Darkon (2006)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Directors:

Luke Meyer
Andrew Neel

Writers:

Luke Meyer (writer)
Andrew Neel (writer)

Genre:

Documentary | Fantasy

Tagline:

Everybody Wants To Be a Hero

Plot Keywords:

Family Relationships | Role Playing Game | Weapon | Baltimore Maryland | Battle

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Skip Lipman	...	Himself / Bannor
Kenyon Wells	...	Himself / Keldar
Daniel McArthur	...	Himself / Trivius
Rebecca Thurmond	...	Herself / Nemesis
James Iddings	...	Himself / Saruk
Gary Black	...	Himself / Malkin
Domenic Prince	...	Himself / Arfex
Andrew Mattingly	...	Himself / Shapwin
Frank Kanach	...	Himself / Otto
Leah Kanach	...	Herself / Ilya
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Wells	...	Himself - Kenyon's father
Nancy Lee Wells	...	Herself - Kenyon's mother

Directed by
Luke Meyer
Andrew Neel

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Luke Meyer		writer
Andrew Neel		writer

Produced by
Tom Davis	....	producer
Debbie Demontreux	....	executive producer: IFC
Lee Adhemar G. Feldshon	....	associate producer
Christopher Kikis	....	executive producer
Christopher Kikis	....	producer
Thoma Kikis	....	executive producer
Thoma Kikis	....	producer
Nicholas Levis	....	executive producer
Nicholas Levis	....	producer
Christine Lubrano	....	executive producer: IFC
Ethan Palmer	....	producer
Domenic Romano	....	associate producer
David Schwartz	....	associate producer
Evan Shapiro	....	executive producer: IFC
Cherise Wolas	....	executive producer
Cherise Wolas	....	producer
Alan Zelenetz	....	executive producer
Alan Zelenetz	....	producer

Original Music by
Jonah Rapino

Cinematography by
Karl F. Schroder
Hillary Spera

Film Editing by
Brad Turner

Art Department
John DeLuca	....	storyboard artist

Sound Department
John Bosch	....	sound mixer
Keith Cecere	....	sound mixer
Raphael Laski	....	sound editor
Raphael Laski	....	sound mixer
Mike Mayo	....	recordist
Rafael Sienkiewicz	....	sound mixer

Visual Effects by
Gavin Rosenberg	....	online editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Paul Barth	....	camera copter pilot
Maceo Bishop	....	Steadicam operator
Scott Buckler	....	crane operator
Steve Bussman	....	camera copter pilot
Rick Carmona	....	crane grip
Steve Cassidy	....	aerial director of photography
Jean Chen	....	grip
Shawn Crawford	....	assistant camera
John Dianda	....	crane grip
Mike Horn	....	additional camera operator
Chris Koch	....	grip
Luke Meyer	....	additional camera operator
Sarah Morton	....	assistant camera
Andrew Neel	....	additional camera operator
Ethan Palmer	....	additional camera operator
Brent Poleski	....	additional camera operator
Brent Poleski	....	grip
Rossana Rizzo	....	additional camera operator
Rossana Rizzo	....	assistant camera
Gavin Rosenberg	....	additional camera operator
Gavin Rosenberg	....	assistant camera
Richard 'Rico' Sands	....	crane operator
Alex Valentine	....	additional camera operator
Charlie Wing	....	grip
Ben Zimmerick	....	assistant camera

Animation Department
Erin D'Avella	....	animator
John Garland	....	animator
Ian Lamont-Havers	....	animator
Scott Pallo	....	animator
Rich Paul	....	animator
Drew Vogelman	....	animator

Editorial Department
Ted Pishko	....	smoke editor
Gavin Rosenberg	....	digital intermediate conformer
Scot Starbuck	....	colorist

Music Department
Todd Brunel	....	musician: clarinet
Eric Dahlman	....	musician: trumpet
Joshua Evans	....	musician: cello
Daniel L. Heath Jr.	....	musician: trombone
Kaethe Hostetter	....	musician: viola
Rick Landwehr	....	musician: percussion
Jonah Rapino	....	composer: additional music
Jonah Rapino	....	musician: violin
Laura Smolowitz	....	musician: flute
Vessela Stoyanova	....	musician: marimba

Other crew
Lee Adhemar G. Feldshon	....	legal counsel
Kenneth G. Alberstadt	....	counsel: OVIE
Marcello Benedetto	....	legal counsel
Nick DeWind	....	intern
Ish Goldstein	....	production assistant (as Jesse Goldstein)
Diane Grayson	....	intern
Guy Greenberg	....	production assistant
Vicky Hely-Hitchinson	....	intern
Masato Ota	....	intern
Domenic Romano	....	legal counsel
Chris Schmidt	....	key intern
David Schwartz	....	legal counsel
Daniel Timmins	....	production assistant
Jeremy Walker	....	publicist

Production Companies

• Ovie Productions
• SeeThink Films

Distributors

• SeeThink Films (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Independent Film Channel (IFC) (2007) (USA) (TV)
• PorchLight Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Ovie Entertainment (2007) (USA) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• BrandCinema  marketing design
• Cactus Three  sales
• Darkon Wargaming Club  special thanks
• Jeremy Walker + Associates  publicity
• Post Millennium  thanks
• Silver Screen Post Production  post-production facilities

Runtime:

USA:93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Ovie Productions

Movie Connections:

Features Excalibur (1981)

By Gamers, About Gamers, and Ultimately for Gamers

One of the few non-comedic movies by gamers, about gamers, and ultimately for gamers, Darkon (Ovie Productions/Seethink Productions, 2006) is a documentary that focuses on the activities of the Darkon Wargaming Club, a fantasy live-action role-playing (LARP) group in Baltimore, Maryland.

Moreso than movies of any sort by non-gamers about role-playing gaming (e.g., the execrable Mazes and Monsters), Darkon explores the purposes, positive aspects, and benefits of the hobby and the motives people have for participating in it. While it also hints at the all-consuming effect RPGs can have on their participants, it is ultimately more of an apologia for the hobby than an examination of it.

From a technical point of view, Darkon is well filmed, excellently scored, and structurally sound. One thing it does not do, however, is explain what a LARP is. Naturally, this does not matter much as far as gamers are concerned, but the absence of such explanation severely limits the value this film could have had as a tool for telling the non-gaming world about something about which it has limited awareness and little understanding. It is also a little on the long side, with multiple, interchangeable battle scenes, some of which could have been cut in lieu of some interviews with some third parties who could have helped put LARPing and RPGing in context.

A product of its times, Darkon draws as much on the genre of reality television as it does on that of documentary, with asides to the camera by its various subjects that shed light on their motivations and relationships in and out of the game. Depending on whether one likes reality TV or not, this could be seen as either a benefit or a detriment.

Some of the costuming and props used by the Darkon LARPers are impressive, with especial kudos going to the Dark Elf players (who do not appear in the film nearly enough). Firing catapults and a wooden fortress that is actually burned at the end of a battle demonstrate the willingness of this club's members to go above and beyond in their gaming.

Overall, Darkon is worth a watch by anyone interested in seeing a particular side of the gaming genre. It is likely, however, to be just as confusing as it is enlightening to outsiders, and does not go nearly as far as it could have toward producing an understanding of the hobby to those not already familiar with it.

Darkon is 93 minutes long. It premiered and won the Best Documentary Audience Award at the 2006 South By Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, and is an official selection playing at the Hot Docs, Maryland Film Festival, Silverdocs, LA Film Festival, Britdoc and Melbourne International Film Festival. It aired on the Independent Film Channel Nov. 12, and that might thus be a good place to keep an eye out for it.

Michael J. Varhola, Skirmisher Online Gaming Magazine