Between promoting Stept’s new flick, Mutiny, and gearing up for another busy season, Nick Martini found some time to answer your burning questions.
Next up in the Ask a Pro series: Torin Yater-Wallace. Have a question for Torin? Post it here.
Nick’s A’s to your Q’s:
@bubbles7777 asks: What would you say is more important: Hitting the gym or working on your snap game?
- Both are tight, never combine the two…
@Christopher asks: From a filmmaking perspective, what does a typical “off-season” entail as far prepping for a film? I’m curious what a “typical” budget is for a film these days, using the latest digital technology and pro athletes.
- As soon as our film gets released in the fall we have to immediately start prepping for the next one. There isn’t much of an “off-season” really. When we are not working on the film we are usually skiing and/or shooting other stuff.
@Delflanco asks: Last year you guys really brought a new entity to the filming/editing side of things with your up-tight, long lens shots, continuous intro shot and the post audio work. What does Mutiny bring to the table? Also, has your progression on the film side of things made you want to film anything bigger than a ski film? If you were given the opportunity to leave the ski industry and film for a major Hollywood film project would you?
- Every year we are trying to experiment with new filming and post-production styles. We are still learning a lot as we go, so we are never sure how things will turn out. With Mutiny we were focused on the story more than anything else. In the future it would be cool to see Stept involved with a Hollywood production, but it is not our main goal.
@magnus asks: Given your injury, or rather injuries, do you see yourself coming back to the professional level you were at? Or are you going to be moving further toward the filming side of things?
- I am getting back on snow this fall with hopes of filming with Stept and TGR. My body has taken a very bad beating over the last five years so hopefully it can keep up! No matter what, I will be skiing the rest of my life as well as making films. Hopefully I can keep an even mix of the two.
@akskier907 asks: When did you first pick up a camera? Do you see yourself filming for other companies behind the lens after your career as a skier comes to an end?
- We started filming our skiing when I was 12 and my brother [Alex] was 14. Back then, it was just to capture all the stupid shit we would do. For filming in the future I would rather be working for Stept than another business.
@lengthysoup asks: How do you like your martinis?
- Gin, dry, no olives.
@Drewb33 asks: Every time before I go skiing I watch one of your TGR/PBP/STEPT segments. What is your favorite edit, or edit that makes you the most stoked to go skiing?
- Tanner Hall’s segment from Happy Days will always be my favorite.
@Dbchili asks: Given the ups of stomping and filming some of the most progressive tricks in the sport, and downs of a plethora of life threatening injuries for the Stept crew, how would you rate what you guys do as a viable career alternative on a scale from 1 to 10? Why?
- No one in our crew will be jumping off buildings when we are 60, and we are well aware of that. Everyone has things other than skiing going on in their lives and believes in a healthy mix. Personally, I believe most of us will be involved with the ski industry for a long time.
@finn1080 asks: How has your past season been with your injury and not being able to ski?
- I got to ski for the first two months of the season, just very mellow. It was really frustrating not being able to go hard. I had to day-dream about hitting each feature we shot. I’m excited to be back on skis this fall.
To follow along with Nick’s adventures, follow @NickMartini and @SteptProductions on Instagram.
