The Road Ahead
Freestyle Canada
The Road Ahead - Presented by Toyota
Directed by Gordie Rogers & Geoff Hewat
Produced by The Grove (formerly: South Chair Media) & Sebastien Berthiaume, Brody Norton, Sandra Haziza
4 Part Micro Series | 2019
Cinematographers: Geoff Hewat, Gordie Rogers, Sebastien Berthiaume, Max Bailey
The Road Ahead is a 3 season micro documentary web series created to tell the stories of the Freestyle Canada ski team athletes. Each episode gives a look behind the scenes of each of Freestyle Canada’s different teams, athletes, and how they approach the highly competitive nature of their sport.
Through all three seasons, our approach was to provide the viewer with a depth of understanding about the sport and athletes that went beyond the typical sponsor or broadcast footage.
Season 1:
In the inaugural season, each episode focuses on two athletes from each discipline (Moguls, Aerials, Big Air/Slopestyle, and Halfpipe), with one athlete being more cemented as a leader in the field and the other a more prospective talent. This relationship allowed us to cover both sides of the sport, from those who have already achieved success and want to maintain it, and those who are pushing to make the next level.
We centred our focus on one event for each episode, concentrating on the pressures from the crowd, family, fans and each other to perform. Shot on location in Calgary, Quebec City and Lac Beauport.
Watch all of Season 1 Here:
Season 2:
For season 2, athletes lives and competition goals were greatly disrupted by the covid-19 pandemic. Their training, however, did not stop, as athletes continued to prepare for a season full of uncertainty. Requiring a novel approach to work around production constraints of no close contact with our subjects whatsoever, the concept of “On The Line” was born, where athletes conducted interviews from their hotel rooms in training camps. Paired with footage filmed at distance at training camps, this season tells the in-depth story of 4 athletes and their backstory.
Watch all of Season 2 Here:
Season 3:
For season 3, perspectives shift once again, this time examining the off season of the Freestyle Canada teams. 4 athletes summer training schedules are documented, showing the time and energy that must be dedicated year round in order to perform. Injury, past seasons challenges, and next season's goals are predominant themes in this off-season look at Canada’s top skiing athletes. Shot on location in Whistler and Lac Beauport.
