It feels like a lot of my week is made up of my wife getting up at the crack of dawn and turning on Peacock to see what's happening in the Olympics. I have been at the center of debates on Canada cheating at curling, weeping over the quad god, and waiting for that hockey showdown.

As the world watches the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, the spectacle isn't just a masterclass in athleticism; there are a lot of filmmaking lessons we can take away as well.

Whether you're working on a truck commercial or a psycho biddy thriller, the cold slopes of Italy offer three vital lessons to elevate your craft.

Let's dive in.

1. Let the Environment Become a Character

In the Winter Olympics, the cold isn't just a setting; it's a character. We're always picking spots for the games depending on winter or summer, and that's because the environmental factors in to every sport intricately.

Don't just film in a location; film the impact of the location. What would Fargo be like without the cold? Or Point Break without the beach?

Just as the cameras show a skater’s movement on the ice, a great filmmaker looks for ways to make the atmosphere tangible.

For the cold, you could show the condensation on a window, the way light fractures through ice, or the "invisible forces" (like wind) that push back against your characters as they reach for a goal.

2. Dynamic Perspective

Okay, so this one falls under tech, but it's something I think most filmmakers wonder about.
At the games, they have deployed specialized drones, including First-Person View (FPV) drones, that have fundamentally changed the visual language of sports. We aren't just watching a skier anymore; we are "flying with" them at 100 mph as they go down the luge or up the ramp in big air.
So when it comes to making things narrative, see if you can move from observation to participation. What can the camera do to bring people into the story?
Consider how "proximity equals empathy." Instead of a static wide shot of a character in distress, use camera movement that mimics their internal or external rhythm.

3. Narrative Over Spectacle

One of the things I admire about all the Olympic coverage is that we always focus on the athletes' stories. We learn about the family sacrifices that got them here, who they're dating, and we learn about past failures or successes that may drive them more in the moment.

So what's your human hook?

Whether you're writing a beat sheet for a new feature or editing a commercial, the spectacle only matters if we care about the person involved.

And when you write those set pieces, make sure you focus on the stakeholders for each person involved.

Summing It All Up

The Winter Olympics remind us that filmmaking is about more than just using technology to see someone do something; it's about the characters, the effort, the danger, and the heart at the center of the story.

This stuff holds our attention and gets us to care.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

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