Written by on Mar 14, 2011. Posted in Production News

Camera operators swap tracks for skis on location in Austria for Chalet Girl

Camera operators working on new feature Chalet Girl swapped dolly tracks for skis while filming on location in St Anton in Tirol, Austria. The film follows a teenager falling in love when she heads off to work as a chalet girl in the Alps.

Filming focussed on a resort at St Anton but the crew also went to a nearby glacier where there was still powder snow available, despite filming taking place late in the ski season. Assistance from the local tourist board made things easier for the production team.

Johannes Koeck, Head of the Cine Tirol Film Commission, said: “We were involved with scouting on this project from the start. The lower the altitude the less powder snow you find, so scenes were filmed at the Kaunertal Glacier, which is 3,000 metres above sea level. St Anton is 1,500 metres.”

I was mainly working with the second unit and we shot on the Arri 235 which is a great tool in the mountains, as it’s small and light.

Bernhard Freinademetz, with production service company Jungle Productions, said: “I was mainly working with the second unit and we shot on the Arri 235 which is a great tool in the mountains, as it’s small and light.”

The production used avalanche shovels and probes when filming off-piste. In addition, local stuntmen and women who knew the terrain enabled the crew to maximise the drama of skiing sequences.

Freinademetz concluded: “For sure shooting a sunrise on a 3,000-metre-high snowy peak offers some interesting scenarios to make this happen – but it was worth the beautiful experience!”

Images courtesy of www.jungle-productions.com.