WANTED: Re-enactors for short film, Cork area

[CiakFilms]

Hi, I'm looking for re-enactors for a short film in the Cork city / hinterlands area. The film centres around a story that may be based on fact about a McCarthy queen of the Muskerry area who tricked a neighbour out of his castle by offering to lend him some soldiers for cattle raid into a neighbouring county. The story appears in an account by historian Windele, though no documentary evidence exists for same. The probable era in which the story took place was the Tudor / late Tudor period.

We need about 15 re-enactors all told for the scene where the soldiers are ambushed on their return home. It may seem like a small number, but the magic of greenscreen and CGI will do the rest! Weapons would principally be swords plus a few bows (no one will be directly shot at, again the magic of movie-making!) and daggers.

Late medieval plus gaelic kern / gallowglass costumes would suit fine.

Availability - Filming will take place over one of three weekends either 26 - 27th March / 2 -3 rd April / 9 -10th April, to be confirmed. We expect that actual filming for this part will be completed within one day once the date is fixed.

If you are not interested in acting in this film, but have equipment / weapons / costumes which you would be willing to lend, we would equally like to hear from you.

Alas, our budget does not stretch to paying actors, we are film-making students, but you will get fed, we will help with transport where needed, and you / your crew will get a mention of course in our film credits, and we hope to promote our film at festivals etc.,

You can reply here and / or email me at - fiardia@hotmail.com

Nick

[lightbringer]

So let me get this straight! You can afford special FX and catering yet it is a student production, but you want people to preform for nothing? Its called taking the piss! Sorry to be rude. In the real world when people provide a service there is a renumeration.

[CiakFilms]

Dear Lightbringer, thank you for your thoughtful and polite reply.

The CGI will / would be courtesy of a fellow student who happens to have the student version of the software to do it. The greenscreen would be courtesy of my tutor, who has one. Both are helping me out, as I on occasion when I can, help them out. It's how we get much of our stuff done. The catering would be the most expensive thing - but tea and sandwiches made by a family member and a few pizzas do not cost an arm and leg and can be done by everyone chipping in a few quid.

And yes, it is a student production made by students. The main benefit we could offer to anyone who was interested was the promotion of their group through their name being connected to the film which we in turn would be promoting of course at film festivals and so on.

I'm sure when you first got into re-enacting, you tried to stretch whatever meagre budget you had as well, and I'm sure all the above would have occurred to you had you thought it through first before hitting the keyboard. And there's no obligation on anyone to get involved who doesn't wish to, and we are being upfront about the conditions.

[lightbringer]

Perhaps if you said straight out it was a student effort rather then trying professionalise what you were doing I wouldnt have been as harsh, and for that I apologise. And I wish you well in your endevor, but there is a perception sometimes that reenactors are cheap extras, and believe you me, some sharp practise has been well enacted.

Good luck with your venture

[Ambiorix apsealgair]

Im sorry to bring this up but it clearly stated

our budget does not stretch to paying actors, we are film-making students, but you will get fed, we will help with transport where needed, and you / your crew will get a mention of course in our film credits

and you yourself said it was a student film in your first post. I myself am a student and understand how hard it is to attempt something like this with little to no budget. I've been in reenactment nearly 6 years now aswell so i understand both sides. if you've no interest in helping out why bother to berate him publiclly. Some of us who read and understood the post were quite happy to contact them to offer help.

[seniormon]

Im sorry to bring this up but it clearly stated

our budget does not stretch to paying actors, we are film-making students, but you will get fed, we will help with transport where needed, and you / your crew will get a mention of course in our film credits

and you yourself said it was a student film in your first post. I myself am a student and understand how hard it is to attempt something like this with little to no budget. I've been in reenactment nearly 6 years now aswell so i understand both sides. if you've no interest in helping out why bother to berate him publiclly. Some of us who read and understood the post were quite happy to contact them to offer help.

Agreed.
It was obvious from the first post that this is a student film, there was no need for that knee jerk reaction to "being exploited". Anyone in Cork can make up their own mind if they wish to participate in this or not....


Good luck with the filming Nick

[pajo]

I myself am in Kilkenny and offered 2 help out. Always happy 2 help out with these things when possible. And he was totally upfront about the whole thing, he explained himself quiet well.

[CiakFilms]

Thanks for the vote of support guys, but I PM'd the chap who made the original post and I think we managed to sort it out and clear the air. I can quite understand how thoughtless producers and directors in the past left some re-enactors feeling burned, but I pray God I will not turn out to be one of those!

We have had to push the project forward a number of weeks because there has been some difficulty securing the original location we'd hoped to use, we still hope to film there but have to wait for the nod from the landowner who is away frequently and hard to pin down for a face-to-face. But we're working on it!

Therefore it looks more probable that we will have to film over the summer which I know is a bad time to ask for re-enactors as there are many shows etc., on. That's Ok, we will do all we can to find times / dates that everyone is happy with, afterall, it is those in front of the camera who make the film what it is!

The ambush scene I mentioned in the original post can probably be shot in a single day, and I'd certainly hope to do so - it's better for all concerned, as it minimises disruption to people who may have to travel, ensures there is continuity in terms of weather and lighting, and gives a fluid feel than filming split over many days. The first part of the day might be a bit boring with camera angles being worked out and set up and the ambush 'blocked through' (i.e working out where actors need to be and when and how the action unfolds), then a few dry runs and finally, filming! Usually we need to follow that briefly with a few 'cutaways' (these are close-ups and other shots required to allow you to edit smoothly between scenes, individual facial reactions etc.,)

I'm just adding this info for anyone who hasn't been filmed before but is reading this post and is interested, but not sure what to expect, as doing a scene like this before a camera is a bit different to re-enacting at public shows where the action flows in one smooth movement from start to finish. Filming is a bit more like stops and starts with some longer sequences as well!

I'm asking a very Irish-fluent relative to research and translate some Gaelic Irish war cries and other phrases as well to add some authenticity to the scene (as it takes place in medieval Ireland) and he has also agreed to come down on the day (again, allowing for availability, but he tells me should be no problem) to act as a voice coach for pronunciation etc.,

[brendan]

If you are doing it over the summer you might have better luck checking whether week days are easier for people...might work better for people involved in seasonal/weekend work.

Possibly telling you what you already know, but if you have access to the site in advance and can take pics and maybe provide a rough storyboard of what you think could happen you might be able to get input on better ways to do it on the day. You might find that some of the people have a very clear idea of what looks best when in front of camera and can be repeated twice, ten, twenty times - just a suggestion.

Brendan