Cinema Canada (May 1980)

a es The National Film Board of Canada undertook the ardent task of filming Canadian Iceboating Champion, Don Walton, as he tracked the winter wind on the fierce iceboat racing circuit. A circuit encompassing a radius of approximately 600 miles, the crew of Black Ice travelled to points in and around Toronto, Hamilton, Northern Ontario, and Ohio, capturing the sport of iceboat racing on film. Perhaps the only drawback to the making of Black Ice was our dependence upon a combination of weather conditions. While skiers need snow, and softwater sailors need wind, iceboaters pray for ice and wind, plus an absence of snow and rain. Understandably, good iceboating areas are few and far between. But construction compensates for these conditions: iceboats are capable of being quickly assembled and disassembled with bare hands, in subfreezing weather, and are designed for easy transportation ona trailer or car roof. We tracked Don Walton racing his DN Class iceboat. The DN’s are characterized for their streamlined hulls (for wind resistrance), regulation 60 sq. ft. sail, and three runners or skate-like blades that glide over the ice with minimum friction. The DN weighs about 125 Ibs. yet is capable of reaching speeds of 60 m.p.h. and more. In fact, the lightweight DN can travel almost four times the speed of the wind. As all of our filming took place outdoors with temperatures well below freezing, both our cameras had to be winterized. Filming in 35mm, we choose the Arriflex 35BL, due to its easy handholding ability, and the Arriflex IIC for its rugged design. Preparing for the start of the season, we ran several tests using various methods of tracking the boats. Initially we tried tracking by snowmobile, but the procedure would only yield footage of high vibra tional quality. Next we opted for a Steadicam, but in the extreme cold we felt the electronics would give us trouble. Finally, we decided on boat-to-boat tracking. Mounts were made out of aluminum and built to fit either an Arri flat base plate or a high-hat adapter. Also, a motorized rotating plate was incorporated into the mounting system: this enabled _ preselected panning from point to point. The entire system ran off a 16 volt battery and could be moved via sandwich clamps to virtually any position on the hull or runner plank of the iceboat. Jeffrey Marvin is a documentary filmmaker and free-lance writer. He was line producer and uriter for Black Ice. The next challenge was for cameraman Michael Savoie to learn how to sail the rigged boat to assure proper framing. After some hair-raising first attempts, the results were better than we ever anticipated. By having the camera mounted right onto the boat, the boat and camera were able to vibrate in sync, creating very little distortion of the picture. Manned with this new system we were ready to undertake any shot that director Peter Shatalow could dream up. Luckily the weather held out, and we were fortunate to film some exciting racing sequences in Hamilton Harbour, Lake Scugog and The Bay of Quinte — the panning system enabled us to swiftly manoeuver back and forth through the racers without disturbing their ponderous progress. And ponderous is putting it mildly. An iceboat is subject to tremendous forces on its rigging, hull, planks and chokes (its construction is a compromise between weight and strength that is literally held together by pins). Asa result, it is not unusual for something to break while at high speeds. Masts and stays can also snap under high gust loads. In a typical race situation there are boats to avoid, tacks to be made (unlike sail boats, an iceboat travels faster tacking into the wind than it does with the wind), and markers to be rounded — which indicate where you must head. But even more common obstacles to avoid are pressure ridges in the ice, water holes, sudden gusts of wind that can send an iceboat into abrupt hiking, and break-up — a situation that left producer David Springbett “sweating bullets” with the apprehension of our camera boat breaking up. Fortunately, during our entire two winters of shooting we lost only one runner plank, resulting in minor damage solely to the boat. Despite the seeming irregularity of perfect iceboating conditions, we were able to shoot with lenses as tight as 50mm, no matter what ice conditions prevailed. But the real treat came in Hamilton Harbour when we encountered Black Ice. Like a freshly waxed linoleum floor, Black Ice is that newly-frozen water which gives a flawless consistency. Its clear, clean surface is the ultimate condition sought by all iceboaters. As racer Don Walton puts it, “It's like a giant hand grabbing the boat and shoving it skimming across the ice. The speed is fantastic.” Coming off the ice, Walton was ready to take on the world. And so he did. Following the Canadian Team to the World Championships in Sandusky, Ohio, proved to be our toughest assignment. The weekend was brutal with high winds and skin temperatures of -40°. Many of the boats on hand, fromas far away as the USSR, snapped under these pressures. It was so cold that our Arriflex 35BL froze solid. But second unit cameraman Mark Irwin, using the “olde” ICC pulled through. Filming from within the hazardous downwind marker, close-up shots were obtained just as the boats pivoted upwind. Many boats were photographed in full hike, lines snapping from inertia. In addition, we employed the use of a 1500mm Questar lens, which is really a telescope. A two-man operation, the Questar has one field-searching element as well as the normal lens viewing port. By having one man scan the subject through the searching element while the other maintains focus, it is possible to track a subject at extreme close-up range. This procedure is highly critical as both men must equally coordinate their movements. Black Ice has taken two years to produce under some of the most adverse filming conditions possible, but we have documented it all. Soon, it will make its movie debut as a 35mm, stereo, theatrical short in theatres across Canada. John Grierson would have been proud, 461 Church Street: Toronto Ontario Canada Telephones: 9E2018! 962-0182 Cinema Canada/25