I wake up to the sound of my alarm. Eyes heavy with the remnants of sleep, I check the time. It’s 5:30 am, an ungodly hour by any standard. A pen falls off my desk with a crash, jolting me from the sleepy fog; it’s my cat, bored as usual. 15 minutes later—running on a mix of coffee, granola, and throat lozenges—I’m out the door. The destination: Sun Peaks Resort. The objective: a 90 second summer marketing video. Before moving forward though, let me explain how I got here.
My name is Oskar Steiner and I am a video intern at Origin Outside. Origin is an outdoor-focused, digitally driven creative and marketing agency. They understand that the work they do is no longer about advertising. It is about making connections, being true, becoming useful and ultimately motivating their clients' customers to live a more inspired life outside. If that sounds familiar, it’s because I copied and pasted it from the website you’re reading this very article on. More than that though, Origin is a place where cool things happen. After a few days on the job I realized the full scope of what goes on here. Design, video, photography, marketing, web development... every single creative discipline taken care of under one visionary umbrella.
For a company that specializes in outdoor content with outdoor brands, Origin has a remarkable indoor and gorgeous office. Dogs roam calmly, sunlight filters gracefully through the windows, and the kitchen would put any interior designer to shame. When I first walked in for my interview, it was a case of (I would) love (to work here) at first sight.
On any given day, my job consists primarily of logging footage, logging more footage, and occasionally... logging some more footage. I’m the person who watches every second of video recorded and picks out the bits that are usable. This has been a valuable experience for me because I’ve learned that even pros who make incredible movies like Magnetic still have the occasional bad take.
However, all that footage I log needs to come from somewhere. This means frequent shoots, productions, business trips... whatever you want to call them. Over the past two weeks I’ve been lucky enough to get invited on two of these missions: a sunset excursion up to the new Whistler Blackcomb suspension bridge, as well as the aforementioned two day trip to Sun Peaks.
Which brings me back to my hectic morning. I’m on the road now, the AC is tousling my hair, and the sun beaming into my eyes. My podcast (I’m listening to Serial) is keeping me entertained for the time being as I make my way to our Sun Peaks shoot. I’m slightly nervous, but I’m excited. Excited for what’s to come.
The shoots I got to be a part of were nothing short of terrific, and the experience of working with an amazing crew to make something memorable is not one I’ll ever forget. And so, with that said, I am excited to present the following photo essay on my life as an Origin video intern.
Whistler Blackcomb
This summer, Whistler Blackcomb opened a new suspension bridge connecting the real peak of Whistler Mountain to the fake peak of Whistler Mountain. Origin was tasked with displaying this thing in the best light possible (sunset light that is) for WB’s summer campaign.
Graeme and John are two of Origin’s own. Graeme is directing video on this shoot, John is taking photos, but they both operate our drone’s camera above the Roundhouse with ease. With these pros at the helm, poutine and drinks on the patio have never looked this good.
While we toil away below deck, our models sip drinks in the sun. Life is easy when you get paid to enjoy this scenery.
While waiting for the sun to set, we shot the massive snow walls on Whistler Peak; the remnants of a deep winter.
Finally, we arrive at the suspension bridge. “Hey, it’s actually kind of cool” someone says.
One of our models, Spencer, poses for me on the bridge at golden hour. “Do you want ‘The Happy Tourist’ or ‘The Influencer’?” he asks. “The influencer Spencer, I want the influencer.”
The bridge shimmers in the mid summer sun. Caught up in the moment, I’m convinced it’s the most gorgeous piece of industrial tourism infrastructure I’ve ever seen. A tear of joy makes its way down my cheek.
Taking this photo, I couldn’t think of anything else other than the fact that the sun sets directly in-line with the end of bridge. Pure magic. A modern-day Stonehenge.