Paul Farren for Film Theory and Crew.
I get lost on the way to filmbase. I curse that I brought neither a map or phone number. I've been here a few times, I know where it is. But, to me, all the streets in the area look almost the same, same layout structures repeat themselves several times. I had to ask directions. Because I had inadvertantly now made myself late, I had to hurry through the fabulous Temple Bar market in Meeting House Square without a sideways glance.
We sit inside a filmbase classroom on a glorious summer day and try not to look wistfully out the window. We make stilted introductions and try to explain why we are there. For some it seems quite simple. Some are not sure.
We then watched and analysed a number of short films. We spoke about why they worked and how the different elements that had been considered contributed to make them work. Everything has to work to make a film work, really. A profound nugget that! The films we saw were a mixture of pieces done by previous classes and shorts done by Irish production companies. This process of visual analysis and critique is familiar to me from years of studies in art and visual language. The same principles hold true, but film has a whole additional repertoire of it's own, it's own additional codifications. Anyone who watches film or even T.V. knows them, even if only unconsciously.
We spoke about all the jobs that are on a film. We discussed how they contribute to the whole project and how they all work together and what is involved in doing a good job in each unit/area. We also discussed a little bit about how we were going to manage this in relation to all the constraints that we have on us. But as Paul pointed out, and it is only all too true, in my own limited experience, there are always constraints. And the message also is, no matter how much you have or how many resources you have access to, you will always want more. O yes.
Went for lunch in Cornucopia on Wicklow St. An hour is not much though and to spend 10 minutes walking there and 10 mins. back seems a bit wasteful. I must try some Temple Bar places. But the food there is yummy.
In the afternoon, back to watching films. Many engendered some lively debate as taste and personal preferences shone through and people spoke up in defence of films they enjoyed and the film elements they felt worked in some projects. I was delighted to see Ciaran Foy's "The Faeries of Blackheath Wood" again. It definitely has to rank up there as one of my favourite films of all time. I remembered it so vividly from the Cork Film Fest last year, but a copy was not to be found to purchase. Proof of the status of shorts as ephemera. Paul suggested to get directly in touch with the production company, which I will.
Paul spoke specifically about his own film "Pandora". We watched it, then we watched it again with running commentary and full explanations of aspects of the realisation by Paul. Then he, very generously, gave us each a copy of all the paperwork his company had produced to make this entire short. Yes, it was a lot. I even expected there might be more, but stuff was left out, such as, we were not given every single release form , as 'seen one seen 'em all'. Paul was very open and frank about the realities of film-making, and specifically, film-making in Ireland today.
I stayed in the Oliver St. John Gogarty hostel. I am not impressed. O, it's clean and the breakfast is quite decent, but I was awoke an indeterminate amount of times by music thumping and blaring from what seemed like right in the next room, but it was in fact the Oliver St. John Gogarty nightclub. Or latebar. Or whatever. And the racous din, of course, from all the revellers down below. I know, I know, what did I expect? Temple Bar on a saturday night...well, it's worse than that. Don't do it. Unless, of course, you only want your room as a luggage park for the night...
I then went to see a programme of shorts in FilmBase that evening. They were mixed and varied from art pieces to animations to music videos. All were innovative and interesting but I was particularly struck by Clare Shanahan's "Window". That was a beautiful and interesting piece.
I then settled into my dorm bed to get my fitul sleep. I make the acquaintance next morning of my room-mates - a group of teachers from Germany on a short break in Ireland. I get to practise my German on them. THat's how our acquaintance started actually. They addressed me in German and I responded. They were surprised and we continued talking over breakfast. They were very nice; funny too. Eager to talk about and discuss beer! That's such a stereotype, but it was true.
