STRETCHING THE CANVAS [13.07.2009] Category: Surf film

"Stretching the Canvas will take you on a journey through the tide and into the heavens"


mesurf review:
by Roger Dawkins

Stretching the Canvas is a film by up and coming filmmaker Chase Burns that pretty much chronicles his travels from Phillip Island to Bali and Hawaii and back again. I picked it up because of some big calls I heard Chase make in an interview I forget where. He reckons surf films right now are a bit... stunted; I mean, he says stuff like there needs to be a shake up in the film industry because surf fans don’t get what they’re paying for with your average run of the mill flicks. And he says he’s the dude to deliver the missing ingredient. Well fuck me that sounds interesting, I thought. (The dude who wrote the blurb on the back cover is rating it anyhow, check this: “What starts as a blank canvas transforms into a portrait of the heart and soul told through the masterstrokes of a revolutionary filmmaker.”)

I’m not sure if it’s a revolutionary film, and to be honest I’m not sure if the surf film industry needs a revolution. I mean surf films are like porn kind of, right (I’m borrowing this simile from Chase himself). But that’s good, isn’t it? You wanna get your load on, right? You wanna see some surfing and get amped, right? I reckon nine out of ten films satisfy, but I do agree with Chase that sometimes there’s not enough diversity. I’m not sure I agree with his other opinion though: that comps make free-surfing conservative because surfers are scared they’ll injure themselves and stuff. I don’t know... I’ve seen some awesome free-surfing in Taylor Steele flicks and Taj goes mental in anything…

But anyhow, there’s some great surfing in Stretching the Canvas and there’s heaps of variety. There’s nothing that radical about the format, but it’s put together with skill and vision. I mean, I don’t think I’ve seen a film where so much effort has obviously gone into music and image. Chase has clearly put heaps of thought into his sequences, and some of his images - particularly in his Yasujiro Ozu interludes - are beautiful. It’s heavy like a personal film, and so you feel like you’re watching something deep and quality and not something pitched by some latte sipping cool hunter in a Buzz Rickson jacket.


FILM QUALITY

Stretching the Canvas is top-notch quality. It looks like it’s been shot and put together by a pro. I’d even go so far as to say it’s pretty slick. There are quite a few ‘personal’ interludes in there too, which make you feel like you’re watching the product of a true artist type

EDITING

Great editing. It’s quite in your face, but not in the sense that you watch this film and think it’s a big showy wank. Chase edits the music and surfing together so well it gives the surfing an extra punch (for more about Chase’s intentions see mesurf’s interview from a few days back). He also uses the editing like a true pro to create a nice sense of pace and excitement, particularly in the opening credits, and at other times for a moody and quite dark effect.

VARIETY

My favourite thing about this movie is the variety of surfing conditions. You see guys ripping in onshore chop, solid beachies and of course Indo kegs, and ‘cos of these different conditions you’re likely to watch this film time and time again. There’s plenty of moody interludes too that would make legendary filmmaker Ozu proud, but to be honest I think there’s a few too many. I’m not totally sure you’re average watcher of a surf film wants too much scenery shots and ambient music… At times during Stretching the Canvas I was thinking, ’Wow, nice “mise-en-scene” and qual music bro, but is the surfing coming soon…?’ Maybe that’s just me.
 
SURFING

Some good surfing and a variety of style too. Nice hacks, nice barrels and nice moves in the kind of average waves dudes like you and me surf everyday. That’s all awesome. Also, there’s some Slater and Fanning and Machado too. The thing is this though: Chase deliberately doesn’t tell you who is surfing when…and that’s ‘cos he doesn’t want you to worry about it; he just wants you to sit up and enjoy the ride. I get it, and that’s fine in principle, but part of me thinks that reading a name at the bottom of the screen can make you froth too. Oh fuck that’s Jamie O, is something you might think. And this is especially the case with a couple of the local guys Chase features. This one dude who looks about thirty tears the friggin bag… but I’m not sure who it is?

SOUNDTRACK

Awesome soundtrack. The guy loves Crystal Castles and they suit what he’s doin'. Like I said above music and image are a massive highlight.

OVERALL

Stretching the Canvas is definitely worth keeping in a prominent place on your shelf. Chase aims to create heaps of mood, and although I said before his film gets a bit Baraka at times, on the whole the mood works well to give the footage some real depth. The music’s cool and includes some big names like Radiohead—but I guess I’ve gotta say I would have preferred to see a young up and coming filmmaker like Chase using up and coming Australian music from one of the many aspiring bands found somewhere like triple J’s Unearthed [triplejunearthed.com].



STANDOUTS
    •  The dude who looks about thirty doin' sweet airs on that crappy wedgy shorey somewhere in Oz.
    •  Slater’s arrival by chopper to G Land
    •  The variety of surfing and locations. Watch this flick over and over again, and for its variety put it right there on the shelf next to 5’5” x 19 ¼, Shane Dorian’s Blueprint and even Ozzie Wright’s 156 Tricks


We caught up with Chase to chat about his thoughts on the surf film industry, what makes the kid tick, and how he's changing the world. You can read the interview by clicking the link...

STRETCHING THE CANVAS WITH CHASE BURNS




FILM: STRETCHING THE CANVAS
STYLE: Artist and new age surf films
CATEGORY: DVD/FILM
WEB: www.chaseburns.com
RRP:  $30

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