Poly by Silvano Zeiter
Silvano Zeiter tells The Pill how Poly, his photography project that brings the viewer into close contact with the world of snowboarding, came about.
Silvano, tell us something about Chroma, what is this video about?
“It’s about relative realities, dreams and disappointments. And it’s about Severin and snowboarding.”
What message does Chroma want to give? What kind of snowboarding do you want to tell?
“I think Alex’s intention was to leave it up to the viewer to interpret the message to their liking. The riding style is simple, recognizable, but it also lets the personalities of Sevi and the other riders shine through.”
Can you tell me about Alexander Tank? What type is he?
“Alex is a very talented filmmaker and storyteller. He has strong values and a clear vision that also influence his work in a positive way. He always gives the films his very personal touch that makes a director’s work exceptional. He is truly a great one.”
How did the Poly project come about?
“We knew from the beginning that we wanted to create more than just a video project. I got the idea with the flip books after the first season of Chroma filming. It all came naturally and was a perfect fit with both my photography style and Sevi’s riding. Poly and Chroma are closely related projects that we are very proud of.”
Poly’s photos use a blurred image painting technique, tell us about this choice?
“I think it was a natural evolution of my photographic style. I started filming on follow cam with Fredi K about ten years ago. As the seasons went by, the shutter speeds became longer. With Poly, I felt like we were raising the bar higher and higher, getting to a level that allowed us to break the conventions and rules of snowboard photography. This opened up another world for me in terms of taking pictures, I felt freer.”
The riders in the video are people you often work with, can you tell me more about the relationship you have with them?
“Sevi has become one of my best friends and is like a brother to me, so we knew it would work. Even with the other riders we all hit it off right away, in a very natural and unforced way. To me, they are just great people and friends who happen to be good at snowboarding.”
Are there more projects like this in the pipeline?
“Right now I don’t have anything planned, which is really nice! Poly was kind of like my dissertation on snowboarding, but you never know what the future holds, I’m open to whatever comes.”
