'On Ice Perspectives' video appreciation thread

[Sylvia]

I felt like starting this thread for Jordan Cowan and his wonderful OIP videos.

Links:

About Jordan — On Ice Perspectives

www.oniceperspectives.com

January 12, 2019 Q&A:

Meet On Ice Perspectives | Edges of Glory

Not every day does someone come along and change the way we see the world, but that's exactly the Herculean task former Team USA ice dancer Jordan Cowan...

www.edgesofglory.com

The Guild of Television Camera Professionals : GTC Awards 2020 Nominations - GTC | The Guild of Television Camera Professionals

The Guild of Television Camera Professionals (GTC) is an independent, international organisation that cares about camerawork and the people who make it their craft.

www.gtc.org.uk

Dancing on Ice, ITV
Icecam (Steadicam on ice skates): Dominic Jackson and Jordan Cowan
TX date/time: Sundays between 6/01/19–10/03/19
Reason for nomination
A whole series of brilliant teamwork bringing some spectacular shots that fitted in seamlessly with the live performances and the rest of the camera coverage. The addition of the Icecam to the show helped audiences get closer to the action and feel as though they were on the ice with the skaters. I don't believe anything like this has been done on an ice-rink on a live broadcast before and the skill and synchronization required of Dom and Jordan deserves an award.

Playlist of Jordan's Live Chats with skaters featured in his videos (15 episodes to date): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8Nik2wuk2WpYEFtCMEqkI4U_bSD0PcAe

Jordan's post today about his latest passion project: https://www.instagram.com/p/CDZMLA5JNLT/

Trailblazers. Ice-breakers. Last Friday, a group of skaters put on a skating exhibition entirely for a virtual online audience. This was just a private rehearsal for friends and family, but all 60 live viewers were able to watch successfully and cheer on their favorite skaters from home.

This MONDAY, August 3rd, we’re doing it again, but this time it’s open and free for the public! So set your alarms for 11am Pacific Time (2pm Eastern Time, 1900 GMT) on the OIP YouTube channel and OnIcePerspectives.com. And get ready to enjoy live figure skating like you’ve never seen it before!

Link to watch (skater list included):

*LIVE* (Aug 3) Virtual Skating Exhibition with L.A. Elite Ice & On Ice Perspectives

Join LA Elite Ice and On Ice Perspectives for the first live skating event of 2020-21 season, produced entirely for a virtual audience. Skaters will perform ...

www.youtube.com

 

[muffinplus]

Jordan is so talented

 

[twizzletoes76]

Am I the only one who can’t stand his work? Every time I see a video posted he’s done of skaters I like—I try to watch but then get disappointed and frustrated and have to turn the damn thing off. It just makes me dizzy watching his work. I actually don’t think he’s a very good video-ographer at all.

 

[jkl]

I really enjoy Jordan’s talent and l look forward to seeing his new exhibition stream tomorrow!

 

[Sylvia]

LIVE SKATING now with commentary by a masked Adam Rippon :

*LIVE* (Aug 3) Virtual Skating Exhibition with L.A. Elite Ice & On Ice Perspectives

Join LA Elite Ice and On Ice Perspectives for the first live skating event of 2020-21 season, produced entirely for a virtual audience. Skaters will perform ...

www.youtube.com

Derrick Delmore, also masked, is introducing each L.A. Elite Ice skater beforehand (eta) and cameraman Jordan is also masked.

 

[Sylvia]

IFS article that originally was published in their August 2020 issue:

Jordan Cowan: An On Ice Perspective – International Figure Skating

Jordan Cowan is an on-ice videographer whose goal is to develop a wider audience for the sport of figure skating.

www.ifsmagazine.com

Excerpt:

“Television movies and films are something I would like to move into to help make skating look better than it does right now.
I think that I could have a decent career doing that, so my real goal is to set my name as a Hollywood videographer for figure skating. What I am trying to do is grow skating’s fan base. I would describe myself as a figure skater that makes skating videos from a skater’s point of view — an on-ice videographer — but what I do is much more than that. 
I am trying to create a new audience for figure skating that I do not see anyone else trying to do — which is to create skating fans out of people who tune into figure skating at the Olympics, but are not die-hard fans who watch every competition and do not know who all the skaters are.

 

[Sylvia]

Signs are pointing to this as Jordan's upcoming project! https://www.instagram.com/p/CEeqs1vH3SU/

ETA: https://www.instagram.com/p/CEhPd4RHooZ/

iceacademyofmontreal
We have a date.. with ALL of you!⁠
11th September 2020⁠
Montréal: 13.00⁠
Vancouver 10.00⁠
Paris: 19.00⁠
Moscow: 20.00⁠
Beijing: 01.00(+1)⁠
Tokyo: 02.00(+1)⁠
Sydney 03.00 (+1)⁠
⁠

 

[Sylvia]

Signs are pointing to this as Jordan's upcoming project! https://www.instagram.com/p/CEeqs1vH3SU/

ETA: https://www.instagram.com/p/CEhPd4RHooZ/

iceacademyofmontreal
We have a date.. with ALL of you!⁠
11th September 2020⁠

GSD thread for the Sept. 11th live event: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...ontreals-i-am-live-event-sept-11-2020.107554/

Jordan returned to the Ice Academy of Montreal to film practices on Nov. 23rd - links to watch the 3 sessions are posted starting here: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...event-sept-11-2020.107554/page-6#post-5904769

Jordan was interviewed live on the Cafecito con Masha YT channel back on Oct. 30, 2020:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj3zwFNPgdw

OIP's latest videos as uploaded on his YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/OnIcePerspectives/videos

New article by Ice-Dance.com (Dec. 12): https://www.ice-dance.com/site/jordan-cowan-and-his-on-ice-perspective/

 

[Sylvia]

570,850 views so far for this video uploaded on Dec. 6, 2020 - Oona & Gage Brown's 2020-21 Junior free dance to Metallica! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqIH9ez7d9A

As first pointed out in the U.S. Dance news thread in GSD:

Oona and Gage’s video has already logged over half a million views — I guess it must have gotten shared somewhere highly visible?

 

[gkelly]

I watched the Browns' video and halfway through started thinking "How are they getting those angles and movement? Is the camera operator on skates?"

Then I saw it was Jordan Cowan's company and realized that indeed he must have been.

 

[her grace]

That is an amazing piece of camerawork!

And wonderful skating from the Browns.

 

[IceSlider]

Am I the only one who can’t stand his work? Every time I see a video posted he’s done of skaters I like—I try to watch but then get disappointed and frustrated and have to turn the damn thing off. It just makes me dizzy watching his work. I actually don’t think he’s a very good video-ographer at all.

Yeah I can see his work might not be to everyone's taste but that said, I think the internet's has a different opinion judging by the reaction to his filming of Oona and Gage Brown's Bryant Park performance of their freedance. At 1.8m views and counting, his videography has showcased their freedance and the sport to a much wider audience. That's got to be a good thing right?...

 

[RoseRed]

Alicia & Paul are a TikTok hit (3.1 million views and counting).

Sharing here that On Ice Perspective's TikTok video of Fabbri/Ayer's Burlesque RD is a hit. Now up to 6.3 millions views and 1.6 millions likes.

 

[Lemonade20]

TikTok would definitely help get more views out there. I love Jordan’s videos!

 

[IceSlider]

570,850 views so far for this video uploaded on Dec. 6, 2020 - Oona & Gage Brown's 2020-21 Junior free dance to Metallica! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqIH9ez7d9A

As first pointed out in the U.S. Dance news thread in GSD:

It's hit 2M views now, excellent coverage for the Browns and for ice dance & figure skating more generally. Jordan has achieved his aim of taking our sport to a wider audience.

 

[Frau Muller]

I appreciate the effort and uniqueness of these videos...but they make me dizzy. Something like this was tried in ballet a few years ago - a drunken “sky cam” following dancers above the stage, during parts of the Mariinsky’s film of Balanchine’s Jewels...horrible!

 

[Colonel Green]

It's hit 2M views now, excellent coverage for the Browns and for ice dance & figure skating more generally. Jordan has achieved his aim of taking our sport to a wider audience.

The video of the Browns' RD at the Bavarian Open that I posted back in February had 473 views as of December 6, and now has over 13,200, so there's definitely some people seeking out other videos of them.

 

[IceSlider]

The video of the Browns' RD at the Bavarian Open that I posted back in February had 473 views as of December 6, and now has over 13,200, so there's definitely some people seeking out other videos of them.

That's excellent news Colonel ! Shows there's a demand for engaging ice dance!

 

[IceSlider]

I appreciate the effort and uniqueness of these videos...but they make me dizzy. Something like this was tried in ballet a few years ago - a drunken “sky cam” following dancers above the stage, during parts of the Mariinsky’s film of Balanchine’s Jewels...horrible!

Thanks Frau Muller, I can see that for some this visual experience would be disorienting and even nauseating! Strangely I'm not sure I'd like it in ballet either!!! If you have some links to some videos, I'll check thrm out and let you know.

For a lot of folk who are used to more dynamic camera work in TV, film or sports action, this type of videography is fantastic as it gives the viewer a chance to ride along with the action, we can see this in the now 3.1M views and the positive responses to this video. I think we need to cater for all tastes, especially in our sport. I'd hate for you and others who prefer more static filming to be denied that, we're all fans and should be able to enjoy the spectacle in a way that suits us!

 

[Aussie Willy]

His videos are excellent. They help you get a really good view of the skaters. And to be able to keep up with them takes great skills as a skater too. Particularly the work he has done with they Synchro teams.

 

[Lemonade20]

So true! I can't imagine how heavy all that equipment is and to be able to keep up with the skaters. He must be in the best shape of his life :-D

 

[vgerdes]

His videos are excellent. They help you get a really good view of the skaters. And to be able to keep up with them takes great skills as a skater too. Particularly the work he has done with they Synchro teams.

I'm a fan too. What he does is NOT easy. It really gives you the feel of being out on the ice with the skaters. And yes, some find that disorienting. But I enjoy it.

 

[katmari]

Happy Holidays!

Check out this great holiday fan art of our favorite skaters and videographers: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJNB3_YJ_ya/

(I saw it on Jordan's instastory. He's on the second screen.)

 

[Sylvia]

Jordan is featured in The Verge's DIY issue ("The crafts and movements people are making for themselves in 2021") today:

A former pro is helping figure skating look more authentic than ever

Figure skating can be dull to watch on TV, so Jordan Cowan gets in the rink.

www.theverge.com

 

[Sylvia]

Latest article in which Jordan is featured (May 5, 2021):

Skating Cameraman Is First for Live TV Broadcast

Remote-controlled camera rigged to skater helps capture unique angles for “Dancing on Ice”

www.tvtechnology.com

He has teamed up with Kaitlyn Weaver for another "Open Ice" project (announced by them on April 25 in this IG Live): https://www.instagram.com/tv/COGJl0tJ3n_/

OPEN ICE : VISIONARIES (coming June 2021):

Open Ice Collective

Open Ice is a space for evolved interaction with figure skating that fosters a collaborative and connected community, who directly impact and advance the sport.

www.openicecollective.com

 

[Sylvia]

May 7th article on Jordan:

Behind the scenes: Dancing On Ice’s skating cameraman

A stabilised and remote-controlled broadcast camera is carried by a figure skater among the dancers.

www.broadcastnow.co.uk

Excerpts:

The Guild of Television Camera Professionals nominated the pair [Cowan & cameraman Dominic Jackson] for an award in 2019 as a result, and Cowan commented: “The Ice Cam revolutionized Dancing on Ice and gave audiences a new way to appreciate the real speed skaters experience on the ice. The 360 degree shots also let us see the back of the studio and audience for the first time, something the show’s set designer really appreciated because he always puts work into making a full 360 degree experience.

Going forward with the 2021 season, Cowan pointed to continued development of the technique: “I want to keep pushing myself into the professional TV and movie world, because I believe that seeing skating in television, movies and on live TV shows is going to be so important for the future of this sport.”

Jordan recently filmed Kaitlyn Weaver's solo performance, commissioned by the Ice Theatre of New York, that was broadcast this past Thursday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8OMudI09gM&t=1601s

Kaitlyn also shared her performance as an IGTV video on her ka2sh IG account: https://www.instagram.com/tv/COlErmSBYEg/

: “I Feel the Earth Move” written and performed by @carole_king
⛸: Kaitlyn Weaver @ka2sh
CHOREO: @eliothalverson & @ka2sh
: Thrift store
& 🎞: @oniceperspectives

ETA that I forgot to post the link to Jordan's 10 photos & message after he got the opportunity to film the Stockholm Worlds exhibition gala: https://www.instagram.com/p/CNH1xGurXqB/

Thank you to the ISU for believing in me. Thank you to Bo the director for trusting me. Thank you my patrons and followers for always supporting me. Thank you to @jamalaothman @markeyintlarts for getting me here. Thank you to my wife @taliabarringtonpro for always encouraging me. Thank you to @jmfotoz for these incredible photos. And thank you to all the skaters in the gala for letting me broadcast your ‘On Ice Perspectives’ to the world!

From the bottom of my heart, thank you, and I look forward to doing this again.