“Magma II”: Interview mit Hunter Hess & Full Movie (2020)

“Magma II” Interview with Hunter Hess & Full Movie (english)

“MAGMA 2 is the continuation of MAGMA. A new location with more features. This video is fully made for the love of skiing. 100% hand built. Featuring Hunter Hess, Alex Hall, produced by Owen Dahlberg”

Hey Hunter, let’s start this with an easy question. How was your summer and where are you right now?

Hunter: My summer was good! Got to ski a bit at hood (Mount Hood, Oregon). Definitely a different type of summer but felt fortunate to be able to ski a little. Now I’m in Salt Lake City, Utah. Just getting ready for the upcoming season.

“Magma” was the first movie you did. How did you get the idea of making an own movie with friends?

Hunter: Alex and I talked about doing something in Oregon for a few years. I just pursued doing it one year around February. From there it was kinda a joke. It didn’t seem like a real thing. All we wanted to do was go build jumps in Oregon and make a video of it. It was a super simple idea.

When I wrote the article for “Magma” last year, I assumed that you got a lot of inspiration from “On Top of the Hood” from Sammy C. Was I right with that? Where else did you get inspiration from?

Hunter: Yes, Big time! Sammy was a huge inspiration. We definitely wanted to do something along the lines of “On Top Of Hood”. I think it was almost more of an inspiration after we finished filming. Just understanding how much went into that movie.

From spot selection, to the builds and tricks. All of it was absolutely next level.

I have the most respect for all those guys and hope to make my skiing more like theirs.

“Magma” made a big impact in the scene and you won several prices including “Best Short of the Year”. Were you surprised by the success of it?

Hunter: We didn’t really plan for anything to come from it. At least for me it was such a new thing I had no expectations. The whole project was a shot in the dark. It was dope seeing that people rocked with it as much as they did. It really made the project extra special.

There were a lot of mind-blowing tricks in “Magma” but your Triple ender trick was of course the one that stood out the most. Can you give us a run down of the day when you stomped it and the trick itself?

Hunter: That day was pretty surreal for me. We were planning on building the QP (Quarterpipe) for a while. I talked with Alex about doing the triple a little. It was more of a joke than anything serious. Originally we made the QP and Alex wasn’t going to be there. He was leaving for the weekend so it was just going to be Øystein (Bråten) and myself. The weather ended up coming in so we had to postpone for a few days.

Øystein ended up going home and Alex was able to be back in time. When we got up to the QP it fully melted. So we had to remake it. Once the session started I had the idea but I thought there was no way it would work. There was no where near enough air time. I started to get more comfortable with the QP. My mind was changing. We were going to add more kick on it so I could get back in easier. Alex was close to his nose butter dub so we just chilled till he got that.

Then we did a little fix up on the feature. It was a full reset for me. I did one dub that was really big. I think at that point everyone knew it was possible. I gave all my homies hugs and hiked up. I had to hike so high up that I couldn’t see them or the feature. It was just me by myself. A pretty scary/humbling experience.

When I landed, it was unreal. Definitely one of the best feelings I’ve ever had.

After that we got a few more shots on the QP and went to the Huckleberry Inn for some celebration food then went back to the camp site.

Will we see this trick in a pipe competition from you this season?

Hunter: Hahah, I’m not sure. It would definitely be a scary one but possible.

Continuing to “Magma II”. Why and when did you and the crew decide that you want to do another movie?

Hunter: It was a no brainer for us. We were originally planning on going to Europe to film. Because of covid we ended up just staying in Utah. We were all in SLC (Salt Lake City) so it was easy.

How difficult was it to produce “Magma II” in terms of money? Did you get any financial support for this project?

Hunter: Originally we had no sponsors. It was a last second decision to get some. Stoked we were able to get support.

Was it different to produce the second movie compared to the first one? What exactly was different?

Hunter: Yeah it was different. It was a lot more work. Instead of having the lift and hiking out of spots. In Utah we were skinning like 40+ minutes to every spot. We also filmed a little longer and built more features. A ton of work but overall still super dope.

Nowadays posting a quick clip on Social Media almost every day is the way to go for a lot of skiers. What motivates you to save clips from a whole season and release it as a full movie?

Hunter: I just want to be more like the people I grew up watching. Instagram is dope and a great way to share clips! I think everyone hating on IG is OD. As long as skiing is being shared and getting new people involved all is good.

Owen Dahlberg is one of the most active filmers/editors right now. In the last two weeks I already watched two outstanding clips from him. First “NOwhere || NOW Here” with Lupe and then “Quarters & Halves” with a big crew. Now with “Magma II” the next movie release. How is this guy that productive?

Hunter: Owen is insane. I could never say enough about the guy. MAGMA would never happen without him.

He’s so driven to make skiing dope.

He works crazy hard, always building with Alex and I. He does more work than we do. When we finish skiing we go home, he sorts the clips and edits for months. Definitely have to give the guy behind the cam big big thanks.

What was your favorite day of filming for “Magma II” and why? Will we see “Magma III” next year?

Hunter: That’s too hard to say. There wasn’t a particular day that stood out. Everyday was something new.
Haha, I’m not sure. We will see what happens later down the road.

Lately you posted a lot of very oldschool freestyle images on Social Media. What’s the reason behind this? How much inspiration do you get from oldschool tricks for your riding and for producing a movie?

Hunter: Yes! I’ve been getting crazy inspired by the older skiing lately. I’m relatively new to in but I’m so down. For me it’s dope to show people how cool skiing is.

Q: What’s your favorite all-time full movie and which was your favorite last year?

Hunter: I think “Session 1242” or “Every Day Is a Saturday” (both from Poor Boyz Productions). If Salute counts, then Salute. It just came out today but it’s awesome.

Dollo Is making skiing look super good right now!

Thanks a lot for the interview Hunter!

Hunter: Thank you!

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