One of the hardest things to do, but most rewarding terms of clip quality is plan what you want your shots for the day to look like. Talk to whomever you’re filming the day before and get an idea of what they want to ride and do. If it’s park or urban and you know what the feature and area are like, start thinking about what might look good. Maybe even go so far as sketching up a storyboard so you don’t forget anything on the day.

The same applies for shooting pow or backcountry, but weather is also an important aspect here, so keep checking the forecast (as if you don’t already…). If you already have an idea of what you want to get, it speeds up getting set up for the shot and gives you more time to film. Things might not always go to plan once changes in weather, injuries and hangovers all start kicking in, but at least if you have a plan you can adapt it later on. Having a good idea of what music you’re going to use in advance is a good idea too. It lets you find the shots that will fit the tone of the edit, but more on that next week…