During the last few months I’ve been hired to undertake several Director of Photography duties on local productions. This was a first for me as I usually employ my good friend Rick Trainor on my own shoots. As a result, I have learned a lot about lighting techniques from him during our collaborations. As many people know, the role of a Director of Photography and light in particular is so important in film but is often neglected in small to low budget productions. On previous shoots, Rick and I have used light as creatively as possible and lit many scenes using professional lights to £5 Ikea lamps and even Blackberry phones. Light is everything!
The ‘Wiley Ways’ Music Video
I met Allan Gildea at the studio a few months ago and we hit it off right away. Before his arrival, I was aware of Allan’s previous professional acting roles and his recent move into directing including motion graphics work. He impressed me with his show reel and his enthusiasm towards his craft. When the call came in I accepted the job instantly.
It was a one day shoot outside Newry and Allan was keen for me to help him with the overall look of the video. He was inspired by the photography of Ansel Adams and wanted to capture the authentic, unadorned style of the music of Hat Fitz and Cara Robinson. This mood board was all I needed and we cracked on with the production. Allan was a gentleman and made me and his clients feel at ease throughout the shoot. Check out his final edit below and I look forward to working with him again on future projects.
The ‘Coast’ Shoot
I’ve been harping on about collaborating for most of the year now and it was great to see Alan Stewart and Chris McClenaghan take up my advice as they slowly began gathering a creative team together for their ‘Coast’ production. I have total respect for anybody who gets out and lives the dream and you’ll be surprised by the amount of people who sit on good scripts and never attempt to get them filmed. Finding other creatives in different departments who share your passion and who are willing to give up their free time is difficult too. But the lads managed to do it and I salute them for it!
One of the main reasons why I chose to jump on board the project was that I knew that the two Directors ticked every box for me. Apart from being friends and competent Directors themselves, I believe Alan is one of the best editors and VFX editors in Northern Ireland. So I knew that my footage would get the best post treatment it deserved. Chris is also one of the top designers in the area so I knew that the build up and press releases would be extremely professional looking too. I wasn’t disappointed!
After the six days in total on the production of the pilot episode, Chris and Alan proved that you can do it with a limited budget. Fingers are crossed that the next five episodes will get the commission it deserves. I would love to see Chris and Alan’s creative writing and vision make its way onto the big screen. The pilot episode for ‘Coast’ will be finished in the next few months. However, check out the Behind The Scenes videos in the mean time:
The Seneca Music Video
I was and still am a big fan of Darren Lee’s work and he’s definitely a local and rising Director to keep an eye on. When I received his message through Facebook I was thrilled and instantly accepted the work. Even though he lives a few minutes from me, arranging meetings in the past had proven difficult. I finally got a chance to meet him and put a name to a face during the successful Raindance course held at BBCNI.
The four day shoot in Limerick for Irish band ‘Seneca’ was a complete success and I was happy to be involved in the production. Darren has a relaxed manner about him and he knows exactly what he wants for each scene. Which is great for somebody like me who is trying to replicate the exact imagery that the Director is thinking. Apart from my own music videos that are soon to be released, I am really looking forward to the final edit of this one!
Over the last three months, I’ve worked with several local Directors and each one has been unique in their style and delivery to the production. It’s always daunting when you hand over your footage to the Director to be edited. But I knew that each and every single one of them would do a fine job in post production. The experience has been both insightful and rewarding for me and I look forward to seeing the end results. For more information on my DP rates and availability please email your details to marty@scatteredimages.co.uk
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