Positive pressure of directing live: The adrenalin-fuelled world of winter sports junkie Aurelie Gonin International Womens Day 2021 focus By Heather McLean, Editor
Monday, March 8, 2021 - 10:50
Print This Story
Aurelie Gonin, head of Alpine Medias House and winter sports director
There are not many jobs in the world where you have to be an athlete to even begin your daily tasks, but Aurelie Gonin, director at her own company, Alpine Medias House, is one of those people.
Gonin is a winter sports specialist. She directs, produces, films and edits, with the vast majority of her work taking place on the snowy slopes of mountain ranges across the world.
Just to get to work, she often has to be dropped out of a helicopter onto the side of a mountain, ski on some of the toughest runs in the world get into position, and set up in freezing conditions before the sun has made an appearance so she is ready for the appearance of the (non-crew) athletes.
Bright, white, reflective world
Most importantly, she needs to understand the intricacies of not only her dangerous environment, but the challenges of filming in a bright, white, reflective, steep world, to capture all the thrills and spills of winter sports.
I never experienced such an intense and positive mental tension as when I directed a live event. You are carried by the collective energy of all those people collaborating together to put on a great show
On the specialist aspect of her job, Gonin notes: Through the years I have acquired an expertise in making any kind of videos in a mountain environment, by collaborating with various people and learning from their experience and from the different situations. I'm often asked to do things that I haven't done before, and I'm always keen for a new challenge which will push me and maybe open new opportunities.
Trekking up mountains to get into position to film is part of the job for Aurelie Gonin [seen here leading]
These missions require a lot of versatility in video techniques, and also mountain skills. That means it's mandatory to be in a very good shape to be able to hike or skin up to access the venue, and it's absolutely necessary to know how to identify the dangers of the terrain in order to try to minimise the risks as much as possible, as well as understanding the sports and the athletes. Their commitment is considerable, but ours as well.
Positive pressure
As to what excites her about her job, Gonin says: I love the positive pressure that comes with working so fast, directing live, and being guided by the super dynamic flow which leads the competitions.
She continues: There are so many things I enjoy about it! I can mention skiing in the dark to access the position before first light, enjoying a sunrise on top of a mountain, sharing these emotions with fantastic people, being thrilled by the stunning actions happening in front of our cameras I feel in harmony with the place and with the people. I give a lot of passion and energy, but I get so much back.
Gonin adds that live directing is the biggest adrenalin rush for her: I never experienced such an intense and positive mental tension as when I directed a live event. You are carried by the collective energy of all those people collaborating together to put on a great show, you feel the presence of your team behind you, you constantly talk to some of them, and at the same time you're alone because you're the only one pressing the buttons to create what spectators will see. The focus is so intense, it's like having several brains to be able to analyse all that's happening and take fast decisions, and it lasts four to five hours.
Aurelie Gonin: I love the positive pressure that comes with working so fast, directing live, and being guided by the super dynamic flow which leads the competitions.
I often tell the athletes that when they're in the start gate ready to drop in and it comes the 5-4-3-2-1 countdown, their pressure is the same as mine when we start the live, she goes on. And when live is over I'm exhausted, I gave all my energy to it. I really love that feeling, it makes me feel really alive.
Extreme freeride challenges
On the toughest events she has worked on, Gonin states that the freeride competitions are the most extreme because the live broadcast has to come from the side of a mountain. She explains the rigours demanded of the crew: The technical crew sets up a tent on a ridge in front of the venue in which they build all the equipment for the live and link the cameras, which are long lenses, drones, cineflex and more. It's such a challenge for these guys and I have a big respect for them, (big up to Switch Productions!). You access the tent on skis in the dark to be ready early morning when the competition starts, and then you freeze during all the live action because you're in the snow. It's not the comfort of a studio, but the excitement of being on a mountain to show those stunning action sequences to the audience, are the best compensation.
She comments on Freeride World Tour: I spent six winters travelling with this crew, shared amazing adventures with them, learning a lot from working in this environment, and creating videos for all kinds of media (live, TV, web, social) in a short amount of time. It wasn't an easy choice when I decided to quit, but I thought it was time to move on and I don't regret it because it opened new opportunities to me, including an extraordinary heliskiing event in Pakistan and soon the Olympic Games. I'm convinced that the coolest projects are still to come.
Aurelie Gonin, Alpine Medias House, getting into a helicopter to be dropped on top of a mountain to film a freeride event
Always on the road
Gonin's daily life has changed drastically since COVID closed down borders. Until Mar
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
New appointments to Screen Australia board 7 July 2026
The Albanese Labor Government has made new appointments to the Screen Australia board.
Dr Tania Chamber...
07/07/2026
The right team. The right time.' How The Killings at Parrish Station stuck t...
07/07/2026
Berklee College of Music Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's...
07/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists train the immune system to make antibodies against numerous HIV strains Preclinical findings mark progress toward a long-sought vacc...
06/07/2026
Long-developed relationships and informal access, three production models, and c...
06/07/2026
The deal follows Lumine's recent acquisition of Synamedia's video-networ...
06/07/2026
This former SportsCenter producer is shaping local-team studio coverage to surro...
06/07/2026
IMS Productions and FOX Sports deployed more than 100 cameras, 32 onboard feeds,...
06/07/2026
Lumine Group Inc. has announced the completion of its acquisition of the Video Network Business from Synamedia. The business will operate as a standalone compan...
06/07/2026
NASCAR has announced a content and commercial partnership with Motorsport Network, a motorsports and automotive media platform, to distribute NASCAR original co...
06/07/2026
Versant Media Group has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Full Swing, a sports technology company, from Bruin Capital and a group of minority investor...
06/07/2026
DAZN has announced global broadcast rights to 3ICE, a professional hockey format featuring three skaters and a goalkeeper per side, with no power plays or offsi...
06/07/2026
Bundle gains 100 new synths & more
Synth Anthology 5 the largest and most feature-packed edition of UVI's hardware synth emulation bundle, bringing toge...
06/07/2026
Available now via free firmware update
MOTU have just announced that three of their popular audio interfaces now boast official Milan Certification. The 16A...
06/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz completes Hunter Preliminary Design Review for the Integrated Co...
06/07/2026
The R&S IMAGER from Rohde & Schwarz uses millimeter wave imaging to inspect the ...
06/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
06/07/2026
Digital Domain Appoints Industry Veteran Patrick Davenport as Executive Vice Pre...
06/07/2026
Gravity Media USA appoints Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development
Brie Clayton July 6, 2026
0 Comments
The strategic new appointment supports...
06/07/2026
Remote Editing Without Cloud Storage in Resolve
Michael Cioni July 6, 2026
0 Comments
This is a step-by-step guide that demonstrates how to setup your...
06/07/2026
Automatic Caption Translation in Adobe Premiere Pro
Colin Smith July 6, 2026
0 Comments
Here I showcase the innovative automatic caption translation f...
06/07/2026
Flavor's First Ever Managing Director Neal Cohen Retires; Longstanding Execu...
06/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Medtech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might think...
06/07/2026
Zhongyi Optics unveils the Dreamy Zone T1 FF Cine Lens Series on Indiegogo with ...
06/07/2026
Open source AI has shown how quickly developers can innovate when models, data a...
06/07/2026
Techtel debuts insyght: making ST 2110 media discovery easy
intellisphereinsyght2026
6 July Written By Suzanne Costello
Sydney, Australia - 06 July 2026 T...
06/07/2026
Monday 6 July 2026
Sky agrees to acquire ITV Media & Entertainment, creating a ...
06/07/2026
Fresh from his World Cup heroics with Cabo Verde, Roberto Pico' Lopes will join the RT panel for Argentina v Egypt tomorrow and for the England v Norway q...
06/07/2026
Nations have long invested in domestic infrastructure to advance their economies, protect and use their data, and take advantage of technology opportunities in ...
06/07/2026
Every year, the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) reveals where thousands of AI researchers have decided to put their work.
This year's ...
06/07/2026
A death can be unsuspicious, but it has to be explained
What happened to Ke...
05/07/2026
We've gone to another level of integrating the graphics into the set architecture' - Zac Fields, SVP, Graphic Technology and Integration, FOX Sports...
05/07/2026
Browser-based and desktop apps available
Digital Sunset Studios have been busy working on an interesting project: a free software tool that provides compute...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Positive pressure of directing live: The adrenalin-fuelled world of winter sports junkie Aurelie Gonin International Womens Day 2021 focus By Heather McLean, Editor 
