2008 Woodie Awards
Screening of documentary is a tourist trap in disguise
Film leaves viewers cosmically bored . 2/5 stars
Jena Benton
Issue date: 6/24/08 Section: Movie Reviews
When local photographer Dave Parkhurst first moved to Alaska in the late '70s, it was nearly impossible to find any photos of the northern lights. In fact, he had been told that the aurora borealis was impossible to capture on film, as it was a "special" kind of light.
"I dabbled in photography previously," Parkhurst said, "and when I was told that there was a type of light that couldn't be photographed, my curiosity was piqued."
Parkhurst did some digging and found that the only photographs of the aurora at that time were grainy, nondescript images taken by scientists for study purposes. It then became his obsession to try to capture this impossible-to-photograph phenomenon, and this very passion was behind his "AurorA" film now playing at the Sydney Laurence Theater at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts downtown.
However, his film is not a typical documentary.
"I created the program so it wasn't all science," Parkhurst said. "The science regarding the aurora is so extensive and complex that most folks would fall asleep if you began to educate them about it."
Indeed, the only information to be found in the film about the factual data surrounding the aurora appears in the first six minutes. And unfortunately, it's the most riveting part of the entire piece.
Although the film itself is 40 minutes long, the majority of the film is composed of photographs set to music. There is no actual video footage, other than a borrowed piece of film in the introduction about eruptions on the sun and a quick glimpse of Parkhurst himself heading out into the field.
Yet there is a scientific explanation for this lack of video footage.
"Past efforts to capture aurora on movie film are inaccurate," Parkhurst said, "as the film projectors play back the films at 'super-speeds,' compressing about three to four minutes of exposure into one second of projecting. The aurora moves unrealistically and the stars track like jets across the sky."
"I dabbled in photography previously," Parkhurst said, "and when I was told that there was a type of light that couldn't be photographed, my curiosity was piqued."
Parkhurst did some digging and found that the only photographs of the aurora at that time were grainy, nondescript images taken by scientists for study purposes. It then became his obsession to try to capture this impossible-to-photograph phenomenon, and this very passion was behind his "AurorA" film now playing at the Sydney Laurence Theater at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts downtown.
However, his film is not a typical documentary.
"I created the program so it wasn't all science," Parkhurst said. "The science regarding the aurora is so extensive and complex that most folks would fall asleep if you began to educate them about it."
Indeed, the only information to be found in the film about the factual data surrounding the aurora appears in the first six minutes. And unfortunately, it's the most riveting part of the entire piece.
Although the film itself is 40 minutes long, the majority of the film is composed of photographs set to music. There is no actual video footage, other than a borrowed piece of film in the introduction about eruptions on the sun and a quick glimpse of Parkhurst himself heading out into the field.
Yet there is a scientific explanation for this lack of video footage.
"Past efforts to capture aurora on movie film are inaccurate," Parkhurst said, "as the film projectors play back the films at 'super-speeds,' compressing about three to four minutes of exposure into one second of projecting. The aurora moves unrealistically and the stars track like jets across the sky."
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