Sleeping Warrior Productions

A selection of Recent Production News with Sleeping Warrior (September 2016)

Hubert Butler-Witness to the Future. June 2016

Here’s the next film off the bench from Bandit Films cut, finished and mastered by yours truly. Hubert Butler -Witness to the Future. It Premièred at the Audi Dublin Film Festival on 22nd Feb. It’s a look at the brilliant mind, life and writing of Hubert Butler, an Irishman man silenced in his own country by the State and Church for telling the truth. It might just throw a few rocks in the pond. From Kilkenny to Russia and Austria, with the 1940s genocide in Croatia and the Church’s involvement being his main focus, the detective without a client is considered to be 50 years ahead of his time. As his writing becomes more valid today his description of “the extraordinary alliance of religion and crime” comes into play once again in our world. His prescient and unique writing made him one of the world’s greatest exponents of the essay form. “The maker’s name is on the blade”. The Witness to the Future.

The trailer is on Facebook.

Witness to the Future Trailer

The Leitrim Equation Live Concert

“The Leitrim Equation film looks to a long tradition of Leitrim music to trace a wider history full of colour, of love and loss, and of leaving and coming back. From the hills of Sí Beag and Sí Mór and the pits of the Arigna mines to the music of Irish communities of London and New York; the show describes how landscape shapes us, and the extent to which place, time and events influence who we are.

The film is the culmination of a residency in Leitrim over two years by Eleanor Shanley, Dave Sheridan, Padraig McGovern and John McCartin who researched and sourced Leitrim music and song, and together with Dónal Lunny they have presented beautiful arrangements of these tunes, some of which have not been played for over 100 years in a cast completed with poet, playwright and broadcaster Vincent Woods and the captivating footwork of Seán Nós dancer Edwina Guckian.
The Leitrim Equation

Generate the State- Gin an Stait 2015

An interesting doc for Bandit Films, Generate the State- Gin an Stait, which screened at the Galway Film Fleadh on July 10th. The doc is about the building of Ardnacrusha power station. It might not sound riveting stuff but the story is quite compelling. It involves about 5000 men and some women living on the banks of the Shannon to build what DeValera called a white elephant that would never find enough customers for the power it would generate. What I found interesting is that the Irish men included those that had fought in WW1, the Rising, The War of Independence and Germans that had also probably been in WW1 too. That combined with the fact that Ireland had inherited War Reparation debt after Independence and forgave Germany that debt, brings the context into today’s perspective. Mix that up with building it when the country was on it’s knees, a famine in the West and a German company moving in with technology that seemed like it was from another planet, the story moves on to to consider energy options today in an interesting parallel and controversy.

Broadcast on TV.

The Making of Jimmy’s Hall 2104

Just finished the doc The Making of Jimmy’s Hall about…the making of Jimmy’s Hall. We shot the actual build of the hall on the bog from scratch until the final day when..you know what happens. Lots of interviews with cast and crew and the men themselves, Ken Loach and Paul Laverty and on set stuff. So..I’m sure it will be coming to a TV near you soon and on the DVD etc. In the meantime go and see the film. A great piece of work by Ken and team.
We’re off on a couple of new TV docs soon so making the most of a break to upgrade equipment etc and knock it into shape, and enjoy the kids and weather. I’ll try to keep this page more up to date if I can find the time.

Black Ice

The main production was completed in February and March on Johnny Gogan’s Bandit Film’s feature film “Black Ice”. While Jim was called in as Location Manager for the shoot, Patrick was engaged as data wrangler and editor. Pickups for the fast car action were recently shot in October and Patrick has now got the edit to fine cut working closely with Johnny. The film will see the festivals and cinemas after Xmas before going for the first Irish broadcast. The story is immersed in the world of modified cars and fuel smuggling through the border. The main two characters were played by Killian Scott (RTE’s Love Hate) and Jane McGrath (Little Women). More to follow on our blog..

Creative Sligo

A short presentation to headline the creation of “The Creative State” of the North West of Ireland,  a major new business support programme for the North West at IT Sligo’s Enterprise and Innovation Week 2012. The short film was shown at the launch as a vehicle to ram home the raw statistics of creative economies in Europe as well as Ireland.

Irish Poets (Fíli na Gaeilge)

Series No2 of the Irish Poetry programs for Leaving Cert students funded by Foras na Gaelige is in production currently (March 2012). More later..

Astray

Bandit Film’s adaptation of the legend of the Mad Sweeney, a medieval King who went mad in battle. Set as a play within a play and working from the Seamus Heeney’s translation of the original text found in Sligo in the 1690’s it features the landscapes of the North West heavily, as well as dragging us into the mind of the man.  Astray was broadcast on RTE2 on the 12th of November. Patrick worked as editor and audio design. Music was by the fantastic No Crows from Sligo with Steve Wickham (Waterboys) arranging the score. Sweeney is played by well know artist Cillian Rogers. The Blue Raincoats provide the other characters and the film also feature artwork by Michael Wann. The big stars of the film though are the landscapes of County Sligo, from Innismurray to the torture of the Warriors run up Knocknarea. The result is a cinematic trip into madness.

TurfNet Goes to Ireland 2011

The courses this year included The Island Club, Woodenbridge, Waterville and Ballybunion. Once again we picked up more  awards in the US  for last years series…including the main award “The Gardiner Award” for the best of show.

“Homeland” Documentary TG4 2011

Made by Bandit Films, Sleeping Warrior worked on Homeland on camera, audio, offline and online edit, grading and mastering. The 50 minute documentary funded by the PEACE III Programme and TG4 captures the experience of Leitrim people who have emigrated and returned to settle in Leitrim as well as people who have migrated to live in the county in recent decades from different countries. Screened by TG4 in September 2011 it highlighted the fact that now Leitrim has one fifth of the population it had before the Famine and is the Irish county with the most extreme experience of migration nationally. Featuring returned people such as Emigrants that challenged the State’s Constitution to the new Kurdish community arrivals.

The Bond commercial

The James Bond-themed cinema commercial for Jewellery Ireland

TurfNet Goes to Ireland 2010 series

The courses this year included Rush, Porthmarnock and Rosses Point. Three very different courses and three very different superintendents as subjects. I’ll post on the blog more detail on the shoots, but for now check out TurfNetTV and select the TurfNet in Ireland channel.

The Caltragh Hoard

We handled post production on a documentary made in Caltragh, Sligo that details the work of artist Tracy Walsh in a community art project. It was shot by Johnny Gogan over a three year period and brings together all the aspects and influences involved in the project. These range from trips for the kids to local Sligo megaliths with archeologist Padraig Meehan to the investigations of the art site by Geomancer Alanna Moore. The end result is truly an expedition for artist and community not to be forgotten.

This project was shot by Johnny Gogan in parallel with Padraig Meehan’s own documentary “Uplands”. As having been reared in this environment this is his own guide to the megaliths of Sligo that he has known all his life and a very unique interpretation of their origins and myths. Padraig’s own presentation style is unique certainly not to be missed.

Irish Poets TV

Funded by Foras na Gaeilge, this is the first series of short programs on Irish Poetry and Poets for broadcast and an online video library. Sleeping Warrior covered all post production as well as building the website. Some of the poems are read by their authors and older material being read by other well known contemporary poets. The programs feature poems included in the Irish Leaving Certificate curriculum in Irish Schools and will be a resource for students to hear the poems in the Irish Language, as well as giving a personal insight into their writing by the living authors. Also featured are songs in Irish performed by artists such as John Spillane, Eoin Coughlan and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh from the well known best selling Irish traditional band Altan

The site is now live and can be accessed here www.irish-poets.tv or www.filinagaeilge.tv

Camera, graphics, all post-production and website construction by Sleeping Warrior Productions.

TurfNet Awards

OK..not quite in the In Production category but thought we’d blow the trumpet about the awards we picked up for last years series of TurfNet Goes to Ireland.  A pretty amazing haul altogether on that night in Puerto Rico!

Na Coisithe (The Footsteps)

We have just finished work on the Bandit Films production of Na Coisithe for the Irish language station TG4. The program is about Johnny Gogan’s own grandfather, Liam Gogan, who lived during the very interesting time of the foundation of the State and who was very influential in the society of that time, especially in the cause of the Irish language, art and politics. It also explores his potentially controversial connections with Germany during the 1930s and 40s. We’ve been shooting in Germany and Holland as well as around Ireland, with ongoing work in the studio on audio recording, graphics, grading, online edit and transfer to Digibeta. Having Premiered at The Galway Film Festival and the NW Cinema’s Adaptations Festival, the program will be aired on TG4 in 2010. Not to be missed!

TurfNetTV. TurfNet Goes to Ireland Series 2009

Due to the success of the 2008 series cleaning up at the TOCA Awards in Puerto Rico, we have just finished post production on the new TurfNet Goes to Ireland 2009 series. Featuring Golf Courses such as Old Head Kinsale, Mt.Juliet, Tralee and Dooks, it also includes footage of the trip that 15 course superintendents from the US made during the filming. All we can say is that we had a blast shooting it all over 10 days in late April with the TurfNet directors Jon Kiger and Peter McCormick. Check out the series TurfNetTV (go to Channels-TNTV in Ireland)

The Scaffolder Falls. Work has now completed on Johnny Gogan’s Bandit Films animated production The Scaffolder Falls. Sleeping Warrior were heading up compositing and animation work. The film saw shooting on the street in Parnell Sq in Dublin as well as green screen footage being shot in the Sleeping Warrior studios in Leitrim. Donal Kelly (The Van-Roddy Doyle etc) plays the Scaffolder in real life and camera, including Steadicam, was shot and coordinated by Nuria Roldos. Completion is due in June 2008.

“The Scaffolder Falls emerged from a chance encounter on Dublin’s soon to be re-designed Parnell Square. In the 8 minute film backed by the Arts Council, square and city get a make-over at the hands of the wayward scaffolder artist. With musical arrangements by Giordai Ua Laoire and Ray Duffy, the visuals involve the collaboration of Sligo based animator Brian McGowan and producer Patrick O’Rourke”

Check out the Bandit Films page at The Scaffolder Falls

Comedy reels

We are currently shooting demo reels for a new comedy show for Irish TV. This show features some well known faces using writers with pedigree but a totally fresh irreverent humour. Watch this space for more details.

Diary of a Sheep. A short animation for mature audiences, a refreshing story about a good shepherd, a sheep and spiritual growth.