Peat

Peat is a Screen Ireland funded Focus Short that I wrote and directed and is currently on its festival run.

It’s about Anne Byrne, a recently widowed Irish mammy who lives with her clane useless adult son Petey, and now that the Dad is dead she’s left to do the housework and bring all the turf in for winter on her own.

Run ragged she’s convinced by her witchy neighbour Helen to build a magical creature from turf to help, and ends up developing feelings for him, but when Petey finds out he’s not very pleased.

Starring: Andrea Irvine, Chris Walley, Mary McEvoy & Michael Power.

Produced by Maggie Ryan for Escape Pod Media.

Please ask for a private link.

Building the turf Golem. Concept to realisation.

I drew the initial sketches which were then interpreted as sculptural pieces by Mark Maher in Odyssey Studios .

We spent a day in Odyssey testing the make-ups on the actor with a 5 person Make-Up team lead by Claire McCauley making sure everything worked and we were as prepped as possible for the shoot days.

BTS from the shoot. Photos by David Copeland and Tristan Shiels.

Sequence Storyboard by me.

1. The two facing pages of the Spellbook with designs by Aidan Harte

2. A design for the fake cereal that Petey eats but sadly got cut from the film.

3. ‘Demon Pit’ poster - the video game that Petey plays is a genuine old-school shoot-em-up video game designed and built by Irish designer Paul Conway.
   

The Innkeeper

Written by Denise Deegan, ‘The Innkeeper’ is about a spirited 8-year-old desperate to play a part in her school Nativity Play. The script from Denise was sweet, serious and funny in just the right balance, and I relished the opportunity to work with a cast of young actors and get grounded performances from them while still having fun.

Starring: Clare Monnelly, Portia McLaughlin, Rhea Rose Rodillas.

Produced by Luke Walton & Jackie Sheppard.

Funded by The Pitch Film Fund, UK.

Screenshots from the final film.

Cinematography by Luke Jacobs and colour by Leandro Arouca.

The Innkeeper Cast & Crew as drawn by our lead actor Portia

BTS of the shoot. Photography by Deirdre Brennan and Amari Yogendran.

Donkey suit design drawn by me.

Community Watch

Written by and starring Gemma Kane & David Fennelly ‘Community Watch’ is a hilarious character comedy that was an absolute blast to direct.

Starring: Gemma Kane, Dave Fennelly, Clare Monnelly, Ali Fox & Dave Fleming.

Produced by Maggie Ryan for Escape Pod Media.

Screengrabs from the final film.

Cinematography by Niall O’Connor. Colour by Michael Higgins.

BTS of the shoot. Photos by Cathy Dunne.

Rip to the Rescue!

Produced by Sarah Barr for Deadpan Pictures.

Starring: Ryan Stanger, Clare Monnelly & Rose Henderson.

Funded by Short Grass Films, Kildare Co Co.

Rip to the Rescue poster illustrated by Steve Doogan.

Screengrabs from the final film.

Cinematography by Robin Whenary. Colour by Michael Higgins.

Below are some fun BTS shots of the process of making the sci-fi comedy Rip to the Rescue! The budget wasn’t huge at €12,500, so we had to be super prepared to maximise the budget and realise our ambition on screen.

Rip’s disembodied head - curiously happy

Cinematographer Robin Whenary lines up a shot before body parts.

BTS of the shoot in Kildare. Photography by Hugh Noonan.

Storyboards from the sequence where the “spidery bastards” attack Rip,

“Spidery Bastard” Creature Design and Fabrication by Sean Gallagher.

The process of making the miniature post-apocalyptic landscapes of the film.

BTS of making the jet cockpit.

Rip’s “sweethearts”

Photoshoot of Rip’s “sweethearts” styled by Erin McGathy.