What inspired you to work in art direction?
As with most people my age ‘Star Wars’ was my gateway drug into the word of film, I have been obsessed with movies since first seeing it in 1978. A childhood spent replicating the sets from that film out of cardboard for my Star Wars figures has lead me to what I now do for a living. When I look at it like that not much has changed in 35 years - just the scale of my endeavors.
Do you have any training or education in film?
I did attend DLCAD (now DLIADT) for four years in the late 80’s - early 90’s on the pretense that I was there to study film so, along with spending a great deal of time in Bakers Corner, I used the opportunity to work on as many short films as I could. I thought then that my future lay in editing so I pursued that for a few years immediately after college, then I spent a while working as a video assist operator on commercials which led to the opportunity to work on the floor of a few big shoots like ‘Space Truckers’, ‘Reign of Fire’ and ‘King Arthur’.
Eventually I ended up in the art department in Roger Corman’s Concorde studio after a chance meeting with a friend who had worked his way up to being the production designer there. So it took me a while to settle on the department I now call home but I feel I got the best possible grounding in the business by working on shows big and small and in as many different roles as possible.
Would you recommend people wanting to work in art direction to get some sort of training?
I feel the best way to learn anything is by doing. I’ve landed many a job on a Friday, thought ‘Hang on, I don’t know how to do that’, and then given myself a crash course over the weekend on the skills required for Monday morning. As an art director or a production designer you are only as good as your team, so the more skills you can bring to the table as a member of the art department makes you more hirable. I still try and do as many courses as I can between shows to up my skill set. So my advice would be to seek out any training available but also try and get onto as many shoots as possible in any role. I’ve found gaining an insight into the various disciplines involved in filmmaking on my route to the art department has helped me enormously.
How would you compare working at home with working abroad?
Up to now I’ve been very lucky to be able to make a good living here without having to seek work aboard. Also the added advantage of working in the art department is that you are on shows far longer than the shooting crew, so I don’t need as many jobs to fill my year. Although the introduction of tax breaks in the UK for TV productions and the worrying trend of the Irish ‘new wave’ to produce low budget features with no discernible production values will have a knock-on effect here that will lead to me having to follow the work abroad in the near future. That said, I’m looking forward to it.
Do you think that it’s necessary for someone starting out in art direction to move abroad to establish themselves, or do you think it’s possible to establish a career based in Ireland?
I’ve managed it but the playing field here is about to change. Rates have dropped in recent years and if I was about to enter the industry today I think, unfortunately, I would have to establish myself abroad. My assistant recently had to emigrate, so even though he may have been getting as much work as I was the rate he was on wasn’t enough to sustain him here. So in answer to the question, it has been possible in the past to establish yourself here but it may not be in the future.
Can you tell us a bit about your next project?
I’ve a second series of a show I did a few years ago coming up this summer and one or two others in the pipeline but, even though I’m not superstitious, I won’t mention their names until they’re actually green lit.
Does your job require you to spend a lot of time on set?
As an art director, no. Generally with each new set or location, myself and the production designer will see the crew in the first hour of the day, just to ensure that everything is as it should be, but unfortunately we then have to move on. I enjoy being on set, because at times you can feel far removed from the filmmaking process being stuck in the office or on the upcoming sets and I look forward to the last few days of any shoot when there is more opportunity to be on set. I eagerly jump at the bit when offered the standby art director role on any job.
What is a typical working day like for you?
What I love about my job is that there is no such thing as a typical working day. The circumstances and requirements of any given day, depending on the project can vary in the extreme. In the broadest possible sense though, I can list the things that fill my day during prep and during shooting.
In prep there will always be a certain amount of paperwork to do, whether this involves breakdowns, budgets, emails, memos, plans etc. This will continue all through the course of the shoot as scripts and schedules are amended. Most days prep will entail some sort of a recce to see possible locations and, as the first day of the shoot approaches, these could fill your day entirely. Meetings are the other main activity during prep - with the director, the producer, the production manager, the DoP, the costume designer, prop makers, prop buyers, the construction team, the painters, the location manager, the assistant director, the 2nd assistant director, the SFX team and the action vehicle coordinator. Basically the art department speaks with everyone and at times at great length. As the sets are constructed and locations are dressed, myself and the production designer will check in on their progress until we begin shooting and will continue with all the above whilst accommodating the shoot.
Once shooting commences we check in on each day's set/location before the crew arrive and any recces or meetings to be had occur during breaks in shooting or on wrap. We then supervise the planning, building/dressing and striking of sets as the schedule dictates. On a recent job there was an hour’s drive between the set, our construction shop and the office, so figuring in all the above coupled with a lot of travel could mean a typical day.
Do you prefer working on projects with a contemporary or a historical setting?
I enjoy both equally. There can be as much involved in building a Neanderthal's cave as a contemporary teenager’s bedroom. ‘The Ice Cream Girls’ (on UTV this Friday 19th April at 9pm) was an interesting challenge as it entailed a story set in England, shot in Wicklow, and taking place over two different time periods. The flashbacks to the mid 90’s proved to be as difficult as any ‘period’ shoot because you’re dealing with living memory and your audience can be very unforgiving if you slip up. So it can be a trade-off when portraying period - where on the one hand research material is in abundance but available dressing may prove allusive - and then the opposite may be the case when dealing with the immediate past. Sometimes it can be easier to track down a newspaper from 100 years ago than from last week.
What qualities do you think are important in an art director?
As you work your way up the art department ladder, you are going to pick up the various skills you’ll need to get through the working day be it draughting, model making, illustrating, graphics, photography, sketching, budgeting etc. As an art director, you are responsible for the quality control of everything that comes out of the art department, so knowing what’s involved in the work being presented to you is a must.
But the one skill above all else that you will have to have naturally or cultivate is an ability to get on with people in all situations. As an art director you are responsible for managing the work being delivered by dozens of people, sometimes under very stressful conditions, and to ensure each member of your team is giving you their best you are going to have to dig deep to keep morale high. Sometimes being an art director is akin to being a UN peacekeeper acting as a buffer between those who don’t get along but who need to deliver together.
What final advice would you give to someone starting out in art direction?
I’m obsessed by film and I can’t stop re-arranging the furniture at home. It’s something in my blood - this need to control the appearance of the world around me to tell a story. If you’ve got the same afflictions get into art direction, it worked for me.
'The Ice Cream Girls' starts on UTV this Friday 19th April at 9pm.
