Known for his stunt work in Total Recall, Flatliners, and Code 8, Derek Barnes has worked on both sides of the camera as actor, director, producer, and writer. As director of the action thriller Whiteout, three men must overcome the treacherous wilderness and each other after escaping a Russian labor camp. Eventually, their journey home turns into a brutal fight for survival.
Thank you for taking the time for this interview. What attracted you to this story? Was it based on a real-life incident?
Derek Barnes: James McDougall, the lead actor, is a friend of mine. We did a lot of short films together. We were looking for a good survivalist story like The Edge and Castaway. Escapees in the gulags of Russia used what was known as a Walking Supply, which was an escapee that could be killed and eaten. So that was the initial kernel, which is a terrifying concept. There was the social dynamics in all of that. So I really wanted to explore that because it would give us a lot to play with.
As director and co-writer, you wore two hats in bringing Whiteout to life. What was that like?
Barnes: I was the DP on the micro units. This was a passion project. It was a 24/7 commitment but I could not have loved it more. We ingrained every little nuance of this story. We had this thing figured inside and out. We really knew what we were looking for. But we were also ready for the surprises. We wanted to be sure we were open to any new angle to a scene. In the big studio system, you’re answering to so many people and you get bogged down. We were doing what felt right and true to us.
Can you go into the challenges you faced in filming in freezing weather?
Barnes: The first day, we were filming three hours north of Calgary and it was minus 43 Celsius. We were using a drone and when we directed to bring it down, the landing gear froze, so we had to catch it. There are just a lot of things that could go wrong. The snow was knee-deep and to walk a hundred feet took half an hour. Leading up to the icefall when Henry and James fell through the ice, we had to train them for that by acclimating them to ice water. To safely get the crew on that frozen lake, we needed sixteen inches of ice. But we had 24 inches and only a 20-inch chain saw. It took us three hours with all these guys digging through the ice. I had to jump in the water the night before to make sure there weren’t any sticks underneath.In terms of casting, what were you looking for in Henry?
Barnes: James McDougall was one of my best friends in high school. Playing Hnery was the role of his dreams. And this was the story of my dreams. We really tried to write to his strong suits and physical abilities. He is such a lovable guy. He’s the life of the party. We wanted to take him from a golden retriever to a wolf. We took this naive, innocent guy and put him on this journey.
Henry’s transformation from bumbling innocence to hard-core brutal survivalist was awesome. It’s as if the wolf rose within him. Can you go into that a bit?
Barnes: We took this naive, innocent guy and put him on this journey. We wanted to put the viewer in this situation and imagine how they would react.
You’ve worked in front of and behind the camera for some time. What have you learned about filmmaking that surprised you?
Barnes: Sometimes we get too focused on the action scenes. But it’s really the story that matters. I was looking at pre-visualizations to see how certain action scenes would work, But what guided me was, that it had to tell the story and move it forward. If a person falls off a cliff and you’re not invested in him, none of it matters. Like in the ice fall. We had it all worked out. We had him come up to the camera and fall into the ice water. The feeling is Henry’s dead. But his hand comes out and Henry’s still with us. We were going to shoot that as one continuous shot but it worked better in cuts. But that said, the overarching story has to be good. So instead of parlor tricks, we had to stay focused on what keeps the audience engrossed in the story.
Was there an actor or film that attracted you to filmmaking?
Barnes: Jackie Chan and The Drunken Master. I liked the comedy as well. I liked what he did and how he pulled it off. Then when the Lord of the Rings came around, I was so obsessed with how they pulled those things off.
You did some stunt work in the past. Any close calls?
Barnes: I had one big concussion where I woke up in an ambulance. I’ve been quite fortunate. I have some friends who weren’t that lucky. It’s the setup team you respect. You get a real appreciation for what a takes to perform a safe but believable stunt. It’s fun to push the envelope to see what you can get away with but it’s odds and safety you have to consider. I started as a craft guy getting coffee and I saw some stunt guy so I tried a stunt. I ended up breaking my leg in half.
What advice would you give young, aspiring filmmakers trying to break in or just starting?
Barnes: Finding the angle. I put my life savings into this film. We were absolutely determined to make this film, even if we had to make it on a dime. We had two different iterations of this film. We were location scouting five hours north of Toronto. We had to adapt. They say the enemy of done is perfect. We said no matter what happens, we’re making this movie. I was living in the cheapest apartment I could find. I was buying my own camera gear. This attracted some very talented people because they saw the determination. You also need to be a good business partner, saying you’ll get it done with some flexibility. Being a good business partner in a creative environment is so key because it’s the mountain range, not the mountain.
What are you working on now?
Barnes: It’s called Hunting Grounds. We’ve finished post-production. It’s a small movie but it’s good.
