Hi Def Studio For Irish Film School - Part 1

In Dublin's fair city HD looks so pretty: George Jarrett reports on an SI job by Gearhouse that opens multiple career paths for Irish film and TV students, and offers a large potential for self-funding income from the production market.

Ireland's National Film School is the proud possessor of an exciting new, full broadcast spec HD studio facility that will trigger a constant flow of both technical and creative talent into the film and TV industries. Most vitally, the students will offer 'real world' expertise, and will not require any extra and expensive training.
The systems integration sector has a huge number of SD to HD jobs in prospect, but in winning this job Gearhouse Broadcast found itself with a rare Greenfield site, and was able to go from original tendering proposal in March to opening late in November after a few weeks of tweaking and testing.
In talking to Donald Taylor Black, creative director of The National Film School, and to Gearhouse Broadcast sales manager Kevin Fitzgerald, we get an insight into how vital it is to develop a strong chemistry between client facility and SI. First up, back to school.

Unique Multi-Camera Chance
The building and infrastructure (lighting grid and cabling etc) were paid for by the Irish Department of Education, while the equipment collated by Gearhouse was funded from the film school's own resources, plus support from industry friends.

Was it important in terms of the design concept to provide a better than current broadcast spec so the facility can be rented out in down time?

"Yes, very important. The full facility will be available for hire when not in use by students – primarily in June, July and August, but also possibly during the Christmas and Easter breaks and some weekends. But it is also vital to prepare our graduates for the future," said Taylor Black.
"We have the largest suite of media related courses in Ireland, including our newest one Design for Stage and Screen. This includes production design, costume design and make up design, and we intend that as many of these programs as possible will use these wonderful new facilities," he added.
"We are also considering introducing further postgraduate courses as well as short training courses, hopefully in association with Screen Training Ireland (now part of the Irish Film Board) with whom we have an excellent relationship."

What concerns did Taylor Black have about linking kit from different vendors, and training the film school's own people to sustain engineering support?

"We have had a very basic TV studio for more than 20 years, which we are going to retain and use for introducing multi-camera production to first year students," he said.
"Naturally we consulted our colleagues and friends in the industry all the way through the planning process, which has taken a number of years. RTE in particular has been very helpful," he added. "Systems integration was something we had to consider of course, and we also visited a number of different studios at home and abroad. Training for our staff, both academic and technical, was a vital aspect of the tender process."

Many craft skill areas involve a lot of fast aging freelancers. Has the school designed new courses to help fill some of the gaps where young talent is so vitally required?

"We have not designed new courses specifically for the new facility so far. However, our best-known program, the BA Hons in Film & TV Production, does not just train directors. It gives our students the opportunity of getting a basic education in all roles for single and multi-camera production," said Taylor Black.
"Naturally, graduates have a better chance of employment if they want to be sound recordists or vision mixers. It is much more difficult to make a living as a director, particularly to start with," he added.
"Multi-camera training does not exist anywhere else in Ireland and we are very pleased that our students will benefit hugely from their experiences of working in the new facility," he continued. "For single camera projects we have a whole range of cameras with Super 16 (in the short term) and a Sony F3 at the top end for graduate films. As part of the tender we now have an Arri Alexa, and plan to obtain a second body under the Arri deal with film schools.
"We have used Avid systems for both off- and on-line for a number of years. Sound is a specialization within the BA Hons Film & TV production course. Graphics is part of another degree. Visual communications has a module in screen graphics and a joint project with the film course. We will consider specific short courses in the future."

The fibre wiring system installed by Gearhouse suggests a hefty commitment to future proofing. How far will HD take the film school into the future in light of the hefty impetus behind UHD 4K?

"That is a difficult question! We certainly hope not to have to make a large investment in the short or medium term; 4K is a multi-national capitalist plot," said Taylor Black half in jest.
Read the article in the online edition of RFV here.
(IT/JP)