EXPLORING THE MIND OF KRISTIAN BAKSTAD

When we see a short film like Eden, directed by Kristian Bakstad, that screened at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival, you would have to often wonder what type of vision he wanted to achieve in their film.  Sure you may want to sample some pieces from past films or even some video games to lay down the foundation but most directors do want to create an environment that hasn’t been done before.  You can tell in Eden that there was a lot of thought and preparation that went into every scene in the film.  Eden did not fall flat on its face rather it gave us much hope for the science fiction genre.  Not only is he the director of the film, but Kristian Bakstad also held many other titles to achieve the vision that he wanted.  FERNTV spoke to Kristian of what it takes to achieve that vision.

FERNTV:  Tell us what inspired the film and why you wanted to make this a short?

Kristian:  The inspiration for Eden came from two sources; my love of visually attractive sci-fi films and my time playing video games;  Mass Effect, World of Warcraft, Eve Online as examples.  I had an idea for a quest/macguffin based storyline that would take us as viewers through a short adventure, and from that point, I built the pieces out to form the structure of the film:   A quest for an artifact.  Most of Eden has no dialogue, so during the structural process, I bounced between what the visual aesthetic would be and how we would keep moving through the facility with the scavenger;  the thread that would pull us through to the final “boss” battle.  I wanted something that was visually attractive and a fun ride along.  Also, a product that could lead to something bigger.

FERNTV:  Can you tell us about scouting the locations for this film and this experience?

Kristian:   For the look of the interior of the facility, I always wanted a very textured and cold aesthetic.  It’s how it was written and I had seen the underground tunnels of the old historic mental hospital Riverview in Coquitlam BC from working on other projects.  So I wanted to shoot there.  It worked out that they also had a boiler room area on the first floor that we were able to build out the cockpit, cargo hold, and mad mans lair using the military equipment we rented.  That allowed us to lock the production in for 3 days and get all of our principle photography executed in a contained environment.  I spent some time building a rental package of military crates and equipment and we loaded it in, built the sets to the camera for each shot and loaded back out.  Tunnels day one.  Mad man’s lair day two.  Cockpit and cargo hold on day three.  The location was incredible, contained, and allowed us to operate and get everything we needed over the course of a weekend.  2.5 days of shooting.  Plus it looked amazing.

FERNTV:  What were some of your biggest influence when it came to sci-fi films?

Kristian:  From a photographic and design standpoint Blade Runner and Alien were the jumping off point.  Ridley Scott’s eye for camera placement, blocking and composition are incredible.  I had brought some reference stills to our DP Peter Wilke and we worked together to come up with our own style that still understood what made those films so great; and with Peters incredible knowledge and skill set, he was able to deliver ideas and final frames that blew me away.

Peter and I also talked a lot about shot economics and referenced Denis Villeneuve’s work with Sicario and Arrival as an example of another filmmaker with an incredible understanding and mastery of the craft.

When I got into the VFX work I took a deeper look at Prometheus, Alien: Covenant, and Blade Runner 2049.

FERNTV:  Can you tell us if you have now a new found respect for sci-fi films now that you have Eden under your belt?

Kristian:  I’ve always loved sci-fi.  The genre is such an incredible sandbox for ideas and exploration, and now that Eden is completed I would really love to stay in the genre for it.  a lot of ideas and concepts that I would like to apply to a sci-fi or fantasy setting that helps expand my perspective and understanding in the real world.  That is exciting to me.

FERNTV:  You seem to be the jack of all trades when it comes to this short.  Tell us about the experience of having more than one role?

Kristian:  After I finished writing Eden, I began designing the world.  I pieced together conceptual ideas, from costumes to the overall world aesthetic, and through this process, I developed a very distinct vision for what I wanted it to be.  I knew with this short I was playing the long game and that I would be raising the funds internally within my family.  That gave me a protective nature and patience, and it naturally fell into place taking on these creative and business roles in order to deliver the product.

I find fashion, design, efficiency, and economics to be incredibly exciting, so each role beyond directing, producing and writing was approached with attention to detail and passion.  There were certainly moments where it became cumbersome holding more roles, but the prep phase was well organized, with incredible players in key positions, so it ran smoothly.  For this particular film, it was worth exploring and building out a larger skill set, gaining trust in myself, and understanding of the mechanics for future projects.

FERNTV:  What was one of your biggest challenges in the film?

Kristian:  The biggest challenge I faced was learning all of the visual effects work needed to complete the product.

It was not always my intention to do all the VFX, but once I got into post, it unfolded in that way.  I had a base understanding of compositing and after effects and a natural ability to teach myself through online tutorials and trial and error.  Eden required me to learn motion tracking, more complex compositing, animation, environment creation, motion graphics, etc.  The process was overwhelming, but I had to look at each component separately and put one foot in front of the other in order to climb the mountain.   Having multiple skills to learn kept it fresh, so when I got stuck on motion tracking, I would switch gears to building the space environments, or the HUD graphics and vice versa.  That limited the frustration to an extent and allowed me to feel like I was moving forward.

As challenging and time consuming as it was, the knowledge that was gained from the process was important.  I feel confident in my understanding of the implementation of those components on a larger scale project.  So the investment yielded value.

FERNTV:  Tell us about the film industry in Vancouver?

Kristian:  The film industry in Vancouver is very robust, covering a wide spectrum of projects from low budget content up to high budget tentpole feature films.  There is an incredible level of talented technicians, performers, and creatives in every field so it’s a great place to shoot with solid crews.

FERNTV:  How does it feel to be part of Toronto After Dark this year?

Kristian:  Toronto After Dark is an excellent festival with a great reputation in the industry.  I was honoured to be selected for the showcase and it’s one of the festivals I was really hoping to participate in.  I think what Adam Lopez is doing is incredible, and I’m excited to have been a part of it and think the future of the fest will continue to be great.  Representation of genre films is important, the fan base is thriving, and the festival has a long life ahead of it.

www.edenshortfilm.com