At 4:00 on 2/24 I sat down with James Dyer to watch the daily video from the Kirkwood Ski Resort website.  Since we both have experience on the mountain, it was a good choice for the two of us.  We opened up the webpage from James’ laptop and noticed that it had a very sleek design with cool colors such as green and blue with a large picture of a skier, chest deep in powder “rippin’ it up”.  We clicked on the video and it started with a close-up of resort employee Tim Cohee, a middle-aged man who talked about the great conditions and the fresh snow they recently received.  He used clever rhetorical devices to appeal to all riders and encouraged people to come up to the mountain.  We then were showed a montage of snowboarders making long, arching turns down the mountain.  Since they were shot at a low-angle, they managed to look like they were going fast while simultaneously taking it easy in terms of physical exertion.  In practically every shot, they filmed the boarders in the tree line so that the viewer could see the snow that collected on the branches which indicates fresh snow.  With the exception of one brief shot of a skier, every shot was of a snowboarder exerting themselves with various levels of difficulty.  While they showed the montage, the played a blues-based, boogie-woogie type song in a laid back ¾ time which mirrored the easy going nature of the boarders riding.  The clip ended with a long shot of the mountain to give a sense of scope and then faded to black with the banner “Music by AJ & the Shapes” in white letters.

Before we watched the video, we established the criteria of whether or not it would appeal to the proper demographic and showcase the culture of the mountain.  In my opinion, they focused primarily on snowboarders and capitalized on the stereotypical laid back snowboard culture through its use of montage and music, although the man introducing the video and the picture on the front page were more in league with skier culture.  Since I have a season’s pass to Kirkwood, I know that they primarily cater to skiers, but snowboarders compile a large portion of their demographic.  Even though the video appealed primarily to one demographic (the snowboarder), it still effectively offered all viewers a comprehensive look at what they represent as an institution (laid back manner, fun being the primary objective), and what the mountain has to offer.