The Where/What are you thread...

Hello all,

Ive been working in post production for about 12 years now and somehow im still enjoying it. I did the obligatory 2 years in ballyfermot (the old TV course, not the new film one). I found that course great for people who want to become operators as they had a very hands on approach compared to the more director/producer-centric courses in dhulaigh and dit.

After a year or so of trying different things, i got a job as a runner in one of the post houses mentioned above and gained extensive experience in the vital area of tea, coffee and biscuits. If your interested in post production at all, then being a runner/intern is a handy way of getting an introduction to a lot of the things that they dont teach you in college and is a much better way of learning the very basics of how post works than walking in expecting to edit or grade the next johnathan glasier commercial. Like Mycroft, my brilliance as an assistant happened to co-incide with a particularly busy period and i got a gig as an assistant editor. Since this was a post house the type of assisting you do differs dramatically from the classical film assistant type. The days of 1 editor, 1 assistant are long gone since my day sadly (happily i managed to catch the tail end of those days and really enjoyed that system. Working with the lovely Hughchal was a highlight ).

These days, theres 1 assistant to at least 3 editors and the assistants job is basically purely digitising, playing out and housekeeping the avids. Rarely will an assistant know which version of a cut is the "pre-presentation revised directors alt version". The biggest piece of advice i can give to anyone assisting is to make it their business to know as much as possible about an editors cuts without sitting on their shoulder.

After a year or two of assisting i got a break cutting a corporate video and spent a year or two doing them untill getting a much bigger break and moving on to programmes. I spent about 4 years cutting documentarys, mostly for rte but the odd thing for ch4 and bbc, before getting yet another lucky break and getting to cut a commercial. For the last 3 years or so ive been cutting commercials and enjoying it immensely.

Ajos wrote:

...and bitch about people shooting theatrical features at 25fps.

snip...

New York rocks! Nobody here shoots ANYTHING at 25fps.

Clonakilty rocks harder, they shoot EVERYTHING at 16fps there.

Eh, what's your problem with 25fps? Why would anyone shoot stuff at 25fps in New York unless it was for a PAL market? They'd shoot at 24 (or 30. Go figure...

Bitching about people shooting theatrical features @ 25 is somewhat pointless on Boards because the reason that they're shooting at 25 in the first place is that they don't have the friggin' money to shoot on anything other than tape!

Shooting movies @ 25 is going to increase if anything with the advent of HiDef. I think we'll all have to learn to live with that.

hc

Back on topic...

I am a painter of the face.... or make-up artist. Whichever you like to call it. Trained in DLIADT doing everything - film, tv, theatre and special effects make-up. Brillant course and I loved it. Since then I've worked on feature films, shorts, student films, theatre productions, commericals, and tv. Worked at a big news network while in Chicago last year. Was great. I'd still be there if it wasn't for stupid visas and that you are meant to work legally! (sssh don't tell anyone!)

Was working this week on a production being filmed in Galway. So that's finishing now so back to my day job of putting on make-up on people in a shop. The joy!!

I'm hoping to either get back to America (green card lottery 2007!) or head to Australia and work there as I've a few contacts from a gig I did awhile back. It sometimes can get rather disheartening the lack of jobs but then another production pops up and you just love working on it and decide to keep it up a while longer!

monkeyfudge wrote:

Larianne.... What year did you graduate from Dun Laoghaire?

When I was going to college there I always thought the make up course was a pretty good one... we used to get some amazing comstumes at the Halloween parties anyway...

I think I got roped into being done up as a women for someones exam up there once. ha..

I was there from 2001-2003. Yes its the best course as it trains you in evrey aspect of make-up. And there's only 20 places every 2 years so there's only a select few of us around!!

Ah yes, the sex reversal looks. They were great!! Funnily enough neither of my brothers would model for me!! And I offered money and all. The guy that I ended up using was quite shocked with the result... as he looked like his mother!! lol

monkeyfudge wrote:

Strangely I ended up looking like Lucy Lawless of Xena fame.

I graduated in 1999.... the college was a far different place when you were there.

You did film, right? *ah I just saw you did radio*Yeah its amazing how a lot of people in the college thought we were a bunch of bimbos (esp. the film dudes in 1st year) but when someone either modelled for us or saw our final exhibition (or needed us for their shorts) they realised how much work we actually put into the course and how time consuming it was. Not saying though that there wasn't one or two bimbos now!!

Ah as a college it was crap - the social life..its too far away and those god dam librarians making your life hell when all you wanna do is take out a book. But the course was great, loved it so I didnt mind the nearly two hour trek it would take me to get there everyday.

Sorry that's all off topic..... but that's me anyways!

Leprachaun wrote:

Currently in Saturday Film Production Course in Dun Loaighre.Doing 2 weeks experience in a place called Grand Pictures.Would like to be a director

How long does that course go on for and how much does it cost? Is it part of a degree?

I'm only after joining as well, so how do.

I'm a partner in a small production company; we've been hammering away since 2002. We have a registered name but we've all got day jobs, so we're just trying to give it a go like anyone else. We write, edit, produce and direct between us.

Since 2002 we've finished sixteen pieces, mostly fiction. We've had two showreels of our material, the most recent for last year's work which we put on at the end of January in the IFI. Each year we've kept busy and learnt a lot about the creative, technical and logistical aspects of filmmaking, and this year should be no different.

I didn't study film in college. I attended junior drama for a number of years when I was younger, and wrote a short play which we performed. In college I was on the board of the Drama Society for two years. I started writing short screenplays and wrote and directed a play during my second year on the committee. Since finishing college my partners and I setup the company and started writing and making shorts however we could manage. I attended a Filmbase Digital Foundation Course last year which was an excellent experience and through which I made some very valuable contacts.

From reading the posts on the board I can see there is a wealth of experience and knowledge amongst the regular contributors here, so you can be sure I'll be running a few questions by yis. Cheers folks!