Kat: Becs, I don't know about how you but I have really not watched a lot of figure skating at all this season.
Becs: I think this is the least figure skating I've watched in like a decade, almost. Granted there hasn't been as much, but even considering I didn't watch a single program until Cup of China, that's like a solid 8 months that I didn't watch figure skating.
Evie: Honestly, I would like to see a Flight of the Valkyries but Flight of the Zambonis, just a bunch of them cresting over a hill - [cue the music]
Becs: That's the epic we need to produce!
Evie: Coming this summer “The Flight of the Zambonis.” [music swells] One Zamboni driver against the World!
Becs: Sounds about right.
Kat: It’s a testament to the fact - especially for “Chaplin” - there’s a lot of commitment that has to be had to be able to pull off “Chaplin,” and they really commit the entire time with the facial expressions. They don’t lose steam and I think losing steam is what would make this program suffer, but they really commit to it the entire time.
Becs: They even commit to the “Black Swan.” Xinyu’s eyeshadow, man. Everyone should take note and follow. This is the sort of makeup that you should be doing. I appreciate also Adrian’s commitment to the clown makeup.
Kat: We appreciate men in eyeliner and eyeshadow.
Niamh: When someone lands their jump, you expect to see some snow, but you're not supposed to see liquid water.
Kite: Like this is advanced snow.
Niamh: I was [talking] to the ones sitting beside me, I was like “We might as well be watching synchronized swimming.”
Evie: Polar ice cap synchronized swimming - coming to an Olympics near you!
Speaking of your performance skills, is that something that you've trained a lot, or do you find it comes naturally to you?
I'm working on my skills and skating - and I'll work for days. Like I can't skate, or jump, or do stuff before I do my full skating. It's the best feeling ever. That's why I'm still skating.
Lae: So, all we've touched on so far have talked about banners that have been professionally printed and designed digitally, but do we have any advice on making handmade banners, such as what materials to use or is printing kind of the go-to?
Gabb: I use printed just because I have a degree for it. It's easier for me, I know how to work with printers. But you can easily just make handheld banners yourself using paper.
Kat: [laughs] Lae sitting outside the rink at ACI drawing Yuzu and Wakaba banners!
Becs: The 4am Wakaba banner sketching session!
Lae: Yeah, from experience, you can just buy an A3 size piece of card and buy some gold stickers and a permanent marker. Honestly, it's just the thinking and it's the design that goes into it.
Kat: It's the thought that counts!
Becs: Good costumes are such a draw in terms of just being like "Yes yes you are worthy!"
Gabb: Especially if they're sparkly!
Becs: Yes sparkles please!
Kat: Aka Ice Dance ladies.[Gabb: Yes!] 90% of the time deliver with their costumes.
Becs: Yes. One thing that is so beautiful about picking who you're going to photograph is ah Ice Dance ladies and ladies in general show up looking usually fabulous most practices even so...
Kat: And then you have the men with like 80% black costumes or monochrome.
Becs: Yeah it's tragic, it's a tragic contrast.
Evie: Well, you're not that far off, honestly. You're a couple steps to the left of what was actually used. Henry Kirk tried to emulate the feeling of ice using a mixture of materials and included in this mixture were salt, copper, aluminium and... hog's lard. Literal hog's lard - the fat from a hog - to make it slippery enough to skate on!
Niamh: Who's sitting in their kitchen one night thinking, "Oh, I know what I'll do, I'll make some fake ice using hog's lard!"
Evie: Obviously Henry Kirk thought that. So here's your ingredients: "30-50 feral hogs --" (hosts laugh)
