Post
by Jonas Rejman » Monday 14 April 2008, 0:08
@Franck
Well said!
@Silber
I guess this is a whole independent vs. commercial thing. A lot of great projects and endeavors start out as something little, something people started to do, because they felt the strong urge to do it. Against all odds, against all sanity. For some reason, there was a voice calling and this voice would never had gone away, when they ignored it.
Those are the visionarists, those who struggle, those who are said, they are wrong, until they prove with their actions, that they are not. They often fail, and then those, who never tried, those skeptics think they are right. But they are also those, who never dare.
There is a saying. For those who leap, the net will appear. Well, I can say from my experience, that that is not always true. And you fall hard. But the point is, that you stand up again, and try over. No matter what it takes.
SWOARD started out to be a passion of two guys, who felt, that something is missing in the alpine snowboarding. They did not do it for anyone but themselves. And when they showed off, what they invented (or perfectionalizes), people got interested, and thats how the business started.
The main point it, that unless you are not a millionaire, at a certain point, your endeavors should make money. Not only this is the most efficient way to silent the skeptics, but it also shows in a very straight way, if you were right with your idea in terms of whether your idea was shareable with other people, or not.
Commercial success is nothing bad. Even going for the big pile of money is not bad. I meet with a lot of independent people, who claim, that they are proud that they are not doing their projects for money. Those also never earned a cent with what they did. I also meet with a lot of commercial people, who whine, about that their business is only about money, and no creativity. This is maybe worse than the other ones, because, when you have money to invest, and want to be creative, you can be. It's much harder the other way round.
When is a project starting to be too commercial? Is it like the sundance festival, that started with people beeing in tents on the streets, because there were not enough hotels, and that is now almost a billion dollar business? Is it, when everybody started to have white earbuds coming from his jacket, indicating the ipod success? So you were not the only guy in town with that friggin' device? Is it when snowboarding started to be about what you wear, and not how you ride?
In my point of view, neither you, nor me have the right to judge such developments. Because, that is how it goes, very often, the involved people wanted only the best, and mostly, those who judge were never a big part of it.
If Patrice and Jacques' business will take over the world and start to be a million dollar business, where everybody and everyone will ride swoards, will it be a bad thing? When all the teenagers will have swoards, acting cool, but not be able to ride? Will that be bad? Or, what will happen, if they fail, SWOARD goes bankrupt, or another snowboard company will buy them out? How does one ressist a million EUR offer, when there is a family to feed and bills to pay? Nobody knows.
Again, whatever will happen, who are we to judge?
One have to look at one's investment into a project, and then have a reality check. Voluntary work, is great, serving coffee and help at events is great and very needed. Guys who help with the forums, who help with festivals etc. Yes, of course they are needed.
And they are part of something special and great. But that's maybe also the reason, why they do it, when one's honest. Because they want to be part of something special.
But where is the main responsibility and risk? Who's head is on the plate? Right, its of those who founded the company, those who design and sell the boards, those put their life savings into it, those who have to survive against Virus, F2, Burton, etc...
I do not exclude myself from that. Me too, I do not bear anything of that. Me too, I wanted to be a little part of swoard. Because it is something special in my eyes. But whether they go bankrupt tomorrow, get super rich, or shutdown, because they need to take care of their families, its nothing I would dare to judge, because its not my place.
From my point of view, it is fantastic, when people go for the unknown. When they follow they visions. If they earn a money, or a lot of money on the way, I respect that even more. Because then, they can ride both worlds. The commercial, where money rules, and the independent, where the creativity and the innovation is the key. I believe that this is possible, and there is nothing wrong, when you cash in, after taking a huge risk.
I do not believe, that extreme carving will become mainstream. Its just too much, one need to invest in terms of skills. You cannot learn it in one day. You buy the board, the binding, and from there, you are alone. From there, you are out there, and you can judge yourself against others, how skilled you are. Its not about what you wear. Its not about your googles. Its not about wheather you smoke a joint on the lift.
Its about how you ride. No safety net there.
Its difficult, it is a struggle. Such things are never mainstream. But such things always attract very special people.
I think, that extremecarving community certainly will grow. My movie may contribute to that a little. That would be an honor, and a justification for the work we put into it. But because of its kind, because of its difficulty, it will stay at a certain size. Like a high-end amplifier or a lamborghini. I have to say, that I like that idea.
@kjl
Although I am honored, that you consider coming to Vegas to see Carved, like you noticed correctly, NABshow is a trade show and not a film festival.
Parts of Carved will be shown there, along with partial footage from the film Jumper, from Stephen Soderbergh's latest films and Ringo Starr's music videos. All shoot on RED ONE. The presentations will be on different booths of companies like RED ONE, Assimilate, SpeedSix, MaxVision, Bluefish and LaserGraphics.
So no, for the "normal" audience, this might not be a good thing. But it certainly is good for the business. And I have to say, that I am very nervous, about how the reactions will be. Its a do or die thing. I am leaving tomorrow morning.
After I have survived that, I will explore all the other options of presentation, like festivals and theaters. Be sure, that I will update my first post with the screening places and dates.
Alright, wish me luck.