Photo/ Jonathan Finch
WILLEY MILLER's webisode "ON SCENE" published by TGR (Teton Gravity Research).
Episode 3 focuses on Rokuichi Ueki, who is based in Golden, Canada. The subtitle is "IN SEARCH OF SHIKA". There is also a kanji notation such as "seeking a deer", which is exactly the leading role. Having a session with a first-class rider across the sea and leaving a work behind is quite an electrifying development.
Therefore, we asked the person himself, Shikaichi Ueki, to report on the situation during the shooting, which cannot be seen in the video. First of all, check out the important video!!
Shikaichi Ueki, who has the same pose as Wiley (left) with a slightly shy expression
A lucky encounter with Wiley Miller
"Shika! We are gonna film this winter Bro?"
October 2022.
When I was going around sponsors while struggling with the unfamiliar train movement and crowds in Tokyo, I was suddenly sent an Instagram DM. The sender is WILLEY MILLER. It was an invitation from a star who had been watching movies since the beginning of freeskiing.
The first time I met Wily was in the spring of 2022.
When I headed to the snowmobile parking lot for filming in Golden, Canada, where I live, there was a crew who had already begun preparations. There was a skier with an aura in the crew who gave off a sparkling aura that was a little different from the ski bum Golden Local.
Being a bit of a silly freeskier, I knew right away that he was Wiley from the sponsor of the gear he was wearing. It's rare to see a rider like him in Golden. When I spoke to him with courage, he answered me kindly.
"see you on the mountain"
I parted ways with him in the parking lot, but when I arrived at the shooting location, they seemed to be aiming at the same spot, and they were already pointing the camera at the slope.
Wiley came down with a stylish nose butter from a flowing turn with a well-lit support ridge. He was so moved to see his butter tricks in person, which he had always seen on screen, and he said, "Do you want to slide too?"
It was a lucky meeting, but I only met him once. Even though I was half-skeptical about such an invitation from him, I immediately sent "YES".
The appearance of a movie star that I saw for the first time
March 2023. When I got word that Wiley and the film crew had arrived in Golden, I put on my ski jacket and headed to their lodge. Is it the worst in the last 20 years? This season was so short of snow that a local legend said, but the snow was constantly falling in the last few weeks, and the conditions were the best in the season.
Powder shooting from the morning! Despite my enthusiasm when I headed for the lodge, they were glaring at their computers and cellphones in the lobby, and even after an hour or two they didn't show any sign of leaving their computers.
In fact, it seems that he was able to connect with a helicopter company the day before, and in order to realize the helicopter shooting, he was busy raising funds and contacting the essential guide.
When it comes to using a helicopter for filming, the hurdles, including the financial side, jump up at once. Will it be dozens of times more intuitive? All skiers are not good at such clerical work and sales, and global star Wiley seems to be no exception.
Contrary to the lively expression you see in the movie, there was a real appearance of frowning and hard typing emails. However, in this short period of time, he was able to build trust and raise funds with helicopter companies and guides, and was able to complete the filming thanks to his past achievements, relationships with sponsors, and his tenacity to shoot good footage. It is a technique that was possible because of In fact, the sense of scale of the video this time would have been completely different depending on whether there was helicopter shooting or not.
The kicker session takes an unexpected turn
During the shoot, I had the opportunity to do a backcountry kicker session.
A team of five takes time to find suitable terrain for making jumps.
Get used to the approach with skis, then decide the order to fly. Every time you land on a powder jump, a hole will be dug when you land. Therefore, it is the rider's feeling to want to fly in the early order.
The order is often decided by rock-paper-scissors, but I thought it was Wily's highlight, so I gave him the first place. “3-2-1 drop in!!” Wiley took off from a speedy approach and landed his signature wide-open tail grab 720.
Thinking that it was my turn next, I approached Wily, who had finished skating, and asked me to skip again, perhaps because he wasn't convinced.
If we were Japanese, we would definitely fly in order, so I put him on the side of the mobile and took him to the start again, even if it was a little awkward.
And he ended up doing that jump four times in a row, leaving me behind until he was satisfied.
After he finished flying, I went to him and asked him, "Why did you fly four times in a row?" "If you fly continuously while you still have the feeling, the success rate will be higher, and above all, if you don't decide well, you won't get a good image," he replied.
This happened several times during filming.
Even if the other crew members are satisfied, I will challenge myself many times to shoot images that I am satisfied with. of course. He has many failures and falls. Even so, he felt that he was able to leave good images because he took on more challenges than anyone else and was particular about it. However, I was a little annoyed when he flew ahead of me, using the approach I dug out to widen the flight direction (bitter smile).
Discerning shooting style that does not waste time and movement
For this shoot, he flew from Montana, where he lives, to Golden, Canada in a private Cessna.
He got his license about 10 years ago, and in the summer he uses a Cessna to work and travels to Mexico on vacation. Putting on sunglasses and headphones and holding his control stick, the side of him looks as cool as when he's skiing. During this shoot, I also had a few rides in a Cessna. The purpose is slope scoping.
Scoping to find good slopes and good snow is the most important task for shooting while sliding on one slope. Doing this in a Cessna is extremely efficient. If you walk 15km a day, you'll be exhausted, and it's hard to run 100km even on mobile. Helicopters are versatile but too expensive. But with a private Cessna like this one, I can scope most of Golden in a few hours.
“BE PRODUCTIVE” is a word often used in North American filming.
In Japanese, it would be "highly productive". In order to make a ski movie, you have to complete the required number of good runs within a set period of time. In particular, the movie project is influenced by uncontrollable factors such as the weather and snow quality, but the make-to-order system of collecting money from the sponsor first. I have to shape it somehow. Under such pressure, he has fought for many years and produced results.
The same goes for scoping in the Cessna, but I was able to do the setup in the parking lot and the preparations in the mountains faster than anyone else, and the time to inspect the slope and the time until I got to the slope from there. It was faster than anyone I've shot. Not a single second is wasted in the mountains. I will definitely leave a good picture! You can feel it in every movement.
"I'll keep sliding until the sun goes down" Always greedy until the end of shooting
Helicopter DAY was realized through various efforts.
It was snowing and sunny, and we had already been shooting three days in a row using snowmobiles.
By the way, shooting snowmobiles is several times tougher than you might imagine. If you are not used to it, I guarantee that your upper body muscles will become flat in one day. On this day, a helicopter flew in early in the morning, and skied non-stop at a high pace. Around noon, the helicopter pick-up guide asked us, "Do you want to take a little lunch break?" I skied a few big lines, and neither me nor Wiley crashed. I felt some relief. While the camera crew and I were looking at each other, saying, "Is it time to take a break?"
"NO !! Keep skiing till Sun goes down !!"
Wiley said and requested the guide to call the helicopter immediately.
We hurriedly grabbed some snacks in the few minutes before the helicopter flew by.
All the while, Wiley talks with his guide about the next slope, power bar in hand. In the end, Wiley and I drank and ate very little and kept skating.
From big mountain to trick shots with pillows, Wily leaves behind a wide range of riding variations one by one. His concentration and spirit were completely different from the riders I have photographed so far.
3 days mobile and full day helicopter.
As expected, the next day would be a day off. In the morning, I went to heli-skiing again, and in the afternoon, I used the mobile to shoot until the sun went down.
After all, I came back to the parking lot when the surroundings became dim. Everyone was exhausted, both physically and mentally, but the team worked hard and everyone looked fulfilled. Preparing for the shoot, the technique to proceed smoothly, the attitude to stick to one, and the passion to leave a good image. I really learned a lot from skating with him. He is one year older than me and still active, and made me think that I, 37, want to improve and do my best.
Wiley, thank you so much!
PROFILE
Shikaichi Ueki
Born in 1985 in Chiba Prefecture.
He continues to travel around the world, from North America, Japan, New Zealand, and Europe, in search of exciting slopes. Especially in the last few years, he has been devoted to climbing and riding, which involves slipping deep into the mountains. He is passionate about taking on bigger slope challenges. In parallel with his riding activities, he is the organizer of the JAPAN FREERIDE OPEN (JFO) held in Hakuba Cortina, and is responsible for everything from planning to operation. Sponsor/ @rmu.mtn.co , @sweetprotection_japan , @arcteryx_jp
https://www.instagram.com/shikaichiueki/
WILLEY MILLER ●Wiley Miller
Born in 1984, he continues to work as a professional skier based on Montana Boseman.
Since she was hooked up in Level1Production's movie "Realtime (2007)", she has been a movie star who has continued to play an active role in the video scene, not in the competition. She has announced signature skis for 4FRNT and RMU, respectively, and has many fans all over the world. Sponsor/ @rmu.mtn.co , @stio , @sweetprotection , @backcountryaccess
https://youtu.be/JGNNBg3_lBs