Our third 'REQUIRED VIEWING' is the most timely one yet; 'Wishing Well' from Canadian crew Paid Programming has been online for just over two weeks. In that time, it's made its mark, with whispers of "video of the year contender" circulating around the world.
For a video to gain such outright respect straight out the gates, the entire project needs to be finely crafted by those involved. Paid Programming has risen to notoriety thanks to an incredible commitment to the cause by Jesse Jarrett and Quin Ellul. We can partially attribute the incredible eye-for-detail to the fact that both Quin and Jesse have amazing footage in the video, and it's been proven that no one is a harsher critic than yourself. They've clearly paid their dues by burning countless midnight hours, illuminated by the glow of the computer screen and driven by the desire to have their snowboarding portrayed in the best way they see fit.
Year:2024
Riders:Quin Ellul, Jesse Jarrett, Marty Vachon, Dan Bubalo, Stefan Alvarez, Nick Elliot, Adam Franks, Tanner Davidson, Austin Johnson, Kim Cote, Mike Rosart and friends.
Directed by: Quin Ellul and Jesse Jarrett
Filmed by: Alex Bielawski, Jesse Jarrett , Quin Ellul and Pat Quesnel
Edited by: Quin Ellul and Jesse Jarrett
One thing that makes this video even more special is the fact that they are coming off of an incredible 2023 release, 'Tuesdays Child'. There can be a lot of stress involved in setting off to try and create something than your previous project. Paid Programming knocked that one out of the park, in part by the natural progression of their own snowboarding, filming, and editing, and also by making some strategic additions to the squad, such as all-around favourite Martyn Vachon.
The snowboarding itself in this is A-grade. Stefan's opening part sets the tone before the title plays, and from his first clip, you just know it's on. Martyn steps in and, as to be expected from the young goat, annihilates whatever steel comes his way. The rebar backlip is one of the greatest clips of the year, in our opinion. Fast-paced and interesting middle sections includes tasteful clips from Kim Cote, Adam Franks, Tanner Davidson, Nick Elliot, Austin Johnson, and Mike Rosart. When the insane 'Don't Stop Believing' remix comes on, it's hard to not start singing along. Next up, Dan Bubalo (the best hair in snowboarding) makes you feel something before Quin and Jesse shut shit down on their spot-god tip.
What's interesting about this video is you can tell that, creatively, Quin and Jesse are both students of the game; they've studied the most culturally relevant snowboarding and skateboarding videos in recent years (don't get it twisted, that doesn't mean the most popular) and identified the good, the bad, and the ugly. By selectively filtering their influences, they've arrived at a point in their own video work that feels authentic. We've watched 'Wishing Well' more times than we can count already, and we know that will continue to trend as snow falls and we look to get fired up before strapping in.
To end this 'REQUIRED VIEWING', we've plucked a couple awesome comments from the YouTube video, and following them, take a trip down memory lane and watch their equally impressive video from last year, 'Tuesdays Child'.
"Holy fucking shit. I saw this thumbnail and immediately went to my camera roll to see if it was the spot I thought it was. Sure enough, it fucking is. In Milwaukee Wisconsin near marquette. I drove past this and immediately took a picture. Legendary. Bravo" - @juliangarza1013
"THE REBAR HOLY FUCK" - @BoofTuning
"This fixed me for today" - @fettuccinealraver
"bro martys nose press down that triple kink was fucking crack man. im only 4 minutes in and i can already tell this is gonna be a bangerr." - @PeteGracia0416
If you're not already familiar with their last project 'Tuesday's Child', educate yourself below.
