Ski Moments in Time
Ski Moments in Time is a new series of television (and potentially radio) vignettes that aim to educate and entertain the general public—skiers and non-skiers alike. Each segment highlights an historical moment in snowsports in the United States. Topics span the last two centuries, covering all aspects of outdoor winter activities, including competition, fashion, ski areas and towns, the evolution of gear, technique, and enthusiasm for winter. The series is produced and directed by noted ski-filmmaker Richard Moulton and, Lisa Densmore, in conjunction with the New England Ski Museum. The New England Ski Museum has one of the most extensive collections of archival ski footage and recorded oral commentaries of famous and influential snowsport personalities.
"Moments" are introduced and narrated by Lisa Densmore, a former member of the U.S. Ski Team and an award-winning television personality, and are directed and produced by Richard Moulton, well known for his two award-winning PBS productions on winter sports. Each "Ski Moment In Time" contains historical footage and interviews. Period music and other effects support the sometimes dramatic, sometimes whimsical story of that particular "Moment." Each segment concludes with a short close by Ms. Densmore and the website for the New England Ski Museum as a source for more ski history.
Radio segments could be produced as an audio only version of these television segments. The radio spots would use the same historical soundbites and music, but with additional voice-over support and sound effects as needed.
Ski Moments in Time will appear stand-alone vignettes between regular scheduled programming. They are designed to appeal to viewers of all ages and will debut in rotation on the Resorts Sports Network, (RSN) this fall. Last winter was a record-breaking year in terms of participation in snow sports—with over 15 million participants nationwide—and RSN is cable programmer affiliated in virtually all ski and snowboard resorts throughout Canada and the United States.
Running Times
Total number of segments currently in the series: 7 two-minute spots produced for television. Configured as two-minute spots, the running time of the "Ski Moments" can be adjusted to fit a selected time slot. A shortened version of each of these original 7 moments will be provided at the RSN web site as streaming video.
Distribution
Will be aired nationally on the Morning Show on Resort Sports Network (or their affiliates) beginning in November of 2005 and continuing throughout the 2006-2007 season.
Segments
The variety of the first selected topics for Ski Moments in Time conveys the depth of our resources available to make these spots. Like the running time, future storylines can be adjusted to fit a sponsor's area of interest. The extensive archive of old films, combined with many intriguing storylines allows complete versatility in having the spots reflect a sponsor's interest.
Snow
1. "Snow": Up close, the snowflake is a crystalline lattice of enticing intricacy. Look again, and it's the stuff of mighty avalanches. An overview of the fluffy stuff from Vermont's Snowflake Bentley, who proved in 1920 that every snowflake is unique.
Competition
2. "Silver Streak": A look at Penny Pitou's two silver medals at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, including her memories of "fixing" Vice President Richard Nixon.
Fashion
3. "Snow Clothes": A timeline of skiwear from early "ski togs" to the latest speed suits, with a special focus on Maria Bogner's introduction of the stretch pant—"You know they fit correctly if you can tell whether a dime in a woman's back pocket is heads or tails."
Equipment
4. "The Incredible Shrinking Ski": The evolution of skis from 12-foot blanks to the 4-foot slalom skis of today; which changed ski design forever.
5. "The Telemark Turn": The telemark turn, the original ski turn, faded mid-20th century only to return as the backcountry technique-of-choice today. Historic soundbites from Clarita Heath Bright, a member of America's first Olympic ski team about how "old fashion" telemark was in her era, and from Dick Hall, Founder of the North American Telemark Organization (NATO) about why telemark has regained its popularity.
6. "Snowboarding Revolution": Snurfing, jumps, crashes, epic powder—it is all part of snowboarding in its earliest days, with soundbites from Vermonter Jake Burton, founder of Burton Snowboards, on why his sport came to be.
Resorts
7. "Rope tows": A fun look back at the early ski tows, which made getting up the slopes and the top of the mountain a lot easier (and in some cases not so safely), thus opening snowsports to the masses.
Key Personnel
Ski Moments in Time is co-produced by Lisa Densmore and Richard Moulton, who are members of the Board of Directors of the New England Ski Museum.
Lisa Densmore
Among her many awards and honors, Lisa Densmore is the only journalist to receive three Harold Hirsch Awards for "excellence in snowsports journalism" in the broadcasting category from the North American SnowSports Journalists Association (NASJA). With over 13 years experience in radio and television, she is one of the most recognizable on-camera personalities in winter sports. Originally the host of Ski New England on The Travel Channel and an analyst during ESPN's alpine skiing coverage, she spent six years as host of The Resort Report, the national morning show on Resort Sports Network (RSN), then produced the show for another two years This versatile journalist has also worked as a writer, field producer, host, commentator and reporter during winter sports programming for networks as diverse as Turner Sports, CBS, OLN and A&E. Lisa has been involved with OLN off and on for seven years, including stints a host/writer of various ski tips, as associate producer/on-camera field tester for Gear Guide, field producer/reporter for Summer SportsZone, and as the associate producer/writer/host of OLN's first awards show—The GG's.She is currently the co- host and a field producer for Wildlife Journal (NH PTV). Lisa is a former member of the U.S. Ski Team and the Women's Pro Tour. She remains competitive on the Masters circuit and currently holds 28 national Masters titles. A graduate of Dartmouth College, she will be inducted into that university's sports hall of fame in May 2004.
Richard Moulton
Rick Moulton began his career as a filmmaker 30 years ago with two surfing movies—Freeform and Oceans—which were shot far from snow, in Hawaii and California. He returned to New England in the 1970s, where he spent the decade working for Vermont Public Television. As an independent filmmaker in the early 1980s, his film, Legends of American Skiing, won the Banff Mountain Film Festival and was released nationally on PBS. An avid skier, Rick has created numerous productions within the snow-sports industry, including Ski Magazine's yearly Vegas Video. Moulton has produced numerous spots for the National Republican Committee and the New York advertising agencies BBDO and Feber, Bender & Jeklow, for national clients including Rolex, Ray-Ban and Visa. His industrial clients include NBC, IBM, The New York Times Magazine Group and the R.J. Reynolds Corp. Two of his award-winning productions, Change and Challenge and Vermont Memories were nominated for Emmys. Rick has a deep interest in, and extensive experience working with old films, setting up the Care Collection for the New York Public Library and a film archive for the National Ski Hall of Fame, and most recently working with the Lowell Thomas collection.
New England Ski Museum
Located in Franconia, NH, the New England Ski Museum is a non-profit, member-supported museum dedicated to collecting, preserving and exhibiting elements from the broad spectrum of ski history for the purpose of research, education and entertainment. Established in 1982, the museum houses the most extensive collection of historical ski equipment, clothing, film, photographs, literature, posters and artwork in the Eastern United States. Its extensive archive is renowned by scholars and historians. The United States Ski Association officially recognizes the New England Ski Museum as one of only four regional ski museums in the country.
Keystone Productions Titles
Legends of American Skiing
George Aiken
Change and Challenge
Vermont Memories
Vermont Memories II
Thrills and Spills