A young Winnipeg filmmaker would like to take you back to a time before computer generated special effects, before colour, before dialogue. Daryl Kinaschuk (deco dawson) produces short films that pay heed to the silent film era.
dawson succeeds without relying on gimmicks, but rather a passion and concentration for the process of filmmaking. He starts with a simple idea or an action, and develops the story, sometimes as he is filming. He is careful not to reveal any references to modem day. The actors, usually only one or two, are not given a traditional script. They follow dawson's direction to perform actions which tell the story visually. He uses 8mm film stock, high contrast lighting, and simple sets and props. The way dawson edits his movies, there is never a shot longer than one second. dawson explains, "Because the cut is only going to be one second long, the direction I give may be as simple as - move your hand to the right." Once the filming is complete, he further develops the story and repeats the actions by re-photographing each image by hand. This increases the contrast and helps give the film its grainy, authentic quality. So convincing is the end result, a technician at the Eastman-Kodak House told him his films could fool a film restorer. He would date them at about 1909.
Three of dawson's early films form a triptych; Film (emend) features a woman knitting, Film (luster) shows a man shining shoes, and in Film (knout) a girl ties knots in a rope. Film (luster) earned dawson a Manitoba film industry Blizzard award in 1999, for the best student/amateur film. He also received a nomination for editing in the professional category.
"I love editing," dawson confesses, and it shows in the time he devotes to the post-filming process. His latest project, called Film "lode", is about two coal miners, whose hands have fantasies of killing one another. From sixty-six minutes of original footage, the editing took dawson eight hours for every minute of the thirteen minute finished product.
dawson spent another sixty hours on the sound track. All the music is by Russian composers, "I took about ten CD tracks, cut them all together, on top of each other, fading in and out, so it sounds like one piece of music. You can't even tell what the original music was."
One of dawson's actors has described his work as, "A strange sort of musical ballet of actions. The rhythms are an interesting blend of theatre, film and dance." In fact dawson came to filmmaking by way of the theatre, having written, directed or produced thirteen plays in four years. dawson began with what he describes as, "very wordy scripts. Then I began to incorporate much more physical action, until the play "A Silent Act" which had no words at all." The forty-five minute play was staged at the Black Hole Theatre about three years ago, where it caught the attention of George Toles, theatre and film professor at the University of Manitoba. Toles invited filmmaker Guy Maddin to check out the play, who in turn encouraged dawson to enrol in the film class he was teaching. Studying at the faculty of education, dawson enrolled in Maddin' s class not once, but twice. He describes the personal and professional relationship that has developed between the two. "We have a similar aesthetic, similar styles. Ninety-nine per cent of my filmmaking education has come from Guy, most of it by sitting and talking for hours."
Although dawson still admits his love of theatre over film, he has decided to abandon theatre for awhile. dawson bemoans the limiting nature of theatre production. A play costs the same to produce every time it's staged, and is totally dependent on audience/financial support. Whereas with a film, a similar investment of time and money can then "play" to an audience anywhere in the world.
dawson confirms he will be studying for the rest of his life. He enjoys learning on his own, by watching movies, reading books and experimenting. "I have a commitment to my work which could be described as a compulsion. I don't even know if I need the sense of accomplishment from the finished product. Every project is like a stepping stone or an experiment that opens a door so I can try something else." He apparently views his formal education with the same emphasis on process, not end product. When asked what stage he was at in his education degree, he remarked, "I think I'm graduating this week or next. I'm not sure." He is already making plans for the future, however, contemplating a masters program in the contemporary arts -- an integrated program for film, theatre, dance and visual art. But for the time being, he already has several more films in the works. A new project will incorporate colour, black and white, and animation. He also wants to move on to larger projects, expanding on the more technical aspects -- more lighting, larger sets -- more of a film/theatre mix. Although he may enlist the participation of a few other people, perhaps to create the sets, find costumes, or move lights, dawson is still content to be the one behind the camera and in the editing studio. That way he can still satisfy his dedication to the process.
© L. Broadfoot, 2000