Take One

Deborah Freeland, senior designer for Outreach and Continuing Studies at the University, recalls working as still photographer for the filming of Barn Burning, based on a Faulkner story. Her photographs will be exhibited during the 2009 Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference.

The winter of 1979 brought the film crew of William Faulkner’s Barn Burning to Oxford. There is always excitement when a film crew arrives in town. Oxonians welcome the change from routine and roll out the red carpet. The usual talk over coffee shifts to “who” saw “what” star eating at “which” restaurant on the Square. Details are noted such as “She lives off carrot sticks!” and “Did he get the accent right?”

Barn Burning was one of the PBS popular American Short Stories series adapted for television. The support and interest of the citizens became an important part in the making of the movie. Several locals were cast as extras on the set or hired to work on the crew, perhaps most notably Jimmy Faulkner, who was cast in a key role as Major De Spain. There was certainly no problem with the accent.

At the time, I was a graduate student working in Archives and Special Collections at the University. I was fortunate to be with the crew for the burning barn scene. The perfect old barn had already been located in the nearby community of Paris. Careful planning was required. There could be no retakes. Though it was a night scene and freezing cold, everyone in town turned out to watch the action. The fire department was present to prevent the blaze from getting out of hand. My job was to stand in one place and shoot still images of the barn as it burned to the ground. In contrast to modern digital cameras, the camera I used had no auto focus and no auto light meter.

By nightfall all was ready. The barn was prepped and the camera crew was in place. Jimmy Faulkner mounted his horse and rode back and forth behind the crew anxiously awaiting his cue. The fire was lit, and the pyrotechnics scattered into the dark. As the barn began to glow, the cameras rolled, and De Spain (Jimmy) charged forward waving a Civil War–era pistol. There had been some concern that the fire would spook the horse, but Jimmy had complete control. De Spain was seen only briefly, but dramatically in silhouette against the light of the blaze. The rafters of the barn fell in, sending sparks into the night sky. The fire department rushed in to put out the remaining embers. Then it was over. I didn’t expect so much action to happen so fast. I had exposed the entire roll of film wondering if I had captured anything at all. The next day I developed the photographs in a makeshift student dark room—a windowless bathroom with a towel under the door to block the light. When I held the images up to the light, I smiled.

One of my photographs was chosen for the publicity for the film and is reproduced on the cover of the VHS tape. A selection of the Barn Burning photographs taken that night will be exhibited during the 2009 Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference. The opening will be held in conjunction with “Faulkner on the Fringe”—an open-mike evening at the Southside Gallery. I hope Oxonians and conference attendees can recapture that exciting, fleeting moment in the photos 30 years later.

Deborah Freeland