DUO: The Story Behind Mac Forehand & Jack Price’s Newest Film

Skier Mac Forehand and filmmaker Jack Price just dropped their newest project, DUO; a two-year experiment in pushing themselves, their creativity, and their friendship into a new zone. We caught up with the pair to hear how it all went: the highs, the chaos, the surprises, and the moments that shaped the project from a rough idea into their most personal work yet.

Mac: I think I first came up with the idea for Duo right after Jack, myself, and our good friend Cody LaPlante were filming a YouTube series called The Sweet Life. I had known Jack for six years at that point, but I had never realized how good he actually was behind the lens. I had always wanted to film a solo video project like Tom Wallisch’s The Wallisch Project or Hunter Hess’s Soul Star; so Duo was inevitable for me at some point.

It came naturally to have Jack film and edit the video too, considering he was an amazing filmmaker/editor. We had worked together in the past, and he was already a super close homie to me. With that, I just started pitching the idea to some sponsors and we were in business. I got on the phone with Jack and we just started talking. I knew I wanted two years because of all the contests I had ahead of me. So, we went ahead and started talking about our first trip where we’d start to stack.

Mac: Yeah, it was definitely a hard balance between the two. Jack and I would talk almost daily while I was away, figuring out where it was going to snow next. I would fly home from the World Cup, load up the sled, and meet him wherever we thought would be good. Instead of seeing a storm way ahead of time and being able to go there, we were at the mercy of my contest schedule.

It definitely made us get creative or just stick to our guns in zones we’d already been to. Also, the original idea was to have a street segment in the video. During the first year of the film we went on one street trip, and let’s just say I really missed the pow. It made me realize how much more I liked to ski pow and build big wedges, which was a huge turning point for the film. 

Mac: DUO was different because, at the end of the day, it was just Jack and I making all the decisions. I had done films with faction in the past, and they kinda just organize everything for you. All I had to do was show up and build/ski which was extremely nice. For Duo, my decisions could make or break the film. It was for sure cool in ways though. For example, last year Hunter Henderson and I got back from World Championships thinking we could finish out filming for the season in Utah. Low and behold the snow conditions were horrible and we booked it north to Canada. That ended up being the closing segment of the trip.

Mac: For me I just dreamt about creating a project where I didn’t really have anyone telling me what to do. Even when it came to the creative side of things. With productions I’ve been involved with in the past, I go where someone tells me too, get done filming and I don't see those clips until the video comes out in the fall. This concept isn’t a bad thing at all, but I really enjoyed having a say in how the video came together. I’m definitely a bit of a perfectionist as well,(Which Jack dealt with while editing, HAHA).

The one thing that changed, which I think I already touched up, was the overall vision of the film. We wanted to film a big park segment and a street segment. Then I realized how hard it is to pull budget for a private park segment and how much I loved getting creative in the back country.  

Mac: Oh ya! Most of our trips were all spontaneous. Especially not having a defined crew, it made it super hard to try to plan. The last trip of the season was out in whistler which we decided to do a day before we left. It was a 16 hour drive with 3 sleds on the back of my truck and we didn’t end up leaving Utah until 4 pm I think. That trip ended up making the closing segment of the film and every one there stacked shots. One of the sickest sled trips I’ve ever been on. 

Mac: This one might catch you by surprise. I wouldn’t necessarily say that it's the best shot in the whole film but the story behind it really screams DUO for me. There’s one shot in there where it's just like this two stager cliff drop that I hit in the main segment. That day we were supposed to have Colby with us but he was really sick. So Jack and I set out on a 2 man mission in a fairly new zone for the both of us. It took us a minute to find the zone, Jack got stuck almost immediately and we spent about an hour digging him out; nothing seemed to be working in our favor that day.

After getting him out we kind of made a plan and I got my skis on. The snow quality was super weird, but I had so much fun skiing that day. I'm not sure I can say the same about Jack as he would drive me to the top then come back down and have to walk up to his camera through waist deep pow. He was putting in double time. We got one shot for the video but to us, that seemed like a win.

This whole day put it into perspective that it really was just us doing this! 

Mac: Jack was always going to be the one to create DUO. It was just a matter of time. It just made it easier for me to decide because he’s been my good friend for a long time. The whole process of making a ski video is easier when it's with someone you get along with super well.  

I also think that Jack's editing style really pairs well with my skiing. I’m not really sure why I think that but I think someone could watch DUO and tell me the same thing.

Mac: I'm going to cheat here and use two words; Grind Mentality.

The whole time during filming those words were in my head. I knew I had little time to get this done and every day I was out there myself and Jack would have to put one hundred percent in or I wouldn't have a project I'd be stoked on. I can proudly say I achieved that goal!

Jack: My first reaction was hell yeah! I remember calling him earlier that summer; pretty much just offering my availability. We had worked on a small vlog series a few years beforehand, and we also grew up competing together, so we were already really close.

I definitely felt like I had leveled up creatively since we had last worked together, and I had just graduated from film school at Montana State, so I was trying to think of an epic project to kick-start “real life.” He called me a few months later and said we pretty much had the go-ahead to pitch the concept to his sponsors, and I immediately got to it.

It’s pretty crazy thinking back to that time period with so much stoke and curiosity as to what DUO would be. But yeah, long story short: I was so pumped, super motivated, ambitious, relieved, and incredibly grateful to get the opportunity to create this piece with Mac.

Jack: The main creative challenge was revealing the deeper character of who Mac is without doing the classic sit-down interview thing. We wanted the piece to bang and hold the viewers’ attention, while also exposing some Mac-personality that a lot of his fans don’t get to see all the time. I feel very accomplished in that task. From a grom’s perspective, it’s fun to see your idol being goofy, wearing normal clothes in some b-roll, or celebrating a crazy trick in the backcountry; it makes them feel more human.

In terms of how the piece looks and flows, my main hope was that I could hold onto my creative liberty. I wanted to take this opportunity to push my creativity on the “Mac-stage.” Mac was such a pleasure to work with in this regard. He wholeheartedly trusted my vision for building out the piece. It was an even split: he stacked all the bangers, and I put them together. That simple. The appreciation I have for that dynamic goes beyond words. It really felt like we were equals in the creation of this piece, which I know doesn’t always happen for the filmmaker.

The last thing I’ll say is that Mac and I have very similar tastes. We shot rolls and rolls of film for this piece; both 16mm and 35mm. He and I both had little point-and-shoot film cams on us for all the trips, and he was super psyched on the idea of the magazine we made, too. Personally, I think the blend between the high-fidelity digital footage and the 16mm fits Mac’s aesthetic really well. Once again, I’m super grateful I got the opportunity to push exactly the style I wanted onto this project and have him be so on board and trusting of my vision. Mac is the man for that.

Jack: Super easy. Just point the camera at it, haha. He’s an incredibly adaptive skier, and his eye for natural hits and jump spots is pretty insane. I’ve been filming this sort of stuff for a long time, but every once in a while he’d come up with some crazy idea for how to ski something, and I’d just shrug and trust that he knew what he was talking about. A lot of those sessions turned out to be super vital for the success of the film.

Jack: Probably balancing this project with the other film I was making with the Entourage crew. There were a few months this past season when I was barely home. I would shoot with Mac, swing back to Bozeman and link with the Entourage crew. We’d then drive straight to another zone and stack for however long. Typically I’d be maximizing time with them until Mac was done with a contest, and then I’d be driving back to link with him.

That part honestly wasn’t that “hard” looking back on it; it was just a lot. But I was living my dream while I was doing all of it, so it never really felt like work (besides some 4:00 a.m. wakeups).

The real hard part was the time management this summer with all of the post-production. I edited, colored, designed merch, designed rollout and distribution plans, and made a magazine for both videos. So, I had to make sure I was on my A-game to get all of that accomplished. I feel a lot of pride looking back on that now and knowing I got it done. For a while there, I was just tunnel-visioned, grinding in my little office with the blinds down, hoping I could get to all of it with enough time to do it well.

Jack: Probably Whistler or Mosquito Creek. Those two places really provided for us. We spent so much time in Mosquito Creek this year; it was mental. And that Whistler trip was only 10 days and was huge for the piece. I mean, it’s the entire closing segment, so that just says something on its own.

I will say that being invited to the Red Bull Heli Camp in Revelstoke two years ago felt massive for me as an aspiring filmmaker. That trip definitely felt like I had entered a new field. Mac fought for me to be there, and I’ll never forget how much that meant to me.

Jack: He has no regard for preservation. I’m sure that would alarm some of his coaches or his parents, but yeah; if he’s trying a trick in the backcountry, he is all in. It doesn’t matter what comp is around the corner or if he’s healing some minor ache or pain.

There were a few times when he was battling an insane trick, and he had a flight to Europe the next morning for a World Cup, but he would not quit until his body or stamina gave out. I mean this when I say it: Mac is a certified savage. His grit, tenacity, and belief in himself have brought him to where he is in this sport.

It’s funny because he’s just a goofy guy who’s always down for a laugh when you’re hanging out, but there’s a dragon in there that wakes up when it’s go-time.

Jack: I’d tell myself: you are enough. You are meant to be here.

My impostor syndrome was never crippling, but I was pretty intimidated at the beginning. Mac always made me feel at home, and I always did good work when we were filming, but I wasn’t an incredible sledder at first, and I knew loads of filmers would’ve been hyped to be in my position.

After that first year getting my mojo up, I felt super amped and ready for the second phase. A lot of those anxieties were gone by then. Plus, I got a turbo that second year, so sledding became a ton of fun instead of a stress machine; haha.

In the end, DUO became exactly what Mac and Jack hoped for and nothing like they expected. What started as a simple idea became a defining chapter for both of them. Now that the project is out, the only thing more exciting than what they made is whatever's next.

DUO came from trust, progression, and two years of stacking clips. Check out the full film below.