Story Telling…
… is in the blood here at Foyle Media. Really, if you look you can find the gift of ancestors from forty generations ago. Its called the Niall of the Nine Hostages genetic marker. Why so-called? There is a story behind that, a science story, the genetic mutation though turns out to predate Niall; and how did he get his name and who were the nine hostages? Those stories have been told around here for a thousand years or more but we were telling other stories even before that. Before the Grianan of Aileach was built we were telling stories, before Cú Chulainn and Fionn mac Cumhaill and longer ago, when Newgrange was the telling of a story - embodied and manifest in clay and stone. When someone stood deep in a cave and made simple beautiful impressions on the rock, representations of the life the cradled them, the eden in which they lived. And before that? Was there a moment for humans when we almost didn’t make it, a species with only a few dozen individuals, perhaps we all share our greatest grandmother, our Mitochondrial Eve. Was there a moment for us when there was only one human campfire across the whole of the planet? What is the story that Eve told her children? Did it inspire us and save us? Will a story save us again?
All very dramatic but is it entertainment? What if she sang a song or did a dance or delivered the first ever stand up comedy? At Foyle Media we take drama seriously but we also know everyone loves a show. Ya gotta make ‘em laugh after all. Presented below are a selection of short pieces which hopefully amuse and entertain. The Civil Servant (3:49) and Hello Youtubers! (2:59) were made in a very specific way and involved a collaboration with great acting talent and immense fun in the making process. F.U.N.E.X. (3:21) was made to support community arts and was a chance to work with one of the North West’s hardest working and most popular theatre actors. The music video for the song Have You Ever (3:46) shot in an evening at The Cove in San Antonio was an impromptu project, the kind of thing that falls into place when you happen to be in a Texas music venue with a camera and one of the best voices in Texas Blues. Have a look over at our YouTube page for other experiments and sketches and visit foyle.media often for updates and new releases. If you are an actor, writer or other creative with an idea for a smaller or larger scale production please do get in touch. We are always interested in proposals with real potential, ideas for pitching and opportunities for working with area talent and other industry professionals.
F.U.N.E.X. ?
This short film was made as part of a set of mini-productions made by various teams for viewing by an audience on a cinema sized screen at a very live gala charity event. Eoghan MacBride is a well known actor in the north west and he elected to reproduce a Two Ronnies sketch from the 1970’s. The writing is genius, the acting, comic timing (not to mention wardrobe!) from Eoghan are superb and the production brings that touch of magic to make it possible to have one actor play three different characters on the screen altogether at the same time. This was a huge amount of fun to make and went down a storm on the night.
Hello YouTubers!
Hello YouTubers! and The Civil Servant were both made under the same circumstances. What can be done in an evening with a basic crew of two and one or two actors. Completely improvised at the time of filming these are really live acting workshops as much as finished short films. The idea emerged after a day filming interviews. We had evening down time, camera and sound sitting around (unfortunately no lights) and happened to be having dinner with two skilled exponents of impromptu theatre. Its just obvious at that point. The two films were made on two separate nights, the story and script improvised on the spot with Hello YouTubers made in a single, we did probably three run-throughs before the take shown here.
Hello YouTubers, with Sarah Purcell as the assassin and Stephen Gibbons as the reporter. Watch as two hapless video makers who fancy themselves as investigative journalists make a fatal error in their enthusiasm to get the scoop! Long before Villanelle set off Killing Eve we think Sarah Purcell did a fantastic job with this chilling character.
The Civil Servant
Like Hello YouTubers above The Civil Servant was fantastically good fun to make. With only one actor available an idea emerged for this dialogue piece. Inspired by our experiences with bureaucracy this short follows one very efficient bureaucrat and three interviews he conducts during a typical day. Stephen Gibbons is fabulous playing all four characters with absolute conviction - not easy when you are squashed in a tiny kitchen with a director and crew who are at best stifling giggles and more typically howling with laughter.
Niko Laven Music Video
In San Antonio Texas, the Laven Family are well known in music circles and they are very well known at The Cove, one of the city’s most important live music venues. Niko and his sister Rachel are emerging talents in their own right and each with their own distinct sound and style. Although they are developing their own independent musical carers, when Niko and Rachel perform together with their parents on stage they muster a show and a sound with few equals.
If you thought you didn’t like any country music you haven’t heard good Texas Blues. If you want to hear the best live Texas music, then get yourself down to The Cove in San Antonio and make sure you are there on a night when Niko Laven is on the stage. Shout out for a beer, sit back and prepare to be blown across the room by super sharp guitar playing and a rich sonorous voice with enough grit to make the songs about life and love and loss absolutely fizz and crackle and well, sing. You will probably need another beer and by the end of the show you will want to own a cowboy hat and a pickup truck.
