The Best Drone Shot of The Year

Now, zippy drones equipped with high-fidelity cameras can bob and weave alongside the athletes as they descend committing big mountain lines, producing previously unseen shots that take the ski movie magic further.

The fruits of ongoing ski cinematographic progression are on full display with this video of Parkin Costain in Teton Gravity Research’s 2024 release, Beyond The Fantasy. Shot by the drone maestro Patrick Conway in Haines, Alaska, this is POWDER’s drone shot of the year.

Click the embedded Instagram post below to watch the clip. Come back for more information about the clip and TGR's Beyond The Fantasy.

POWDER's Drone Shot of the Year:

Not all drone footage is created equally. One unsightly twitch of the drone camera can shatter the illusion, transforming the footage into a jittery, nauseating mess that distracts from what’s most important: the skiing.

Thanks to Conway's deft aerial maneuvers, though, filmmaking and skiing work in concert here, elevating one another to construct an elegant bit of footage that blurs the line between sport and art. Excitement, awe, maybe some jealousy—if you experience any of these emotions while watching a ski movie, you’ve found a treasure trove of the good stuff.

And this drone shot is just one slice of the on-screen shenanigans featured in Beyond The Fantasy . The film traverses numerous top-notch mountains, stopping by hair-raising lines in Alaska, Austria, Norway, British Columbia, Alaska, and TGR’s backyard, Jackson Hole. Young athletes like Kai Jones, Parkin Costain, and Maggie Voisin supply the talent with backing from veterans Tim Durtschi, Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, and Ian Mcintosh. They’re joined by several more rippers, including an all-time appearance from one of freeskiing’s greats, Sammy Carlson.

For Jones, Jackson’s local wunderkind, Beyond The Fantasy, presented an opportunity to get back in the saddle. After recovering from a heavy slam in 2023, Jones visited the legendary Spine Cell in Girdwood, Alaska, alongside some of his TGR comrades—with the cameras rolling, of course. How’d it go? You’ll have to watch Beyond The Fantasy yourself. 

The film’s touring now with screenings across the globe. Click here to scope dates, times, and tickets. In a world gripped by an obsession with social media, nothing beats the digital-era blues like crowding into a theater with some of your best pals to get the pre-season stoke going. Skiing is meant to be seen on the big screen.

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