We strive to cause the rare magical goose bump that occurs when pictures and sound are squished together just right.
At one point, YETI Presents had this idea to tell the stories of material possessions that held a particular gravity or importance to certain people. This one happened to be Townes Van Zandt’s guitar that now resides in the heart and hands of his extraordinary son, JT. —BK
Occasionally I’ll write and narrate something and wish I hadn’t in retrospect. It’s f****** excruciating to hear my own voice. I sound like a drunk NPR reporter on scene at a pride parade. Anyway, sometimes a client says “hey, make us something.” We’ll reply with “uh, ok — any specific direction?” They’ll say: hmmm, not really, no.” That’s when we deliver something like this and said client spends exactly zero dollars to market it. LOL. Oh well. Love you, Doom! —BK
Travis co-produced this YETI Presents project for director Scott Ballew and we both filmed some for it. It was pretty special to have a role in it after being inspired by the cinematography in the 1974 film, TARPON for our film “120 Days” about fisherman David Mangum. [Scroll down for that film] —BK
Here’s the synopsis for All That is Sacred: In the late 60's a group of poets, writers and musicians descended upon the southernmost point of the United States to pursue their love of literature and fishing. Initiated by Tom McGuane - the prodigal son of American Literature in the 1970's - his friends Jim Harrison, Richard Brautigan, Russell Chatham and Jimmy Buffett soon joined him. This crew and that era were captured on film by Guy De La Valdene and Christian Odasso in an obscure documentary called "Tarpon" in 1974. They went on to create some of the best art, poetry, novels, and music of their generation - but there will never be anything like Key West in the early 70's. If you were lucky to survive it.
Not a typical subject matter for us, but honestly we’ve always really gravitated towards opportunities to help an audience see something from a unique perspective — this time it just happened to be a fancy grape farm for very fancy grape juice. We hope this piece was able to help the good folks at Immortal better express their passion to wine nerds. Directed and shot by Travis, Edit by Ben. —BK
When Patagonia calls and asks you to sort through every film they’ve ever made to edit a celebratory announcement for their 50th anniversary, you say yes. F*** yes, actually. Huge thanks to Emily Perry, Alex Lowther and Taylor Reese. —BK
The misty forests above North Vancouver, British Columbia are hallowed ground for mountain biking, a place so harrowing it’s influenced every aspect of the sport for more than 30 years. It’s also where Betty Birrell, at age 45, picked up mountain biking after a career as a mountaineer and professional windsurfer. Three decades later, the single mother is a role model for her son, her friends and anyone she’s met along the way— and proof that you’re never too old to send. Directed by Travis Rummel
I remember making it a personal challenge to tell a hunting story that my vegetarian wife [bless her heart] could not only tolerate, but enjoy. This YETI Presents project started as a profile of the infamous Eastman brothers that evolved [as many films do] into something a bit deeper: the story of their legendary Grandfather, Gordon Eastman and his legacy as it relates to his sons and grandsons in the world of hunting, filmmaking and publishing. Many thanks to Chris Cresi for the huge editing assist on this piece and Trevor Doherty for the masterful score. —BK
A Thousand Casts was our first collaboration with renowned writer, conservationist, and fisherman Oliver White. YETI Presents came to us with the idea of bringing his story to life, based around the thread of a ridiculously complicated scouting trip to the Kingdom of Bhutan to catch an endangered and culturally significant species of fish called the Golden Mahseer. Photographs by Joey Schusler and Travis Rummel
Photograph by Chad Chomlack
Learning to Drown follows the life and career of professional snowboarder Jess Kimura as she unapologetically shatters stereotypes with her own brand of unwavering determination and go-for-broke mentality. After the tragic death of Jess's partner at the height of her career, she spiraled into a cycle of self destruction, grief and despair. Compounded by head injuries and mental health issues, the circumstances seemed insurmountable. Jess's only way out was within — as she faces her deepest fears, she reminds us that not all wounds are meant to heal. Photos by Chad Chomlack
One day our good buddy Scott Ballew called and said: “hey, wanna make a film with me about this guy Jack who’s sort-of an architect but mostly identifies as an artist but also built a baseball field in his yard and… well, it’s complicated I know but I think it could be great.” Proud of this one — gotta love a good challenge.
The Last Honey Hunter was a once in a lifetime opportunity for us. A project with no oversight, no brands, no budget, no expectations. A chance to tell a story the way you believe it should be told. A chance to collaborate with our good friends Ben Ayers, Renan Ozturk, Camp4, National Geographic and the dZi Foundation. A chance to honor an extraordinary man named Maule Dhan Rai. The Last Honey Hunter qualified for a short film Oscar in 2019.
To be quite honest — we rarely pitch our own story ideas so this was a special case for us. The film team at Patagonia asked if we had any ideas for a Mountain bike related piece and we were like, YES WE DO. We wanted to tell the story of our friends Anne Keller and Jen Zeuner who started a little pizza place in Fruita, Colorado called The Hot Tomato and also happen to be damn fine people and talented riders. Life of Pie was nominated as one of the best “branded films” of 2019 by the Vimeo staff.
William “Senior” Mahoney began skiing in Telluride, Colorado, as a boy in the ‘30s, long before ski lifts were strung over the mountains and a destination resort drew tourists by the hundreds of thousands. He skied down snow-covered streets on rough-hewn planks, took laps on the car-engine-fired rope tow in town park, and later ventured into the mountains to make turns in alpine basins of the San Juans. He was also a miner who worked underground for 25 years for Idarado Mining Company. And so he was uniquely suited to recognize that for a mining town on the verge of bust, skiing was the future. Senior went on to play a pivotal role in the town’s transition, steering Telluride as it shifted from the extraction that was foundering to the tourism industry that would flourish.
“Senior: 82 Winters in Telluride,” a new short film by Ben Knight and Travis Rummel of Felt Soul Media, paints an intimate portrait of Senior, chronicling 82 winters and a life well-lived in the mountains. — Katie Klingsporn
images courtesy of the telluride historical museum
Travis and I had the pleasure of hanging with Patagonia surf ambassador and artist Ben Wilkinson for a few days to get footage for Patagonia's Work Wear clothing line. A true humble legend, 'Big Ben' salvages fallen trees in Hawaii to use for various furniture projects and joins the Big Wave World Tour when his work, finances and family commitments align. [Top photo by Travis Rummel]
Our second piece in Patagonia's Work Wear series took us to the mouth of Alaska's Susitna river to spend some quality time with our buds Ryan Peterson and Mike Wood who've taken it upon themselves to help stop a proposed dam and raise awareness by suppling fresh wild salmon to near-by Anchorage. This piece was guest edited by our ultra talented man-crush Jordan Manley.
Vancouver Island was decimated by clear cut logging for much of the last century. The densely overgrown second and third growth forests are essentially devoid of biodiversity. The lady squad at Central Westcoast Forest Society help to clean up the mess they’ve been left with – thinning the forests to accelerate the return of biodiversity in their temperate rainforest backyard. We begged Vancouver based filmmaker Jordan Manley to help us film and guest edit this piece – we're incredibly fortunate he said yes.
When we met David Mangum back in 2008, we knew one day we would work on a film project with him. The intensity and curiosity he brings to pursuing Tarpon is unparalleled. This is a small look into his world. Huge thanks to Yeti for supporting the effort, George Knowles for all the help in the field and of course Vimeo for the Staff Pick badge of honor!
In the fall of 2015 we pitched an idea for a short film to our friends at Yeti Coolers in Austin... shockingly they actually said yes and before we knew it the ball was rolling. Huge thanks to Ryan Peterson, Grayson Schaffer, Justin Miller, The Fly Shop, The Conservation Angler and Moscow State University for making this one a reality. You can read more about the project here on Outside Magazine or on the Yeti site.
Our dear friend Ben Moon asked us to direct and edit a short film for him about a very personal subject — his fight with cancer and his dog Denali. This piece was a huge step out of our comfort zone, but ultimately one of the most meaningful collaborations of our career so far. Denali was chosen as a Staff Pick on Vimeo, and has since become our first film to ever go wildly viral with 9 million views in two weeks. Denali was DP'd by the talented Skip Armstrong, mixed by Justin Harris, and produced by Ben Moon.
Our talented friends Ryan Heffernan and Grayson Schaffer of Talweg Creative were kind enough to invite us to collaborate on the filming and tackle the post-production of 'In Current' for Yeti Coolers that was chosen as a Vimeo Staff pick. We're really happy with how it turned out — especially with how non-commercial [we think] it feels. The piece wouldn't have been possible without the patience and support of our intrepid and passionate guides — most notably Amber Shannon and John Shocklee. Also, a special thanks is due to musician Shakey Graves for the incredible track.
DamNation is our second feature film project, which we directed for Patagonia. The project took three years from conception to reality, and is currently nearing the end of its festival run. The film premiered at the 2014 SXSW film festival in Austin, and took home the Audience Award. DamNation will screen at IDFA in Amsterdam in November, and is currently available on iTunes, Vimeo and Amazon Prime.
Unicorn Sashimi was a personal project and a camera test—we wanted to see what it was like to make a ski film, and we wanted to take our Red Epic out for a trial run. We now have a whole new DEEP respect for ski filmmakers, and a freakish obsession with Japan that'll undoubtedly last forever. Huge thanks to the 5Point Film Festival and Patagonia for helping with finishing funds, and Anson Fogel for help with color.