one even though I still want to hear sled sounds).

I dont know how you producers have the patience and time to sort through all that music!!!

 

[CoyoteGirl]

I probly listen to 100 songs per night seeking a good one.

Need to find a music fanatic that does this anyhow. They are out there!

And those royalty fees are insane! HOLY....

1/2 the time I don't even hear the music, I'm so into the video it just doesn't matter. I generally don't hear the music the first few times I watch! lol After the newness wears off though I'll listen.... and what I find is if something memorable happens then I relate it to the song playing at that moent and if/ when I hear that song that part of the video starts playing in my brain! (Roops plays alot in my head.... heheheehe)

The other day I actually heard the song from Hypnogaja that was playing during Disco's section from TS (don't remember the #, about 3 years agoish??) on the radio and instantly went to Dan carving around.

One of these days these "mental check out sessions" is gonna cause a 5 car pile up... lol

 

[Tree Boss]

While we are on the subject of music in the movies I have bought 2 CD's because of the music in the sledding DVD's that I have bought. The first was Quiet Riot bang your head that was in Compound films in the Chris Brown segment

And then the next would be Twisted Sister I Wanna Rock that was in Boondockers 4. I do believe that the music industry is way over priced, listen to what Thunderstruck had to say, those numbers are outrageous.

You would think bands that have made it would want there music in a sledding DVD. I doubt that I am the only one who watched a sledding film so much that he bought a CD so he could dream about snowmobiling while he drives around in 95 degree weather wishing it would snow. I like the old hair bands so it is great to hear them in the DVD's but I am sure they paid for it.

I can't remember the band's name that was in Evolution a few times but I really liked there music, and in fact my wife likes the last song on the DVD so much where they ride sleds on the lake that she keeps hitting the back button on the DVD to listen to the song.

Keep up the incredible movies and have less BS in front of the teasers and more riding, and the music always ROCKS!!!

Summer pisses me off and I want snow, but at least the bucks are growing antlers and the season to kill deer and ride sleds is closer every day

 

[bigbull]

Need to find a music fanatic that does this anyhow. They are out there!

And those royalty fees are insane! HOLY....

1/2 the time I don't even hear the music, I'm so into the video it just doesn't matter. I generally don't hear the music the first few times I watch! lol After the newness wears off though I'll listen.... and what I find is if something memorable happens then I relate it to the song playing at that moent and if/ when I hear that song that part of the video starts playing in my brain! (Roops plays alot in my head.... heheheehe)

The other day I actually heard the song from Hypnogaja that was playing during Disco's section from TS (don't remember the #, about 3 years agoish??) on the radio and instantly went to Dan carving around.

One of these days these "mental check out sessions" is gonna cause a 5 car pile up... lol

I have bought or procured numerous songs I have heard on the sled vids, of course I own more than most people do probably, but who hasn't seen Boost and remember Darko carving in 3' of POW in slow mo when Breathe,3 A.M. was playing and not saw that song differently ever since?

 

[snow-seeker]

I have bought or procured numerous songs I have heard on the sled vids, of course I own more than most people do probably, but who hasn't seen Boost and remember Darko carving in 3' of POW in slow mo when Breathe,3 A.M. was playing and not saw that song differently ever since?

The "Breathe" segment is one of the best I have seen.

I like the music in the films, but if you are doing a DVD, please, please give us watchers the option of running without the soundtrack and just the sled sounds. Or, (BB, this would be a question to you the producer) can it be mixed so the end user has the ability to lower the music level to where it is there, but on long side hill or pulls, the sound of the sled overpowers the music?

Also (to Jim @ TS) can you do a "director's cut" but instead of just the director commenting, it is the director and the rider(s)?

 

[03rmking]

What alot of people may not understand is when these bands sign a record deal, they are basically signing over their lifes! I can't count how many times I've contacted a band who was totally stoked to be in a film, only to have the record company laugh it off. I've even had bands sign contracts and later they find out they didn't have the authority to do so. Point being, alot of mid level bands don't even know what they signed up for with the record companies!

Of any industry or business i've ever worked with, record companies are by far the worst to deal with.

To point out how senseless they are, take this example. Youtube has a system in place that if it recognizes a song playing in a youtube video, it can list the band, song and have a direct link to iTunes to purchase it. It's up to the content owners to enables this for their songs. So say Joe Blow, makes a Youtube video and put a Sony track behind it. Sony has the ability to profit off Joe's video by enabling the itunes purchase link. But instead, they simply have Joe Blows video removed. So instead of having their song available for purchase to several hundred thousand people, they'd rather no one benefit from it.

 

[03rmking]

The "Breathe" segment is one of the best I have seen.

I like the music in the films, but if you are doing a DVD, please, please give us watchers the option of running without the soundtrack and just the sled sounds. Or, (BB, this would be a question to you the producer) can it be mixed so the end user has the ability to lower the music level to where it is there, but on long side hill or pulls, the sound of the sled overpowers the music?

To answer your question, no. Not on a DVD. Blu-ray might be a different story. However on DVD, you can have multiple soundtracks (ie music, music/sleds, sleds only) and be able to switch on the fly. We've been doing this since day 1 on all 509 videos.

 

[snow-seeker]

To answer your question, no. Not on a DVD. Blu-ray might be a different story. However on DVD, you can have multiple soundtracks (ie music, music/sleds, sleds only) and be able to switch on the fly. We've been doing this since day 1 on all 509 videos.

That is exactly what I am talking about. Why not run three tracks as you usually do, but have one full music, one low music, and one no music.

 

[Adrenaline Revolution]

I have bought or procured numerous songs I have heard on the sled vids, of course I own more than most people do probably, but who hasn't seen Boost and remember Darko carving in 3' of POW in slow mo when Breathe,3 A.M. was playing and not saw that song differently ever since?

How 'bout posting a link to it?
If I like it, I'll buy a copy!
(plus I'm bored as hell at work and need some good sled vids to watch!!!)