Update

I haven't updated this in ages as I've been really busy. After All Night Long, I co-produced a short film called Tom's Sceadu by Liam Delahunty. I was a trainee producer for the Cork Midsummer Festival, went straight on to be production stage manager for a theatre show called 'Wet Paint', while also being props master (and much more) for the IFB trailer 'Shem The Penman Sings Again'.  At the moment, I'm in rehearsals for a show about Tom Barry, 'Guerilla Days in Ireland'. I'm also in pre-production for the Cork Film Centre winning script by Niall Owens and Yvonne Keane, 'Leanbh'. I will be producing that along with Niall and Ben Keenan and will feature my gorgeous little nephew Cillian. Shooting dates for that will be late September/early October.

For now, I'll leave you with a few links.

One is for Medicine Hat who are also in pre-production for their next short film, Partly Cloudy, written by Mark Cogan.
http://web.me.com/mizenman/Site/Partly_Cloudy.html

The other link is for Pic Du Jer Productions of which I am a co-director of. We're still in our early days of having an online presence but we are doing pick up shots for Tom's Sceadu tomorrow and have festival deadlines to concentrate on. Pic Du Jer will be producing 'Leanbh' and there are a few more things up our sleeves!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pic-Du-Jer-Productions/149650618442541

As my sister just pointed out, no one but her is waiting for this post......back to reality.

Its a wrap!

We finished principal photography on All Night Long recently and it went really well. Great team involved and we got everything we needed! Here is the link to the webpage Medicine Hat Films and here is our Facebook page Medicine Hat on FB

Now onto Post Production! Mark is working hard on it, as is Conor Barron our composer. Can't wait to see a rough cut of it!


Below are some onset pics from our stills photographer Karol Kachmarsky. You can find more on our FB page.

L-R: Alan Owens (clapper Loader), Neil Hurley (sound recordist), Rosie O' Regan (actor-'Margret'), Mark Cogan (Writer/Director), Petr Stach (camera assistant)

L-R: Niall Owens (1st AD), Amanda Ferriter (Producer), Mark Cogan (Writer/Director)

Sebastian Thommen (Actor-'Max')

Neil Hurley

Mark Cogan

Rosie O'Regan

Sebastian Thommen

L-R: Páraic English (DOP), Fiona Ross (Make-up & Hair)

Rosie O'Regan

Páraic English, Niall Owens

'Catch me if you can'

L-R: Fiona Ross, Amanda Ferriter, Mark Cogan

Cast and Crew: Back row: (L-R) Fiona Ross, Brian O'Glanby, Petr Stach, Niall Owens, Alan Owens, Neil Hurley, Páraic English, Karol Kachmarsky

Front Row: (L-R) Amanda Ferriter, Rosie O'Regan, Sebastian Thommen, Mark Cogan

Next!

Now that 'All Night Long' is in Post, I can put most of my energies into other projects.

A project I'm involved in is for a local Cork charity and I'm pretty much doing everything on it. I've had some people do a bit of camera work for me and I'm pleased with the results so far, but I'm a long way from being finished. I'm planning on interviewing some people who I hope will drive the short documentary narratively next week and I've a good feeling about it. Its a great charity and they do amazing work, a lot of which goes unnoticed so my wish is to do it justice. I'm not going to give any more info on it for now, might post something when its all done! 

Another project that I'm researching and will take some time is something for my friends company 'Just Breathing'. They're a new Limerick based Dance Arts Company that do lots of artsy stuff so I hope to do a themed photo shoot for them. Again, not going to give that theme away as I haven't yet told them my idea. I'm also working with make-up artist Fiona Ross on developing it. We hope it will be special!

Lastly, for now, I'm co-producing a really great short film with a friend of mine to be shot in May. The script has been written by Liam Delahunty and will also be directed by him. The usual crew are involved again (Páraic English as DOP, Neil Hurley as sound recordist, Niall Owens as producer and 1st AD). There are two wonderful actors attached too so I'm delighted to be working on it.

Right, better start doing some work and stop talking about it! 

10 top films to watch before you die

I came across this list very randomly but I thought it was interesting so I said I'd share. Some great films there! The list was written by a guy called James Honeyman-Wooler and his profile page is here ---->
http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/744722

So here's the list

"This is by no means a list of the greatest movies ever made. You won’t find the Godfather or Forest Gump listed (although they are fantastic films) for one reason – you’ve probably already seen them! Below are ten on screen greats that cater for everyone and most importantly haven’t been hyped up and watched to death already.

So get comfy, crack out the popcorn and settle down to a night of ten top films." 

In Bruges

A brilliant film that’s surprisingly unheard of starring Colin Farrell in one of his funnier roles. Two Irish hitman are sent to Bruges in Belgium after a hit gone wrong. Most of the film actually sounds quite boring as it follows two men walking around a sleepy medieval town. This isn’t the case, the dialog is sharp and extremely funny and it’s nice to see Farrell actually playing an Irishman. Throw in some great scenes with a ‘little person’ and some ‘baby elephant’ sized Americans and you’ve got a great movie.

Adam and Paul

It won Best Director Award and was nominated for 8 categories in the 2004 Irish Film & Television Awards. The film follows Adam and Paul, two heroin addicts living on the street in Dublin as they search for their next fix. It all falls into the category of dark comedy and shows life as a junkie perfectly, complete with the gritty ups and downs. This coupled with Adam and Paul’s lovable bumbling characters really makes this a must see. A word of warning though - you’ll either love this film or hate it.

Life is beautiful (subtitled)

When you think of Italian films what do you think of, Dolce Vita? Well it doesn’t even come close. This is a true classic and one where you really come to love the characters. It does take a couple of minutes to get used to the style of acting which is very expressive and colorful. This starts off as being quite annoying but it’s a feeling that quickly passes. The films timescale stretches from pre holocaust to post holocaust and follows an Italian Jewish family. Although the topic is grim, your spirits are kept up thanks to Guido’s (the dads) lovable personality.

Boondock Saints

A great film with some amazing one liners! Two Irish brothers go on a killing spree eliminating all the crooks from Boston. With every kill they’re praised (on the most part) as saints, hence the name, the Boondock Saints. The film has some great performances from Willem Dafoe and no to forget Billy Connelly possibly in his greatest acting role (albeit a slightly confusing one as the Scotsman plays an Irishman). Watch out for the artistic scene involving a cat and a wall.

Requiem for a Dream

Deep, dark and disturbing. Not one to watch is you’re feeling emotional. If you’re not shedding a few tears at the end of this one then you’re not human. The film follows four main characters as they struggle with their own addictions. What goes up must always come down. Possibly has the greatest soundtrack ever put to film. This, the camera work, the star-studded cast and the plot all mix together perfectly. The ending is especially well done. Watch this film!

Battle Royal (subtitled)

Anouther film which is still (surprisingly) not universally known. It’s a Japanese socialistic horror film set in a time where the population has spiraled out of control. So what does the government do? Well it does the only sensible thing - every year a school class is selected and the classmates are forced to fight until the death. The Japanese have a great way of doing horror and although the film is subtitled it’s still one of the best films of its kind made to date.

True Romance

Partially written by Quentin Tarantino, the film has Christian Slater playing a comic bookstore loner turned badass. Clarence (Slater) is brought together with a hooker called Alabama and they both fall madly in love. A dead pimp, some stolen coke and one of the best gangster scenes with Christopher Walken and the late Dennis Hopper make it a film to remember. There’s nothing about this film that doesn’t work. If you’re still not sold, there’s an appearance from a young Brad Pitt and a guardian angel Elvis. What’s not to love!

Memento

One that won’t truly make sense until you’ve watched it twice, possible three times. The film does something unique and starts at the end, moving scene by scene to the beginning. Luckily it’s all put together brilliantly and fits nicely without any loose ends. The story follows Leonard who has a special case of amnesia and can only remember what’s happening for a few minutes at a time. He’s after the man who killed his wife and tracks him down by tattooing himself and leaving regular notes. Watch out for the big twist at the end.

El Mariachi (subtitled)

An early film from Robert Rodriguez. It only had one paid actor in it and the films bad guy didn’t understand a word of Spanish (not bad for a Spanish film) but it still became a classic and launched Rodriguez’s career. How many people have actually taken the time to sit down and watch it though? Not as many as you’d think. It’s defiantly worth seeing and you won’t be disappointed. This is the film that came before Desperadoes.

Braindead

There had to be at least one zombie film in here and the winner is Braindead. Why? Well at first glance this New Zealand movie might seem a little flakey, something to do with its evil monkey turning a woman into a zombie plot, but the creative ways that they find to kill the undead, coupled with the films use of real pig blood really gives it an edge. They manage to stay quite original with the ideas as well, for instance it’s not every day that you see two zombies getting frisky.

All Night Long

Plans are afoot and the most of the opening sequence has been shot already. Here are some pics I took with my iphone while they were filming.

Some links to things I've done

I pronounce films like 'filums' as many other Irish do too. Here are two short films that I've produced.

The first one I produced was 'Heart' by Mark Cogan
http://www.vimeo.com/10823462

And the second one 'Gemma?' by Kevin O Neill 
http://vimeo.com/17801508


I'm in the middle of producing another short film for Mark and I will post pics/updates when I feel like it/have the time.

New to this sort of thing. Careful now.

So I've decided to take the plunge and start a blog. What I have to say, I don't know. Who will read this, I don't know. But sure, isn't it all part of the adventure of discovering new things, venturing into the unknown.