No Snow? No Problem.

Sweetgrass Productions brings the “ski-anything” fantasy to life with their snow-free Forest Segment in their film Valhalla. See how they did it.

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The New Look of Adventure Sports Films?

Sweetgrass Productions’ Valhalla marries narrative filmmaking to powder-shredding.

Weaving narrative into extreme sport films is a move that I’ve been expecting for a while, as viewers like myself, begin to lose interest in seeing skiers and mountain bikers simply huck themselves off of every lip in sight.

“By far our most impressive film to date, detonating the boundaries of the action sports genre, and filled with harder hitting ski and snowboard action and more soulful story than’s ever been packed into 60 minutes.” –Dana Richardson, Sweetgrass Productions

Whether the story that provides the backbone of this film is fiction, non-fiction, or a mix of both doesn’t really matter to me. What’s important is whether the narrative they chose  feels more full than the driving guitar chords that usually link back-flips, and sick powder lines. If it does, this film will be a game-changer.

The film maybe dropping by your neighborhood. If so, it might be worth seeing on the big screen. If you happen to be in Denver on Sept. 13th, check out the Premiere (and party down with Sweetgrass afterward.)

Grain Silo Timelapse – Rapelje, MT

The sky in central Montana is force that plays different characters on different days. Today it was playful in a way it hasn’t been in several moody weeks. Watch until the end, and you’ll see the shadow of another storm begin to slide across the sky.

This is my first time-lapse in Rapelje, set up while I interviewed Laila, the manager of the Stockman Cafe. I’m looking forward to making more. With time such an important part of the story, I’m thinking that they may play a big part in the film.

Check out the film’s website HERE.

Rapelje, Montana

Stills from my first trip to Rapelje filming my short documentary on the 24 Hours of Rapelje, the town’s famous mountain bike race. Special thanks to Sally Orr for giving me tour of the area, and helping me lay the ground-work for the film!

Stockman Cafe in downtown Rapelje, Montana.

Long, straight roads characterize the landscape here, yet belie the seriously hilly terrain just outside of town.

Grain elevator, Rapelje, MT

Grain Elevators, Rapelje, MT

Stockman Cafe, Rapelje, MT

Local brands.

Rural charm and utility displayed inside the Stockman cafe.

wood-burning stove turned coffee bar inside the Stockman.

Framed photos of the winners of every 24 Hours of Rapelje are displayed on the walls of the Stockman Cafe.

Newspaper clippings from races past line the walls of the Stockman Cafe.

Hailstone Wildlife Refuge sits near the 24 Hours race course.

Barbed-wire. Everywhere.

Dilapidated house near the Hailstone Wildlife Refuge. Rapelje’s landmark grain elevators stand in the background.

Rugged plants push up through the alkaline soil.

Perfect vehicle for Montana’s backroads.

Alkaline flat in a dry lake-bed near Rapelje.

From the Archive: Commute Another Way

Sometimes it’s helpful, when you’re trying to see where you’re going, to look back into the past. Sometimes, it’s just fun.

There have been some changes here at Life’s Fast. We’re diving into scripting short films (and maybe some feature-length films, in the future.) While this seems like a departure for me from documentary-style filmmaking, it’s actually taking me back full-circle.

My first video was inspired by the “Commute Another Way Week” challenge to inspire alternative ways of getting to work. If you’re already a cycle / pedestrian commuter, there’s really only one truly alternative way to go.

Of course, I didn’t walk backwards all week. I did make a fictional account of my backwards walking experience.

And, if I can ignore the voice of my inner-editor, the video still makes me smile. It was fun to make, and it’s still pretty amusing to people when they see it.

YouTube’s Sundance Screening Room

SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL has begun, and if you’re like most of us, you’re not there.

Kat Candler’s “Black Metal”

There is a way to see some of the short films premiering, however. YouTube has licensed a selection of the short films to be screened on YouTube’s Sundance Screening Room.

Plug your computer into your TV, dim the lights, and see a little of what you’re missing.

2013 Demo Reel

New Demo Reel is up!

Footage is from projects that I have both filmed or edited. At least one of these projects hasn’t been released, yet. Keep checking in at Matador Network for the documentary series about the Future Patagonia National Park, and the dams that threaten it. The series should start rolling out early this spring.

Looking back, 2012 was a great year of interesting projects. We’re really looking forward to 2013, and all the projects in the works, as well as some that we haven’t even dreamed of, yet.

How to Start a Bike Shop

Check out our new video for Matador Network.

Special thanks to Dave and Kevin of Hellgate Cyclery in Missoula, Montana for making this happen!

Life’s Fast is Back Under the Big Sky!

It’s official, Life’s Fast Productions has moved its headquarters to beautiful Big Sky Country! While this won’t affect our video projects throughout the country, we are excited to begin working our video magic in Montana.

"Pictograph Caves State Park" Photo by Jeff Handlin. See more at: http://jeffhandlinblog.wordpress.com/

We are hoping to be Billings, Montana’s premiere video production company, telling stories about the local people, places, and organizations that make Montana such a unique place to be.

"Prairie Winds Near Molt, Montana" Photo by Jeff Handlin. See more at: http://jeffhandlinblog.wordpress.com/

Moving back to Montana is a homecoming for the team. We are excited to get back here and apply what we’ve learned to this amazing place. We have plans to partner up with some of the local talent on some of our newest projects. The photographs shown here are from local photographer and timelapse artist Jeff Handlin.

"Sacrifice Cliff" Photo by Jeff Handlin. See more at: http://jeffhandlinblog.wordpress.com/

As far as new projects, we have some new stuff that will be working its way to the surface in the coming months, so keep an eye open for those.

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Photography provided by Jeff Handlin Photography. Check out his latest adventures HERE. Also, check out his very-reasonably-priced fine-art prints.

Where has this been all my life?!

It’s always a little disquieting to stumble upon something that you should have been a part of all along. It’s like wandering into a room  and you find all of your friends having a party. It’s not that you were intentionally not-invited, it’s that you somehow missed all of the signs taped to every wall in your house.

Sure, it sucks that you weren’t at the party from the beginning, but now that you’re here, you might as well join in.

That’s how I felt when I fell into “The Dirtbag Diaries,” produced by Fitz Cahall. The worst part is that the signs for the party were basically taped to my forehead, and I still missed them! I’ve been following Fitz Cahall through his amazing collaboration with Bryan Smith on “The Season,” a web TV series following climbers, mountain bikers, snowboarders, etc through a season of trying to live the adventures they set out to complete.

Using the word ‘enamored’ to describe my feelings for both “The Season” and “The Dirtbag Diaries” would be drastic understatements. I’ve downloaded every podcast of “The Dirtbag Diaries” available and pretty much have it on an IV drip. You may think that it would be impossible to edit video footage of interviews while listening to Fitz telling amazing stories of adventurers, but somehow I manage.

Search itunes for “The Dirtbag Diaries” or check them out HERE.

Also, check out the beautifully narrated and filmed “The Love Letter.” You’ll be so glad you did.