So, the Janine Drew Agency has opened its doors, the wee junior detective looking to make her stamp on the industry by competing with the likes of VPI and the Pinkertons. She’s even on Bebo.
The above is the Janine Drew trailer, a precursor to Vultures episode six which should see a release within the next fortnight. After that, there’s only one left. So if you’ve got problems with people robbing your bike, saying stuff about you or shams throwing things at you, Janine is your woman.
A special FX test shoot that turned itself into a mini short, by good friend and partner-in-crime at Kilkenny Music and My Music, Ross Costigan and featuring another partner-in-crime, Alan Dawson.
Hopefully some of those scripts he talks about come to light soon. Better be a part in there for me. Or you’re fired.
Go enjoy The Game.
Saturday night was spent in the company of the Vultures cast and crew in Kilkenny as a select bunch of us hit one of Kilkenny’s taverns for the premiere of the latest installment of the Vultures webcom, The Adventure of The Hidden Microfilm. Watch it above via Blip.tv or check out VulturesPI.com.
The Pinkertons are closing in on the increasingly frazzled and paranoid detectives of V.P.I. when a mysterious fugitive shows up on their door. The fugitive has stolen a microfilm from the Pinkertons. This fugitive is in possession of a secret microfilm belonging to the rival Pinkerton agency. Except he doesn’t know exactly where he put it. Although he suspects it might be inside him. And it could be a floppy disk or a USB key either. He’s really not sure. Can V.P.I. strike a blow to the Pinkertons before they’ve even opened? How do they get the microfilm from the fugitive? And really, who is this Natalie Blaise we keep hearing about?
Vultures, written & directed by John Morton & Paddy Dunne, is the story of three private detectives who run a small scale private investigation agency in small town Ireland. The moderately successful business is called Vulture Private Investigations and specialises in dealing with divorce cases, fraud, missing persons, animals and plants and occasionally, just occasionally, they’ll be served up something that approximates a mystery.
Ross, as director, has more here.
This one was screened before the Vultures Episode 5 premiere last night in Kilkenny… it can only mean one thing – the next installment of Vultures hits the web later today. Keep an eye on VulturesPI.com for the release of what is quite possibly the funniest episode to date. Bless that Noah Hennessy.
The Vultures series, produced and recorded here in Kilkenny is almost to a close. Filming wrapped at the start March, the final episodes are almost done in post production and as a teaser to the release of episode five on June 7th, here’s a light-hearted trailer for your viewing pleasure.
Don’t forget to check out the series by visiting VulturesPI.com or check Vultures on Blip TV for previous episodes.
I mentioned earlier in the week that I’d been along to the premiere of The Suitors, the latest feature to be released under the Young Irish Film Makers banner (note: I’m on the board of directors). Prior to showing The Suitors on Monday night, two other short films made an appearance. First up was Sclever, winner of Caffeine, a recently-held 24 hour online film festival co-ordinated by the YIFM gang. Following Sclever was Attic, writting by David Galster and directed by Peter O’Connor.
If we’re the older generation (not the oldest generation) of YIFMers, then these guys are part of the creme of the current generation when it comes to short film making in Kilkenny. The movie features faces familiar to fans of the Vultures series and was filmed on location in Kilkenny earlier this year. Check out the video above or watch it here on Vimeo (in HD).
I attended the premiere screening of The Suitors in Kilkenny last night, the latest in a long line of feature films to get produced by Young Irish Film Makers. This morning in my inbox (via YIFM) came this gem, Mankind Is No Island. The above short was filmed entirely on mobile phone in New York and Sydney and was the winner of Tropfest 2008, the world’s largest short film festival (so they say). Tropfest NY 2009 takes place this coming July.
You can also get a sneak peak at The Suitors, here.
I’ve been enjoying some downtime since Friday afternoon and until Wednesday I’m on self-imposed exile from the office, something that doesn’t come along or take place all that often. I endured a long drive to Sligo on Friday, sang my head off at a gig on Saturday, listening to all the Premier League action on Newstalk on the drive home on Sunday and today has been spent dedicating some much-needed time to extending the arms of Kilkenny Music.
There’s a lot coming up for KKM in the coming weeks and months, including the launch of a busking competition we’re running, with over €3,000 in cash up for grabs. Before the weekend, the One Take Sessions kicked off for 2009 and while the first of the videos hit YouTube from a McDonalds at the Kilmartin N6 centre outside Athlone on Friday, today saw some tinkering with Muzu.tv.
I’ve been doing a lot of viewing on the site, in terms of videos, but have only now gotten around to shifting content onto Muzu. I must upload the videos in a higher quality (mental note) next time around but I’m liking it so far and hope to use it as another strong portal for the artists and acts we’re putting through the ‘Sessions for 2009. Also, you won’t have any problem watching “official” music videos on Muzu, unlike the news hanging over Youtube in the last few days.
By the way, if you’re looking for some free music from some great independent Irish acts in April, join us in Cleere’s Theatre in Kilkenny on Thursday April 2nd at 9:30pm.
I’m not one to usually post music videos on this blog though as I’m flagging the above video for KilkennyMusic.com I thought I’d share it here as well given the sheer work, effort (50-odd hours of production) and stop-go animation enjoyment that’s gone into ‘Her Beautiful Ideas’ by The Guggenheim Grotto.
The track, ‘Her Beautiful Ideas’ features on ‘Happy The Man’, the lads’ second album. I say “lads” as we’ve had them to Kilkenny for maybe six or seven shows over the last three years and no doubt we’ll have them down again. The video itself was produced, edited and directed by Aaron Copeland and Johnny Fitzsimons.
It’s been a while coming, but Vultures Episode 4 has finally gone online. And yes, there’s a party taking place in the back of my van. Amazing what and who you can fit in the back of a Peugeot Partner.
This episode marks the directorial debut of Ross Costigan and was again written by Paddy Dunne and John Morton and produced by Alan Slattery. While Vultures and Pinkertons get their ads out, it’s nice to see that Jack Street has panache – and an Xbox live headset.
Enjoy Vultures Episode 4 – The Case Of The Poisoned Dates
The next helping of Vultures, an online comedy filmed and produced here in Kilkenny, is set to debut online on Sunday February 1st over at VulturesPI.com. ‘The Case of the Poisoned Dates’ is the fourth installment of a six-part series, filming of which is set to wrap late next month.
Those who attended CreativeCamp in March, PodCamp in September or are regular readers of the blog will be away of Vultures, written by good friends of mine John Morton and Paddy Dunne, directed by another great friend in Ross Costigan (you’ll also find his blog nominated in the Best Photoblog category) and produced by Kilkenny’s video genius that is Alan Slattery. We all work together in different capacities with the likes of The Devious Theatre Company (since 2006) and Kilkenny Music (since 2005) and it’s fantastic to see how far Vultures (under the Mycrofilms banner) has come since the series debut back in December 2007.
I spent some time on set (third episode I’ve worked on in some capacity) on the last day of filming for episode four and by all accounts, we’re in for a right treat when the episode is released next week. There will be a cast and crew screening in advance of the release (which I’m going to miss) and I’ll be catching up with the filming again next month as I get to work on my Scottish accent for another character.
The fourth episode sees the arrival of TY student, Janine Drew, in the V.P.I. office for work experience. Played by Suzanne O’Brien (a cousin of mine), Janine is brash, ambitious and has the distinct features of what is commonly known as a ‘chav.’
Janine Drew’s arrival coincides with a series of errant romantic entanglements that degenerate into a potential powder keg of social embarrassment, messy divorce cases and extreme comic violence.
The new episode sees the return of David Thompson, John Morton and Sean Hackett as McGrain, Vultour and Tennyson, the hapless gentleman detectives of V.P.I. They are joined by a familiar supporting cast of characters; Inspector Leeson (Paul Young), Isabelle Vultour (Liadain Kaminska), Tom Moriarty (Stephen Colfer), Jack Street (Ross Costigan), Sarah Black (Niamh Moroney) and a few new faces.
Shooting has already begun, in and around Kilkenny, on the final two episodes of the series with the production due to conclude in March. Episodes 5 & 6 will then be released online by summer 2009.
For the moment though, stick February 1st in your diary to check VulturesPI.com and grab the new episode when it hits the web.
I was wondering was 2009 going to be the year for video blogging in Ireland and if the month of January is anything to go by, I reckon I’m not far off.
For the past few months I’ve been happily sitting behind the camera (N95) showing off food (those brownies were delicious), the office, talking gigs, talking theatre and more through Qik. Pat Phelan, Bernie Goldbach, Joe Garde, John Keyes and more are at it.
But it’s when more and more people start getting in front of the camera that it becomes interesting. Ross has been showing people around the Mycrofilms offices, the “other” Ken in Kilkenny has recently started video blogging, Niall Harbison has been making great waves with daily video updates on the blog and now another Kilkenny man is at it as Keith Bohanna has started with some videos about the development of dbTwang, set to launch this spring with a closed beta.
Interesting that all the Kilkenny heads have ties to Young Irish Film Makers in some degree. Part of my blogging resolutions for 2009 (yes, I made those as well) includes getting back in front of the camera myself though it will be another month or two yet and relates more to KilkennyMusic.com and My Music (also set to launch in ’09). For now though, I’ll be happy qikking away.
Check Keith’s video here…
Keith’s reading habits of late correspond to my own – I’m seeking out and enjoying getting video content that I can watch or listen to while working or take something on the go with me. So I’m looking forward to the onslaught of videos to be pushed out by Irish bloggers in 2009 and I’ve a feeling we’ll see a dedicated video blogger category coming up at the 2010 Blog Awards if not sooner.
Christmas Eve (or possibly Christmas Day) saw a new online helping from the Vultures crew in Kilkenny as the next-in-line trailer for episode four, The Case Of The Poisoned Dates, hit the web.
View the trailer above, or click here to visit the Vultures site.
Remember kids, say “no” to Pinkertons.
Filming for Vultures episode four here in Kilkenny, The Case Of The Poisoned Dates, is almost complete and in advance of the episode’s release, the Mycrofilms bunch recently released a new promo for the episode.
As far back as she can remember, Janine Drew always wanted to be a private detective. And now that she’s in Transition Year, there’s only one place she wants to go on work experience: Vulture Private Investigations. And no one’s going to stop her: not Mrs. Curtin, not her parents and especially not the detectives of V.P.I. Janine Drew is all about ambition. She is smart, focused, highly intelligent and can actually smoke and chew gum at the same time.
What she isn’t however is discreet. It can be easily deduced that Janine is what is known as a ‘chav.’ She likes to wear lots of pink, is fond of her bling, is loud and gossipy and adorns her feet with those monstrosities known as UGG boots. She is Dan McGrain’s worst nightmare come to life: an obnoxiously modern female. And she will break your face if you keep staring at her.
For more on the episode, check here, or play the trailer above.
On Saturday night I went along to the premiere screening of The Mystery Of The Night Time Refuse, the latest episode in the current series of Vultures. I almost laughed my ass off in parts (seriously) and the lads have done another great job in producing this episode, something which couldn’t be done without the terrific assistance from the Kilkenny County Council Arts Office who also support the activities of The Devious Theatre Company and KilkennyMusic.com.
While I’ve been cast to appear in episode six there’s a possibility I’ll be making a third cameo in four episodes when shooting resumes for episode four later this month.
Filmed and produced entirely on location in Kilkenny (well, sort-of, for this episode), you can now watch or download the third episode for free online. Visit VulturesPI.com or start playing the video above.
VULTURES, the online sitcom produced here in Kilkenny sees its third episode premiered this coming Saturday in the back room in Ryan’s on Friary Street for 8pm.
Vultures is a comedy about three private detectives who run a moderately successful private investigation agency called Vulture Private Investigations. They specialise in divorce cases, fraud, missing persons, animals or plants and occasionally, just occasionally, they’ll be served up something that approximates a mystery. Written, produced and directed by Mycrofilms here in Kilkenny, The Mystery Of The Night Time Refuse (the third episode) will also be available online at VulturesPI.com from this Sunday, November 9th.
The story sees the gentlemen detectives of V.P.I procuring new offices, only to find that someone is illegally dumping rubbish outside. When ball busting rubbish warden Ned Savage (John Doran) shows them evidence that the rubbish is theirs and issues them a fine, Tennyson, Vultour and McGrain realise that someone is trying to push them out of business. But what fiend would do such a thing? And is it safe to inspect manky bags of rubbish in a contained area? And what does Eddie Hobbs have to do with all this?
The fourth episode is currently in filming in Kilkenny with a view to being released before the end of the year (or I would hope anyway).
Production on the entire series will have concluded by next summer.
Keep an eye on VulturesPI.com for the latest installment this weekend.
We’re a talented bunch of people in Kilkenny. That said – Kilkenny people are quite talented. “The Creative Capital of Ireland” it has been called in the past. I’m also lucky and consider myself privileged to travel in quite a number of creative circles, one of those would be an association with Mycrofilms.
Though not directly involved with Mycrofilms, I’ve spent a few days on set with them in the past and there’s a crosspolination of bodies involved with The Devious Theatre Company and KilkennyMusic.com, both of which I head up.
So as the music calendar heads into the latter part of the year and our theatre programme takes a bit of a breather, I’m delighted to see that Mycrofilms (who are filming this week) have just released the trailer for Episode 3, due for full release later in the year.
You can watch episode one ‘The Kris Kringle Konundrum’ and the second episode ‘The Scarlet Lady Vanishes’ right here. If you’re in Kilkenny this week then keep an eye out of the Myrcrofilms crew this week. Rumour has they were spotted in the Castle Park vicinity…
On Saturday night I made my way to the premiere of Vultures epsiode 2: The Scarlet Lady Vanishes held in my home away from home of Cleere’s Theatre in Kilkenny.
Vultures is the flagship production of fledgling film company, Mycrofilms, based in Kilkenny and engineered by three great friends of mine. Like ourselves at KilkennyMusic.com, Mycrofilms have just received some arts office funding for 2008 which will enable them to complete the series, production wrapping on the sixth episode by next summer.
While I enjoyed the first episode immensely, the guys have raised the bar for the second episode which was extremely well received on the night. Even if it’s just for the music video montage early in the show, do, give The Scarlet Lady Vanishes a look.
Running time on this one is a bit shorter at around the half hour mark (compared to the TV hour of the first episode).
For more on the show, check out VulturesPI.com.
Close friends of mine and advocates for internet film, the Mycrofilms crew are set to debut the second of six planned webispodes of Vultures this Sunday.
For those who attended CreativeCamp in Kilkenny earlier this year, we held a lunchtime screening of the first episode, the Kris Kringle Konundrum. The second episode was filmed over late March / early April and after a small technical hitch is now ready for public viewing. Having spent a day on set of both productions so far, I’ll be attending the cast and crew screening in Cleere’s Theatre in Kilkenny this Saturday night.
Vultures, written & directed by John Morton & Paddy Dunne (who are also part of The Devious Theatre Company fold, the theatre company I established with John over two years ago), is the story of three private detectives who run a small scale private investigation agency in small town Ireland. The moderately successful business is called Vulture Private Investigations and specialises in dealing with divorce cases, fraud, missing persons, animals and plants and occasionally, just occasionally, they’ll be served up something that approximates a mystery.
The trio of Mycrofilms, The Devious Theatre Company and KilkennyMusic.com were all successful in securing funding from Kilkenny County Council’s Arts Office earlier this month. With funding set to be released around the start of June, there’s going to be a flurry of film, theatre and music activity in Kilkenny over the summer months.
The Scarlet Lady Vanishes will be available from VulturesPi.com, iTunes, Blip.tv and a number of other online sources from Sunday morning, May 18th.