Film school

TRANSITION TIMES: It's a big week for young movie fans, with Galway Junior Film Fleadh under way. Gráinne Faller meets some of them - including, perhaps, the Tarantinos of the future

Finding the perfect recipe for brains isn't a task that springs to mind when you think about the movie business. But making films throws up all manner of interesting puzzles. The brains have to look realistic when they're splattered on walls or eaten by zombies, you see. Then there's the blood. Colour and texture are important: blood that has to stay on an actor needs to be thicker and stickier than blood that has to squirt all over the place. Who knew?

"There's nothing stopping anyone from making a film these days," says Conor McMahon, director of Dead Meat, Ireland's first feature-length zombie film. "All you need is a camera and a computer, and off you go." McMahon started making movies years ago, with a couple of friends and a camcorder. "I remember I rewrote Shakespeare," he says. "We made a film of Othello with a couple more action scenes."

His first award came from a compilation of three horror shorts that he had entered for what was then the Irish Schools Video Competition in the Fresh Film Festival. "That was great motivation," says McMahon, who was 16 at the time. "To see your films on the big screen like that, it just made me want to make more."

Now known as Young Filmmaker of the Year, the competition is still running as part of Limerick's Fresh Film Festival. Transition year is an ideal time to enter. The increased accessibility and availability of equipment has meant that the standard and number of entries have exploded in recent years. Tim O'Mullane, the festival's co-ordinator, says: "It's a great testing ground for people interested in film-making, and many actually go on to work in the industry. I reckon that in a couple of years we will be the number-one repository for embarrassing clips from the early careers of famous directors and people working in film."

O'Mullane stresses that anyone can try. "If you have the motivation, it's completely possible to make a film. You don't need a massive budget or 101 people. If you have a camera and a story you can do it." McMahon agrees, adding: "You just need to be hungry for it . . . Getting over the fact that your first few films aren't going to be brilliant is hard, but if you keep making them they just get better and better."

It's certainly a growing area, as the organisers of Galway Junior Film Fleadh have found. The fleadh, which started yesterday and runs until Saturday, is showing all sorts of films, from King Lear for Leaving Cert students to Hill 16, an Irish thriller about a Dublin teenager. "Our audiences would come from Galway city and county as well as Limerick, Roscommon, Mayo, Clare and other counties," says Annette Maye, the festival's co-ordinator. "It's an introduction to non-mainstream cinema, and it gives students something a bit different to think about . . . We also show student films that are made as part of our young film-makers project, and some from the Fresh Film Festival as well."

One film being shown at the fleadh is a four-minute animation called Kill Pat, made in transition year by students Maurice Healy, Micheál Reilly and Ebhan Loughlin. Think Kill Bill meets Postman Pat on the set of Wallace & Gromit and you'll get the rough idea. "We saw an animation short at last year's fleadh and thought we could do something similar," says Maurice.

They bought lots of Plasticine, made the sets in school and then retired for a week to a shed, where they took 4,000 photographs on a digital camera. "We didn't have a clue how long it would take," says Maurice. "We were in that shed for 10 to 12 hours every day. It was really stressful, but it was good craic."

After some difficulty finding the right software, they were able to string the photographs together, and the finished film will be shown at the Town Hall Theatre in Galway tomorrow. "It's an amazing experience once you see it finished and you can show it to your friends," says Maurice.

Film-making is a subject that often requires a portfolio or showreel if you want to study it at third level; many students gather valuable experience from making such films. Schools often have the equipment, and all sorts of courses that are aimed at transition year show students what to do. The courses can be expensive, because of the equipment involved, but they are not vital. The will to do it and plenty of practice are much more important.

For people who would like some training, however, one group that provides courses, as well as an opportunity to make a feature-length film during a five-week period over the summer, is Young Irish Film Makers (YIFM). The people involved in this Kilkenny-based organisation have made a number of films, including an adaptation of Under the Hawthorn Tree for Channel 4 and RTÉ.

Aged between 13 and 20, they "really grow and engage" with the process, according to Mike Kelly, the group's artistic director. "When we started off, places like RTÉ thought the idea of kids producing a feature film was impossible," he says. "But they work night and day. They know that it has to get done, so they pour everything into it."

Any illusions of red carpets and Oscars are quickly shattered, but that doesn't seem to dampen the enthusiasm. "Standing in the middle of a river, trying to shoot an actor underwater at four o'clock in the morning," says Shane Hatton when you ask about his memories of making Eliza Mayflower, Young Irish Film Makers' latest production. At 13, he is already an old hand in the business, having been involved in film production since he was just 11. "I set up a company called Hotdog Productions with some friends," says Shane. "We make short films with equipment we get from YIFM . . . My main interest is in camerawork and postproduction. I really love it."

Getting excited about the screening of Kill Pat tomorrow, Maurice echoes Shane when he recommends the experience. He says: "I'd definitely advise anyone to do it. I can't wait to see it on the big screen."

Conor McMahon is now working on more horror - vampires and banshees this time - and Dead Meat has just been released on DVD. "This kind of film- making is becoming a breeding ground for new talent. A huge number of people in the National Film School have won at the Fresh Film Festival," he says. "The biggest challenge is just getting up and doing it."

Galway Junior Film Fleadh runs until Saturday. Call 091-771726 or visit www.juniorfilmfleadh.com or

Where to look

[ www.filmmaking.netOpens in new window ]

A general site for community and no-budget film-makers

[ www.cybergecko.com/nobudge/guide.htmOpens in new window ]

A 10-step guide to making a no-budget film

[ http://upstagereview.org/MakeupArticles/recipes.pdfOpens in new window ]

Recipes for different types of fake blood, scabs and more.

[ www.juniorfilmfleadh.comOpens in new window ]

Website for the Junior Film Fleadh in Galway

[ www.freshfilmfestival.netOpens in new window ]

Page of Fresh Film Festival in Limerick