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I recently got wind of several well-known Colorado basejumpers with a production company selling "stock footage" of Dwayne Weston's accident @ the 2003 Royal Gorge GoFast Games, where he was cut in half after striking the bridge. I find it hard to believe that his family and/or GoFast Sports would have condoned this. It seems very disrespectful to the dead and a sleazy way to make a quick buck. While the Basejumping community is actively lobbying to be accepted as a legitimate user-group, such publicity only serves to benefit the few and harm the whole. Enough already!

Get your facts straight. First of all you can start by spelling the DECEASED'S name correctly but seeing as you probably never knew him then you're probably just pulling this shit out of your arse.
If you even knew the deceased then you'd probably have a fair understanding on where he would stand on this issue. But you didn't and you don't. Accident footoge is all over the place and it can be found in tv shows, internet downloads and almost anywhere you can imagine. So once again, get your facts straight before you start stirring shit and hiding behind some bullshit annonymous name like moralbase.

what does "stock footage" mean? if they shot it themselves unfortunatly its theirs to do what they want with considering this was a public event. not much different than someones video of an airshow crash.

who is the footage being sold to? if you just heard of this via the grapevine it may be true it may be bullshit or their may be more to the story.

someone sold it to the discovery channel years ago. we have all seen the episode with jeb air multiple times over the years. i dont think the way they editied the scene was distasteful, disrespectful, or hurt base jumping at all.
my point being that selling the footage may not be as bad as it sounds.

it could be, but i would be more apt to validate these types of facts before i jump to conclusions over something you heard word of mouth and even then that footage is everywhere including first jump coarse curriculum of one of dw's friends.

videos dont hurt base nearly as much as base jumpers hurt base getting smashed up and dead. so if you want to honor the dead put your energy into staying safe and alive rather than being the moral police.

p.s.
creating a new user name to post this is pretty chicken shit.

That was my first thought...

Hello "moralbase." The production company you are glibly referring to is called Triax Productions, of which I am a third partner. You seem to know quite a bit about a business deal that hasn't even happened yet. If you want to air out your concerns via email, phone, or face to face, I can be contacted here. I'd be happy to discuss them with you. But since you post anonymously I don't think you have the inclination to do that, so I'll address some of them here:

1) As someone mentioned already, we own the footage. Legally speaking, no-one HAS to condone it. We shot the footage, therefore we own the footage. And for the record, that particular footage is NOT something that we consider "stock footage." We don't even like to look at it.

2) You talk about this footage as being somehow damaging to the BASE community as a whole. Have you forgotten that although Dwain was an extraordinary BASE jumper, he died in a SKYDIVING accident? Why is this even a relevant topic in this forum?

3) This footage has already been "sold" and broadcast to a television show about Jeb called "Fearless." In that instance, it was given to the production house by a third party WITHOUT our knowledge or permission. That was like four or five years ago. That's all you need to know about that.

4. You obviously don't know me. Those that do can attest to my character as well as my convictions as they relate to the greater good of BASE jumping.

5. [edited because you probably didn't know Dwain]

6. [edited because it's none of your business]

7. [edited because it's none of your business]

On a much more personal note, I'd like to say that on that fucked up day in 2003, both of my partners and I were less than 20 feet from where Dwain made contact with the bridge...close enough to feel splatter. I hope for your sake moralbase, that you never have and never will see a friend die such a violent death right in front of your eyes. Dwain's accident, along with so many others has had a PROFOUND impact on me personally. Its something that I don't take for granted, lightly, or without respect where deserved.

So all this said, if you still think I'm a disrespectful sleaze, that's great...to be frank, I could care less what you think--the people whose opinions I value on the subject would not be afraid to get in touch with me personally.

Here's a question to ask to yourself, "moralbase:"
"If someone is posting from a place of such moral high ground, why would they feel the need to hide their identity?"

pope

I'm a base jumper......after I'm dead I dont care what the rest of you do with footage or my broken up body.......If it will teach some one some thing or you can turn a buck and get new gear fukin do it.....just give my son his cut he needs to finish school....besides that I'll be dead I wont care!!!

Werd- my thoughts exactly

i don't enjoy watching snuff videos.

The footage in question is not a snuff video, though. Snuff vids are when someone dies onscreen for the purpose of entertainment, whereas this was a filming of an accident. The difference is that no one intended to die or kill while the camera was rolling. To the extent of my knowledge there haven't been any "proven" snuff films, or vids that people agree on as snuff.

As for the topic, moralbase, if you have EVER watched one of SPIKE tv's or any other channel's shows that shows someone dying in, say, a car wreck, or if you've watched a plane crash on screen (9/11, etc), this is moot. BASE is just like anything else. People die, and it's really sad, and others exploit it. Taking the reality of this specific situation out of the deal, what makes BASE so special in your eyes? YouTube has millions of videos of people dying in car wrecks, etc. There are viral videos everywhere of grisly deaths. The more video people take of BASE jumpers, the more likely it is there will be video of death. The more PUBLIC jumping becomes, the more random people who aren't jumpers or friends will have video of it. So then is that LESS immoral if they aren't BASE jumpers?

Is your beef just that BASE jumpers are "selling" it, or that the footage of someone dying can be seen by people?

Just my .02, as a nonjumper. This issue seems too complex for any moral stance, imo. I just know that if I died gruesomely I'd be more worried about the people who were actually there more than what anyone does with the footage of it. My friends and family.

It just kind of seems like a lot of people try to suppress difficult images because life is easier when it seems like no one dies.

i love this part the best.
like there some guy in a rig walking around washington dc lobbying congress..."pweeze senator, pweeze take my sport weally serwiously"

ive been getting a kick out of jumpers saying "were trying to get the public to see base as a legitamate sport"
2 thoughts...
a) who the fuck is "we" i know im not going door to door educating the public on base jumping.

b) i can honestly say i dont give a fuck who see's what we do as legit or a sport. it's not going to change a thing. and just in case someone wants to bring up access to the big ones in the big parks....
they get jumped all the time regardless. ya just cant pack at the bottom!

just my worthless 2 cents
im really bored tonight.

Dear Moralbase,

My name is PerFlare. my cell phone is 0046 706079210 (I'm Swedish)

I know "psychokiwi_base" and "pope" and I just like to speak up, I vouch for both their characters any day of the week, even twice on a Sunday if needed. Some of the best people I know.

I knew Dwain as well, it is quite clear to me, and most, that you didn't.

I wish you a fantastic weekend.

PerFlare
Swedish BASE Team

right on pope, well said.

ive been getting a kick out of jumpers saying "were trying to get the public to see base as a legitamate sport"
2 thoughts...
a) who the fuck is "we" i know im not going door to door educating the public on base jumping.

b) i can honestly say i dont give a fuck who see's what we do as legit or a sport. it's not going to change a thing. and just in case someone wants to bring up access to the big ones in the big parks....
they get jumped all

Amen...best post I've ever read on this forum!!!!

bloody oath, so often the people making the claim about base being legalised are the ones that have something to gain personally from it.

all i want is a good damn sandwich with tomato and lettuce on that shit

+1