Below I have attached my educational video about the differences between downhill and cross country skis:
Script for above video
Video Script For: The difference between downhill and cross country ski’s
*Start with me standing in front of the camera with no props
Hello and welcome to an in-depth video about the differences between downhill and cross country ski gear. My name is Yasmin and I will be your host today!
To start, there are mainly two types of skis utilized on ski slopes here in North America, there is the downhill ski, and there is the cross country ski. Yes, there are technically in-between types of skis, but today we are just going to focus on the two most utilized ones. Although these are both technically ski’s they cannot be interchanged, so today we’re going to get into why that’s the case.
*Cut to me holding a downhill ski, will be pointing to parts as I talk about them
To start, let’s talk about downhill skis.
Downhill skis consist of two parts, the ski and the binding.
Ski bindings are utilized to clip both the back and front of the boot into place so the skier has full control of the entire ski, they consist of a heel cup, where the heel is placed, a toe cup for the front of the foot. They also have a brake pedal, a device which stops ski’s from sliding when they are not in use.
Bindings also have a DIN, which is a gauge at the toe of the binding which measures how much pressure is necessary for a skier to excerpt, on the sides of the skis for the boot to pop out, this is a safety measure in place to stop ski’s from harming the user in the case of a fall.
On the ski itself there is the top side, also called the deck, and the lower smooth side. The smooth side is often waxed. Different waxes need to be applied to the underside depending on the temperature of the snow in order for the skier to have the least amount of friction.
There is also a sharp metal ridge alongside the ski called the edge, this is what skiers use to “carve” or turn over the slope with.
Towards the front of the ski is called the tip, the middle is the waist and the back is called the tail.
*Cut to me holding a cross-country ski, will be pointing to parts as I talk about them
Next we will cover cross country ski’s.
Cross country skis also consist of two major components, theres the binding and then the ski.
Visually we can see that the ski is a lot thinner then a downhill ski, it’s also a lot taller.
Furthermore its design is a lot simpler all around as well.
The binding on a cross country ski is nothing like a downhill ski, instead it consists of a simple metal bar, which clips directly into a persons boot at the toe. The back of the boot is not clipped into anything, these differences mean the ski has no DIN or break feature unlike it’s downhill cousin.
Cross country skis also have a waist, and tail portion, but the end out the front is not called a tip and is rather referred to as the shovel, distinctions for cross country skis between the shovel and tail are not important, as no cross country ski is ever “twin tipped”.
Cross country ski’s also consist of a deck, and a base.
Cross country skis require, just like their downhill components waxing, this wax also need to be temperature specific. But instead of their use being to limit grip they are used to create the correct amount of friction needed for the skier, as cross country is done on flats rather than on consistent downhills. This also means that the ski’s have something called “fish scales” on their lower side or the base, which increase grip alongside the wax.
Cross country skis also have no metal edge, which makes sense as they are not used to make turns, and are rather used to propel oneself forward.
*Cut to me with no props
And that’s all! I hope you found this video informative about the differences between downhill and cross country ski’s!
I hope to see you again as I make more educational content about skiing. Thank you!
Storyboard for the above video
Reflection
What is the learning purpose of your video?
The learning purpose of my video is to teach prospective skiers the differences between cross country and downhill ski anatomy.
Why is video a good medium for this learning purpose?
Video is a good medium for this topic because it allows the viewer to see the ski in real time as I direct their attention to each part of it. It also puts into perspective the differences in shapes and sizes between the skis and their components in a way that images alone would not be able to properly convey.
Which of the principles we’ve covered this term (e.g., Mayer/Universal Design for Learning/Cognitive Load Theory) did you incorporate into your design and why?
I attempted to utilize Mayer’s coherence principle and remain focused on the topic of comparison at hand. I also tried to keep the video short and to the point, aiming for about 5 minutes of runtime in order to satisfy Mayer’s segmenting principle and retain my viewers attention. Finally, I attempted to keep the video conversational in tone which would be Mayer’s personalization principle in action to humanize myself.
What was challenging about capturing your own video?
I found that both the audio and visuals aspects were hard to capture for this video. I do not have an especially amazing microphone or camera, and there were times when I was recording that the video would become corrupted and I would need to start again. Luckily I had enough good footage to create my final product, but my technical difficulties were by far the my biggest hurdle during the creation of this video.
What did you find easiest?
The part of this process I found the easiest was creating the script. I am an ex ski coach and a lifelong skier, so this is a topic I’m really passionate about and have a vast amount of knowledge on. Thus talking about the components of these ski’s came as second nature to me.
How would you approach capturing video differently next time?
Next time I think I will stand closer to the camera while recording. During my editing in post there were more then a few times I needed to crop my screen so I would be taking up more of the picture. I would also like to change the background so there are fewer distractions in the frame at any given time. Also, I’d like to incorporate more visual and onscreen aids to cement my videos points. The last thing I would change is to upgrade my microphone and camera for future recordings, so hopefully I have fewer technical difficulties.
Hi Yasmin, I have never tried skiing before and there is so much hidden knowledge here! First of all, the video environment is quiet and I can easily hear what you are saying. Although I may not know some of the nouns inside the snowboard, I can still distinguish the various parts of the snowboard through your physical demonstration and some instructions in the process of your explanation. Through your video, I can gain these skiing knowledge, good jobs!