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Lynne(Hannah) and Zach(Brett) outside Hackett House. |
After 11 weeks of filming in Galway, 'Foreign Exchange', the first ever childrens drama funded by RTÉ , is now in its last week of principal photography. IFTN met the producers and the shows young stars on set.
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'Foreign
Exchange' is a 26 x 30min television series produced by Magma Films and
Southern Star (Australia) for RTÉ and Channel 9 (Australia). With funding from the IFB, Section 481 and Screen West (Aus). The
series follows the adventures of Brett (Zachary Garred), a young Aussie
from the small town of Woolondonga Western Australia and Hannah (Lynne
Styles), a young Irish girl living in a boarding school in the west of
Ireland, who discover a magic portal that allows them to travel freely
in and out of one another's lives.
There
is an air of confidence on set as IFTN sips coffee with producers Ralph
Christians (Magma Films) and Gerry McColgan. Smiles are wide when we talk
about the fact that post-production is already underway in Australia with
the first 13 shows in the can, Christians admits he thinks "it looks
fantastic". Producer Gerry McColgan considers the show to be essentially
a children's comedy series, but identifies a similarity to the hugely
popular American series 'Malcom In The Middle' and hopes it will be just
as popular with young and old audiences alike.
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Director Declan Eames instructs the actors on set. |
The Irish boarding school set is based about 45 minutes from Galway city. Filmmakers have transformed Hackett House, which dates back to the 1700's, into an "old but modern boarding school". The house hallways have been modeled into long school corridors, painted blue and pink complete with lockers and school notice boards. The EU5 million production is directed by Australian director James Bogle and Irish ex-pat director Declan Eames (Fair City, Glenroe who returns to Ireland after 10 years working in Oz). It boasts a 45-man crew and is shot on DigiBeta (equipment supplied by Telegael and VFG).
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our visit, the show's young stars are commended by their older colleagues
for their acting talent and professionalism. 17-year-old Zachary Garred
(Brett) is studying for his HSC (Leaving Cert) exams between takes. He says
this has not been a bad thing, "To be frank, this has been the most
phenomenal experience of my life, and to do it just as I am about to leave
school is just a gift wrapped at my feet." Already adopting some Irish
slang he adds, "the school were fine with it, they were grand and they
keep sending me school work, how generous of them (laughs)." |
| Hailing
from Newcastle (north of Sydney) and fresh out of acting school, this has
been a fantastic learning experience for Zach. He loves Ireland and seems
to appreciate the unique opportunity he has been given. He says, "it
was really weird, it was like I had been yanked away from reality andjust
placed in this Harry Potter parallel fantasy world… sometimes you sit
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Zach gets some pointers
from Director James Bogle |
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back and you think 'what the hell am I doing here?' I was just flying
blind into a snowstorm in Perth. I didn't have a clue what was going on,
I just did what I was told cause this is my first ever real big gig. Then
when I came to Ireland I had a lot more confidence, hit my marks better,
learned my lines properly and in the end I found it a lot more comfortable...Now
it's sort of winding down I can't wait to get home to see all my mates
again. I miss them to death, but at the same time I know at some point
on my 12 hour flight home I am going to stop and think 'why did I leave
Ireland?'"
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The
show's other stars Lynne Styles (Hannah) and Danielle Fox-Clarke (Tara-Hannah's
roommate and Brett's love interest) are old friends from Ann Kavanagh's
acting school in Dublin, although they have worked in Ireland before on
Fair City and in small theatre parts, this is also their first major production.
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Danielle(Tara) and Lynne on set.
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are thrilled to work on the show and Lynne says she especially enjoyed her
time in Australia. "I loved Australia, it was during the summer and
it was very hot." Although getting to grips with the Australian national
pastime, surfing, was somewhat of a challenge for her. "I had to learn
how to surf and the whole idea was that Hannah didn't have a clue how to
surf, so I could do that very well," she said. |
Lynne and Zach on set
in Perth |
However,
it was not all fun and games in the sun for the lively 15-year-old. Continuity
has been a high priority for the production team, ensuring the show cuts
seamlessly between the Australian and Irish sets, Lynne was required to
shelter from the Australian sun under an umbrella throughout her entire
three month stay in order to maintain her fair Irish complexion!
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All
the young stars are pleased with the production and agree that it is something
worth checking out. "I think most teenagers our age would watch this,
it's not just for kids, when I read the script I thought it was brilliant,"
says Lynne with Danielle adding, "you just end up laughing out loud,
it's so funny."
Foreign
Exchange is due to premiere on RTÉ in their Autumn schedule followed by a run
on Australia's Channel 9. Talk of international sales already abound with
Ralph Christians intending to travel to MIPCOM in October with the show.
He hopes the series can be sold to around 60-70 countries and a second
series can be commissioned. He hopes to develop similar live action and
animation co-productions in the near future and believes Foreign Exchange
could help build up a successful creative and corporate relationship for
all parties involved. www.magmaworld.com
www.rte.ie
www.southernstargroup.com
By Tanya Warren.
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