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It all starts with the cry: “Free the sculptures!”
For the past 22 years, about 15 teams have descended upon Breckenridge from all corners of the world to transform 10x10x12, 20-ton blocks of snow into unique works of fine art in 65 hours, without the use of power tools or supports.
Last year, Peter McGuire, a Silverthorne second-home owner and Highlands Ranch resident, captured the magic on a DVD called “Snow Carvers.”
McGuire introduces the event, which combines art, physical and mental challenges and a race against time (and the elements), by interviewing events manager Vanessa Agee, co-founder Rob Neyland and a number of team members from Vermont, Yukon and Mexico.
“It's really incredible to see them (carve), but it's even more fun to find out what they're thinking and what motivates them, because they don't win any money, and they're traveling from all over the world,” he said, adding they often work late into the night in single-digit temperatures.
Each team has its own personality and artistic method. Team Alaska likes to tell stories through its sculptures, Team Vermont wore white and black striped shirts and acted goofy the entire time (but they were serious in using a Plexiglas grid model of the two heads they planned to carve, marking off every inch to represent each foot of the snow block), and Yukon was the most serious and competitive.
McGuire shot about 40 hours of raw footage to make the 70-minute documentary. The former software salesman began taking film classes at Colorado Film School and graduated last May. This is his first full-length film, and he's submitted it to several film festivals, including ones in Boulder, Vail, Newport Beach, Palm Springs, and, of course, Breckenridge. He should be hearing back from them in the next few months, he said.
One of the biggest challenges he faced making the film was the cold weather, which started to freeze the fluid head mounts that allow the cameras to move smoothy on tripods. He also encountered artists who didn't want to be bothered during critical carving times, and with teams like Mexico, he had trouble with the language barrier.
However, he was able to pull out the passion in Team Mexico's captain. Originally, McGuire didn't plan on following the Mexican team, but when he saw them spray painting the snow as their way of planning, he became intrigued. They believed the snow “has its own personality,” so they ask the snow what it would like to be, what it will permit.
McGuire captures the tension of carving as Team Breckenridge saws away the last few millimeters of snow supporting a 12-foot horizontal span, creating a frame. However, he had to cut footage about a team of Australians who created a lamp post in a plastic tube and worried it would collapse as soon as they removed the mold; he didn't have enough footage leading up to the post building, so it didn't make sense to keep it, he said.
He said next time, he probably would have spent more time on the artists backgrounds and what motivated them, but the film definitely captures the spirit of the international competition, with its excitement, intensity, exhaustion and final elation.
For the past 22 years, about 15 teams have descended upon Breckenridge from all corners of the world to transform 10x10x12, 20-ton blocks of snow into unique works of fine art in 65 hours, without the use of power tools or supports.
Last year, Peter McGuire, a Silverthorne second-home owner and Highlands Ranch resident, captured the magic on a DVD called “Snow Carvers.”
McGuire introduces the event, which combines art, physical and mental challenges and a race against time (and the elements), by interviewing events manager Vanessa Agee, co-founder Rob Neyland and a number of team members from Vermont, Yukon and Mexico.
“It's really incredible to see them (carve), but it's even more fun to find out what they're thinking and what motivates them, because they don't win any money, and they're traveling from all over the world,” he said, adding they often work late into the night in single-digit temperatures.
Each team has its own personality and artistic method. Team Alaska likes to tell stories through its sculptures, Team Vermont wore white and black striped shirts and acted goofy the entire time (but they were serious in using a Plexiglas grid model of the two heads they planned to carve, marking off every inch to represent each foot of the snow block), and Yukon was the most serious and competitive.
McGuire shot about 40 hours of raw footage to make the 70-minute documentary. The former software salesman began taking film classes at Colorado Film School and graduated last May. This is his first full-length film, and he's submitted it to several film festivals, including ones in Boulder, Vail, Newport Beach, Palm Springs, and, of course, Breckenridge. He should be hearing back from them in the next few months, he said.
One of the biggest challenges he faced making the film was the cold weather, which started to freeze the fluid head mounts that allow the cameras to move smoothy on tripods. He also encountered artists who didn't want to be bothered during critical carving times, and with teams like Mexico, he had trouble with the language barrier.
However, he was able to pull out the passion in Team Mexico's captain. Originally, McGuire didn't plan on following the Mexican team, but when he saw them spray painting the snow as their way of planning, he became intrigued. They believed the snow “has its own personality,” so they ask the snow what it would like to be, what it will permit.
McGuire captures the tension of carving as Team Breckenridge saws away the last few millimeters of snow supporting a 12-foot horizontal span, creating a frame. However, he had to cut footage about a team of Australians who created a lamp post in a plastic tube and worried it would collapse as soon as they removed the mold; he didn't have enough footage leading up to the post building, so it didn't make sense to keep it, he said.
He said next time, he probably would have spent more time on the artists backgrounds and what motivated them, but the film definitely captures the spirit of the international competition, with its excitement, intensity, exhaustion and final elation.
