Introduction
Within this multimedia website I plan on making a site featuring snowboarding. More specifically, my friends and I snowboarding. My friends and I have been filming small short videos and working towards making a longer video project from our snowboarding over the past couple of years. This multimedia site would be a great platform to have all the media we have collected over the years in one easy to access place. Not only would this be a great topic for my site because of the amount of passion I would have behind the project allowing me to be excited and driven to do as well as possible, but it would also be great for not only my own, but all of my friends snowboarding “careers”. My friends and I have been snowboarding at a high level for many years which has allowed us to pick up some sponsorships from local boardshops, snowboard manufacturers, and outerwear companies. Having all of our media in one easy to see platform would be great from a marketing standpoint allowing for us to expand to a bigger audience.
This website will cover who we are and what we do, acting as a background information page of sorts. Telling stories of our own experiences within the snowboard industry, stories of getting seriously injured and the steps that were taken to get back to being healthy and back to what we love, and even discussing future plans so that people know what they can expect to see in the future. Within the snowboard industry, especially since the beginning of the social media age, there are thousands of insanely talented people making the industry extremely hard to get a foot in the door. One big thing that sets people apart from others is having a personality attached to the snowboarding, simply just seeing tricks being done is not enough, and developing a personality behind the snowboarding can be tough. This site is going to act as a means of breaking down the barriers that split a person from what they do on a snowboard and making them into one. Not only will this make our content more enjoyable, but it will also make us feel more attached to our snowboarding whereas our videos will not just be another video, but OUR videos.
Rationale
This media site is not just another assignment that I will forget about after I am done with my class, I plan on continuing this, if possible, long after this semester. This is important to me because snowboarding is practically what I have devoted my life to, most of my achievements are through snowboarding, and most of my life revolves around snowboarding. I have spent 13 years snowboarding and enjoyed every second of it, especially when I get to snowboard with my closest friends. Growing up I was a very shy person and found making friends hard. Snowboarding has allowed me to meet people I might never have been able to before in my life all because of the one shared interest that sparked initial conversation. This even allowed me to recently move into a house with some of my closest friends who I met and built relationships with through snowboarding. Knowing that there is such a massive group of people who all share a passion for snowboarding makes me believe that people will be interested in the perspective my friends and I have of the snowboarding industry as up and coming snowboarders in the social media age. People have shown interest in our recent short video project which amounted to a couple thousand views in the first week, and hopefully this site can grow on this and take our content to the next level.
Core angles/questions relevant to the topic
Throughout this multimedia site the main objective is to explore the difficult world of trying to make a name for yourself, and standing out in the competitive snowboard industry. It’s no secret that the snowboard industry is not cheap, with a new board setup running close to $2000 and that’s before you even buy your outerwear kit, passes, and transport to and from the ski hills. Exploring the tough issues like how we make money to spend on what some would consider the new golf when it comes to price points of sports. Another dimension that will be explained is the server differences between the competition side of snowboarding and the video-part side of snowboarding. Some may see all snowboarding as just snowboarding but once you delve deep into the cultural and athletic differences there is a clear difference between all aspects of snowboarding.
Throughout my friends and my many many years of snowboarding we have obtained many great stories. Some of the stand out ones that are planned on being shared is the time one of my friends jumped off the wrong part of a cliff falling 80 feet bouncing off trees on the way down breaking his back, then the following 3 hours of cold tough rescue that followed to get him to the hospital. Not all of our stories revolve around injuries though, like the countless times someone has battled for days to learn a new trick and finally landing it and feeling the euphoria that comes with learning a new trick. Some stories may not be centered around snowboarding, rather, centered around experiences with the snowboard industry from trying to get our first initial sponsorships, to how to maintain relationships with the sales reps in order to maintain those sponsorships. Other stories may come up within the creative process of this multimedia site, so stay tuned for more to follow.
Media Outline
Informative Text story with photos
One of the great stories that I will be able to cover in this multimedia site is a story from when my friend accidentally fell off of a 80 foot cliff, bouncing off of trees on the way down which ended up breaking his back. The process of getting him out of a hard to reach spot took me, my snowboard coach, and three ski patrol people three hours to safely get him off of the mountain. From triggering a small avalanche to being in a hard to reach area in deep snow, nothing went to plan. The pictures I have from this accident will be perfect to paint a great picture of the event in readers’ heads. Being able to interview and get Ben’s perspective (the snowboarder who was involved in this crash) will also be a great addition that will allow this story to be even more vivid and capturing. The mix of pictures, captivating story, and learning experiences from this event will make it perfect for an informative text story with photos assignment.
Audio Interviews
Having access to so many people as passionate about snowboarding as I am allows for a great variety of opinions on issues within snowboarding. For the audio interviews assignment my plan is to Interview 3-5 people and ask the question “why do you snowboard”? So many people snowboard for different reasons and a listener getting to hear why people are so passionate about snowboarding could inspire someone to try it out. Some people snowboard to be in the mountains, some use it as an escape from real life problems, and some people just like to be out with their friends. Not only will this let people know the deeper meaning of snowboarding, but it will also remind people that snowboarding is not about doing the best tricks or doing the best in a contest, it is all about enjoying yourself. Using strictly audio for this will allow for people to form opinions on what matters without the distraction of what people look like and what they can do on a snowboard. Using just audio simplifies it down to what matters, much like how in the question being asked it simplifies snowboarding down to just what matters.
Editorial Slideshow
For the editorial slideshow aspect of this multimedia site I will argue that people should give snowboarding more than one try. So many people go one day and decide they do not like snowboarding, basing all of the snowboarding or any activity for the matter, on one days experience is not an effective way to gauge enjoyment. Even after snowboarding for 13+ years I have some bad days on the hills and if I were to gauge all of my snowboarding experience on those days I would have missed out on one of my favourite things. Extending the message of trying things more than once past snowboarding will also be an aspect of this editorial slideshow. To have a full unbiased opinion I will do research into why some people don’t like snowboarding and even have suggestions for people to avoid these bad experiences that turned them away. Piecing together media and text through a slideshow will engage viewers and allow for a clear concise method of conveying the message to viewers.
Investigative Video
Investigative videos are a great way to show all aspects of a problem or issue. For my investigative video I will delve into why the aspect of snowboarding that gets the most media coverage, contests, are bad for the sport. Being able to cover this issue within the snowboard industry with background information and experience within this topic will allow for a good viewpoint on this issue. In order to reduce biases on this topic I will also try to interview my old coach who coached olympic teams in the past, Professional snowboarders who I know to get their opinion on the question and even someone who works behind the scenes in the snowboard industry as a shop owner. With all of these methods of getting information and utilizing research from the internet I will be able to create an engaging piece that delves into the question, are snowboard contests bad for the snowboard industry and culture?