Notching another creative project into his belt this year, Gigi Ruf worked with sponsor Burn Energy Drink to create a short feature called Alive, which is a backcountry short filmed completely at night, inviting viewers to think a bit about the natural world around them and, of course, treat their surroundings well. After perusing the Burn website, it appears their energy drink niche is their involvement in creative pursuits, paired with their interest in action sports. This marriage allowed Gigi, Staale Sandbech, and Arthur Longo to head into the Austrian backcountry and log some gorgeous looking turns and pillow drops amidst the darkness. Nice.

From Burn:

"This planet is alive. If only we could know what it knows, see what it sees. Sometimes you feel like it's trying to tell you something, showing you where to look, how to see. Lighting up the darkness ahead, illuminating your soul."

Burn is honoured and excited to present Alive, featuring The Burn Units, a rider-led initiative headed by the legendary Austrian snowboarder Gigi R f, star of many a Pirate Movie Production and hands-down one of the most stylish riders on the planet. In Alive Gigi is joined by fellow Burn Units riders Norwegian freestyle prodigy Staale Sandbech and ultra-smooth French sensation Arthur Longo.

An Action Horse Films & Burn collaboration, Alive was filmed on location in Vorarlberg, Austria at Gigi's uncle's cabin last December. This was one of the most ambitious projects yet undertaken in snowboard filmmaking: shooting backcountry action by electric light and moonlight.

As Director Per-Hampus St lhandske put it, "there are so many things that can go wrong when you make a snowboard film: the weather, the snow, the light, the riders... adding darkness and studio lights to the mix was a huge risk, but mother nature was with us every step of the way. An amazing experience."

Check out our behind-the-scenes shots over on Flickr.