Paki Smith

Paki Smith (OC 1981), kindly came to the art room on the morning of Wednesday January 25th  to talk with the TY art group who are studying film during Hilary Term. Paki studied Fine Art in NCAD on leaving SCC and quickly became well known and respected for his individual talent. He has had many one man shows, the most recent being "The Red Thread" held in the Doughlas Hyde gallery in Trinity about two years ago. Most recently his eclectic talents have led him to become involved in the production design, set design, stage detailing area of the film industry. Among other productions he has been designer on two Batman movies, " Batman Begins" and the latest (still in post production) " The Dark Knight Rises ".
Peter Watts.

Paki Smith

This morning,  Paki Smith (OC) will give a talk on film production to Transition Year pupils in the art room. He is a fine artist with a number of one man shows to his credit. He is also heavily involved in film set production/design and has worked on films such as Batman Begins (2005), Veronica Guerin (2003), Sleepwalking (2008) and the most recent batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Information on all of these productions can be found on the IMDB website.



Colossus or Nebuchadnezzar's Dream (film still)

2009



'Inside I'm Dancing'

Yesterday, Form IV Art pupils were treated to a talk by OC Peter Robertson on the film 'Inside I'm Dancing', a film which the Form IV are currently studying. Peter Robertson was the director of photography on this film and his talk included explanations about specific scenes within the film as well as movie making in general. He spoke of the importance of the relationship between the director and the cinematographer. The Form IV found the lecture to be most informative and very enjoyable.

Irish Graduate wins Oscar for Visual Effects

  RONAN MCGREEVY writes in the Irish Times today, "IRISH OSCAR WINNER Richie Baneham is proof that the “fires of Irish talent continue to burn as bright as ever”, the Irish Film Board said yesterday.

Dublin-born Baneham’s win for best visual effects for Avatar put a gloss on what was a relatively disappointing night for Irish filmmakers, who won only one Oscar out of five nominations.

Film board chief executive Simon Perry said the Academy had honoured Irish film-makers with five nominations, “but for Richard to win an Oscar is international recognition at the highest level”. The Minister for Arts Martin Cullen also congratulated Baneham. The Minister described it as a “great personal success and a further recognition of the talent available in the Irish film industry”.

Maureen Conway, the principal of Ballyfermot College of Further Education said it was worth staying up until 5am this morning to watch Baneham win.

The Ballyfermot graduate, who attended his old alma mater just last week, acknowledged the influence of the college in his post-Oscar speech.

Conway said: “We had him pestered to mention us. We’re so delighted for him.”"

Read the full article HERE and read all Oscar winners HERE.

Transition Year Movie Module

The Transition Year's Movie Module continues with 'The Cell'.  Directed in 2000 by Tarsem Singh the movie tells the story of Catharine Deane, a psychotherapist who is part of a revolutionary new treatment which allows her mind to literally enter the mind of her patients. Her experience in this method takes an unexpected turn when an FBI agent comes to ask for a desperate favour. They had just tracked down a notorious serial killer, Carl Stargher, whose MO is to abduct women one at a time and place them in a secret area where they are kept for about 40 hours until they are slowly drowned. Unfortunately, the killer has fallen into an irreversible coma which means he cannot confess where he has taken his latest victim before she dies. Now, Catherine Deane must race against time to explore the twisted mind of the killer to get the information she needs, but Stargher's damaged personality poses dangers that threaten to overwhelm her. 

Form IV Movie Module continues.

 THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA.

Nobody is beyond redemption.

---

For justice. For loyalty. For friendship.

 Written by Guillermo Arriaga and directed by Tommy Lee Jones, the movie was shot in 2005. The plot is as follows; In Texas nearby the border of Mexico, the newcomer arrogant border patrolman Mike Norton mistakenly kills the Mexican cowboy Melquiades Estrada and buries him in the desert. When Melquiades's body is accidentally found one week later, his best friend, the ranch foreman Pete Perkins, claims the body to fulfill his promise and bury Melquiades in his hometown Jimenez and presses the local sheriff Belmont to find the killer. However, Melquiades is not delivered to Pete because he is not his relative, and his body is reburied in the local cemetery. When Rachel discloses the identity of the killer, Pete kidnaps Mike and forces him to dig the grave and bring the body to Melquiades's family in Mexico. While in their journey to Mexico, the sad reality of the hopeless Mexicans that live in the proximity of the border with USA is disclosed.

Film Appreciation, Form IV

On Mr. Coldrick's recommendation, Mr. Watts's Form IV view the 'Dekalog'.

Director Stanley Kubrick once described 'Dekalog' as the only masterpiece he could name in his lifetime. 

This is a series of ten shorts created for Polish Television, with plots loosely based upon the Ten Commandments, directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski. Two of these, Dekalog 5 and 6, are shorter cuts from the feature-length films--Krotki film o zabijaniu (A Short Film About Killing) and Krotki film o milosci (A Short Film About Love), respectively. They deal with the emotional turmoil suffered by humanity, when instinctual acts and societal morality conflict.

Krzysztof Kieslowski

Film Appreciation

 Mr. Watts has begun a module on Film Appreciation with Form IV pupils this term, and has started with the 1968 Movie 'if...', directed by Lindsay Anderson and written by David Sherwin and John Howlett. Quite an interesting viewing for the pupils given the boarding school backdrop to the movie........... find out more details about the movie  HERE.