For me films were always something more than a simple story. Masters of the craft
such as Scorcese, Sergio Leone, Spielberg, Oliver Stone and Stanley Kubrick
introduced me to the art of film making. As well as directors, my first introduction
to a story in film were the characters portrayed by actors which were a great
inspiration to me by encouraging me to make films. These ranged from the
method actors Brando, De Niro and Pacino to Shakespearean actors such as
Jeremy Irons, Peter O'Toole and Anthony Hopkins. They showed me not only how to
play the character but also how to earn the right to play the character through
research.Even before I was able to understand the technical aspects of film making I was
interested in the stories portrayed on screen. Films like The Empire of the Sun
and The Shawshank Redemption introduced me to serious film making.
These films made me realise that a well written character study can be as
interesting as the story itself. It highlighted the importance of the screenplay.Transition Year gave me the time and opportunity to make my first film. The idea
of doing a film in the school was put foward to me by Ms Harington who taught
me how to edit and Mr C. Kelly who taught me how to structure a script. My first
attempt in film making was a short film called Escape to Nowere which was only
three minutes long. Later I produced and directed The Godson which was
sixteen minutes long. Both were made in collaboration with a friend of mine,
Stephen Farrell.Now myself and Stephen are writing a script for a long film and, also, three others
for a film festival, the Fresh Film Festival. The production in these projected
picutures is not yet in motion.I am hoping to do film studies in college and eventually become a director. But,
firstly, I will try to write scripts for other directors to gain a foothold in the industry.
