First Night of Shooting

By SF Said

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

9pm - I
arrive at Norman Cohn's house Tuesday evening for the first night of shooting.
All the streets around his house have been sealed off by Francis Choquette and
his team. They will remain sealed until the shoot finishes.

Over the past week, Norman's living room has been
transformed into Captain Comer's turn-of-the-century ship's cabin. It has been
refitted with wooden planking on the floor and walls, and thick beams on the
ceiling. The props on Comer's desk include period pipes, maps, and a walrus
tusk. In the corners, we see his fine collection of Inuit weapons. On the walls
and shelves are other Inuit artefacts: shaman necklaces made with polar bear
claws and caribou hooves; ulus (semi-circular cutting tools); ice masks. The
floor is covered with rugs made from polar bear fur and Arctic fox pelts. There
is no way you would ever guess that only a week ago, this was a modern domestic
residence. Or that one of the film-makers is still living here!

9:30pm - Zach
Kunuk coaches Norman in his Inuktitut dialogue. In addition to doing the
cinematography, co-directing and producing the film, Norman is playing the part
of Captain Comer. Meanwhile, the ship's lamps are being lit. There's a debate
about where and how they should be placed. Thinking their way into the mindset
of Captain Comer, the crew decide on the best and most likely placement. There
are four oil lamps and two candles on one side of the room; a Qulliq (seal-oil
lamp) and another couple of oil lamps on the other side.

10:00pm - All
the electric lights are turned off. Norman shoulders his new Sony
High-Definition 24P camera, and surveys Comer's desk through the lamplight.
"You've got to see what this looks like!" he says. The camera is hooked up to a
monitor. It looks fabulous. The lamplight is incredibly rich and warm; it glows
off the natural wood surfaces. The colour contrasts are very strong; the blacks
deep, the bright colours vibrant. "Now we need someone to sit in Comer's
chair," says Norman. "SF: sit in Comer's chair." So I sit in Comer's chair,
posing as Evaluarjuk, while Norman and Zach decide that there is no need
whatsoever for any electric lighting: they are going to shoot in here using
lamplight alone. The camera is that good.

10:45pm -
Shooting is scheduled to start in fifteen minutes, yet this is the most relaxed
film set I've ever seen. Zach is calmly smoking a pipe. Norman is eating a
peanut butter & jelly sandwich. Art Director Louis Uttak is fixing some
props; Sound man Richard Lavoie is setting up the clapper board. Everyone is
remarkably calm, given that this is the first day of filming. But then that
seems to be the way of things around Isuma. It's as far removed from the world
of monstrous film industry egos and star tantrums as it's possible to be.

11:00pm - The
actors arrive in full costume and make-up: Abraham Ulayuruluk (Evaluarjuk),
Pauloosie Qulitalik (Harry), Natar Ungalaaq (Nuqallaq), Leah Angutimarik
(Apak), Michelline Ammaq (Shoofly), Domonic Angutimarik (Angutimarik, his
namesake), Attuat Akkitiq (Kukiilisaq), Jacinta Satuqsi (Anulik). They look
terrific, especially the older women, who are sporting traditional face
tattoos. Gradually, they settle into the cabin. They have never rehearsed these
scenes, or even been in this space together. They all know the script, but the
way in which the script is realised will be discovered as we go along tonight.

11:30pm - The
set is cleared. The first scene is set up. Zach sits at the monitor; Norman
looks through the camera. He is also acting in this scene, so after the shot is
designed, he must then switch positions. There is no storyboard; the set-ups
get decided here and now.

12:20am - And -
action! Scene one, shot one, take one has commenced. The Journals Of Knud
Rasmussen is underway.

1:15am - Two
takes later, a new shot is set up, from a wider angle, involving more of the
actors. Zach arranges them in space with great precision, fine-tuning the
composition. They improvise their Inuktitut dialogue, talking and laughing
together. Mid-way through the scene, Norman takes the camera hand-held to shoot
from another angle. They keep talking, keep improvising.

1:50am -We all
watch the playback together. It's good; there's a sense of real life being
observed. And it looks absolutely stunning.

3:00am -
Another group shot, with more improvisation. It's fascinating to me how these
scenes are made. The film-makers set up the camera, and then encourage the
actors to interact with each other. The scenes often take different angles and
emphases from the script, depending on what evolves. While Comer seemed a
strong character as written, in the scenes as filmed, he is really only there
to help establish the Inuit characters, especially Evaluarjuk and Nuqallaq.
Though Nuqallaq has almost no dialogue, Natar Ungalaaq is bringing great
presence to the part.

3:20am - A
much-needed break for sandwiches and soup, which are delicious.

4:00am - The
next set-up features a long improvisation by three women and an accordion.
Perhaps only a few seconds of this will make it into the final film. This style
of film-making means that a lot of material will be shot which will never be
used; but even so, it's done in one take.

5:00am - The
final scene of the night features the singing of an ajaja song. It is
hair-raisingly beautiful, and in the context of the film, heart-breaking. I
find myself crying, twice. But then, it is very, very late.

6:20am -
Taima. It's a wrap. The first night's shooting is completed, and some great
material has been filmed. I feel like I've seen something very special.