Swatch Nines — Action Sports Documentary & Event Production

Swatch Nines is one of the most unconventional and celebrated events in action sports, an invitational-only freeski and snowboard event held in the Tirol region of Austria. Unlike a traditional competition, Nines is built around creativity, progression, and athlete freedom, giving riders a human-shaped snow course to hit on their own terms. Ragtown Media traveled to Europe to produce an inside-access documentary covering the event, the athletes, and the culture that makes Nines unlike anything else in winter sports.

Our Role

Ragtown Media handled on-location cinematography, athlete interviews, behind-the-scenes coverage, and full post-production editing for this documentary project. Working in an international action sports environment required our crew to operate across steep terrain, variable weather, and fast-moving athletic sequences.

Why This Story

Action sports events are often covered through highlight packages and social clips. We wanted to go deeper, documenting the relationships between athletes, the philosophy behind the event format, and what it actually feels like to be part of one of the most respected gatherings in freestyle skiing and snowboarding. This project is one of Ragtown Media's flagship international productions.

The Build — Engineering Progression

Before a single trick is landed, Swatch Nines is engineered.

Massive snow structures in Switzerland. Custom dirt jump lines sculpted in Austria. Every feature is calculated, shaped, tested, and refined.

Our role as an action sports video production team was to document the evolution of the course itself — capturing the design decisions, fabrication process, and athlete collaboration that transform raw terrain into world-class competition platforms.

Production focus included:

  • Build-out documentation across snow and dirt environments

  • Drone filming action sports terrain for scale and progression

  • Behind-the-scenes fabrication and shaping

  • Course design storytelling

  • Athlete walk-throughs and testing sessions

swatch-nines-snowcat-snowboard-course-build.jpg
Close-up of snowcat operator controlling terrain shaping during Swatch Nines freeski documentary production.
  • Engineering team measuring terrain data during Swatch Nines snowboard course build in Switzerland for action sports documentary production

    Calculations

  • Engineering team measuring terrain data during Swatch Nines snowboard course build in Switzerland for action sports documentary production

    Shaping

  • Snow park shaping detail during Swatch Nines freeski and snowboard event production in the Swiss Alps

    The Riding

  • Aerial view of custom MTB dirt jump line at Swatch Nines Austria filmed with drone for extreme sports cinematography

    The Scale

The Event — Controlled Chaos

When the course opens, timing becomes everything.

Snowboard and freeski athletes in Switzerland.
MTB and dirt riders in Austria.

We captured:

  • Multi-angle high-speed coverage

  • Drone cinematography over massive features

  • On-course tracking shots

  • Crowd and atmosphere

  • Live-event execution under variable conditions

ski athlete standing above massive sculpted snow feature during Swatch Nines Switzerland, documented for snowboard event production and freeski documentary coverage.
Professional BMX athlete performing a 360 invert during Swatch Nines MTB event in Austria, filmed with high-speed action sports video production techniques.
  • Flatland BMX athlete spinning on custom-built snow feature during Swatch Nines Switzerland event, filmed as part of live snowboard event production coverage.
  • Mountain bike rider performing aerial trick over dirt jump during Swatch Nines Austria, captured using drone filming and high-speed tracking shots.
  • Professional freeski athlete launching off massive snow feature in Switzerland during Swatch Nines, documented for extreme sports cinematography and documentary production.
  • long lens cinematic shot of large sculpted snow terrain during Swatch Nines Switzerland, showcasing scale for snowboard and freeski event production.

The Moments — Athlete Storytelling

Beyond tricks and podium results, we focused on the human side of performance.

As an Arizona-based action sports video production company working internationally, our approach to Swatch Nines blended snowboard event production, freeski documentary production, and extreme sports cinematography into one cohesive narrative.

  • We documented the tension before the drop-in.

  • The testing of features.

  • The silence between runs.

  • The celebrations and the crashes.

Because action sports aren’t just about progression. They’re about mindset.

What We Captured

  • Athlete mindset and psychological preparation

  • Feature testing reactions

  • Between-run conversations

  • Victory and crash moments

  • Cultural atmosphere surrounding progression

  • Documentary-style interviews in high-alpine environments

Snowboard athlete discussing mindset and progression during Swatch Nines event in Switzerland, filmed as part of a freeski and snowboard documentary production.
Professional snowboard athlete celebrating after landing a trick at Swatch Nines in Switzerland, captured for action sports documentary production.
  • Professional MTB athlete preparing for competition at Swatch Nines in Switzerland, filmed for extreme sports cinematography project.
  • BMX and MTB athletes discussing course progression at Swatch Nines in the Austrian Alps during documentary filming.
  • Professional skateboarder interviews about massive snow features at Swatch Nines, captured for action sports documentary production.
  • Freeski athlete profile shot during Swatch Nines event in Switzerland, filmed with documentary-style sports cinematography.
  • Behind-the-scenes snowboard athlete near snowcat equipment during Swatch Nines build phase in Switzerland.
  • FPV Pilot adjusting drone before run at Swatch Nines, filmed for professional snowboard event production.

Team

Client - Get Sendy & Swatch

Clayton Lindley - Producer / Director

Cameras

Sony FX6

DJI Mavic 3 Pro