Troy Studios - Open Day

#Industry: Irish Film Industry Open Day in Limerick sees huge turnout

Almost a thousand people have turned out for the Screen Training Ireland and Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board (IFB) Film Industry Open Day taking place in Troy Studios, Castletroy, Limerick on Saturday the 15th of October, which forms part of the overall strategy to grow film and television production activity in the Mid-West region.

James Hickey, Chief Executive, Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board commented on the turnout saying:

We are delighted to see such a high turnout and interest in this event. With the development of TROY Studios in Limerick, we believe there is a major opportunity to grow film and television production activity across the Mid-West region. As part of the IFB’s strategy announced early this year, job creation is at the core of our policy of growth for the audio-visual sector and training is a key element of this. This event has been organised with the aim of mapping current levels of skills across the region, in order to gauge the necessary training courses needed to allow people interested in working in the film and television sector to train and pick up additional skillsets.

We are working closely with Innovate Limerick and the Education Training Boards in the region to build strong foundations for growth. Of central importance is the ability for individuals to acquire the necessary skills in order to develop freelance careers within the film and television sector, which can offer a long-term continuum of employment.

Aimed at school leavers, job seekers, new entrants to the labour market, graduates and those seeking information on the industry, the day has served as an opportunity to hear from some of the industry’s most experienced professionals and heads of departments providing a 360-degree view of a production.

The Young Offenders director Peter Foott delivered a keynote address which will be followed by sessions from heads of departments in production, accounts, camera and lighting, sound, art department, costume, make-up and hair, set craft/construction, props and continuity. 

Top industry speakers from the Mid-West included multi award-winning Costume Designer Eimer Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh (Breakfast on Pluto, The Wind that Shakes the Barley); Noëlette Buckley, Production Manager (This Must Be the Place, Disco Pigs, Calvary); Conor Dennison, Production Designer/Art Director (Titanic: Blood and Steel, Vikings).

Other speakers include Rebecca Daly, Accountant (Room, The Lobster, Frank, Glassland); Hannah Quinn, Assistant Director (Maze, The Canal, The Journey); James Maguire, Gaffer (The Secret Scripture, Brooklyn); Dan Birch, Sound (The Secret Scripture, Vikings); Dave Moran, Script Supervisor (A Date for Mad MaryThe Lobster) and Tim Fleming, Cinematographer (Rebellion, Citadel, Once).

The morning finished with a session from Limerick artist BlindBoy Boatclub of The Rubberbandits.

A demonstration area showcasing various skillsets within departments was available for attendees to explore.  The demo area will include sessions on VFX, Costume Construction, Costume Design: Distressing and Ageing, Modelmaking with Fab Lab Limerick; Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, Camera and Lighting and much more. 

The Film Industry Open Day is supported by Screen Training Ireland, Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board, Troy Studios and Innovate Limerick.

Troy Studios is located on Ireland’s west coast in the city of Limerick. It is Ireland’s largest film lot with 350,000 sq.ft under one roof.  This includes 70,000 sq.ft. of sound stages ranging in size from 18,000 sq.ft. to 30,000 sq.ft. with a height of 60ft. A further 280,000 sq.ft. of support infrastructure includes production office space, workshop space, props and costume storage space, hair and makeup areas, dressing rooms, meeting rooms and a restaurant. The lot also offers 5 acres of backlot space. Troy studios offers world class facilities to cater for movies and TV productions of any scale. For more info see www.troystudios.ie.