The wHole Story

The wHole Story

John Clarke, James Cadden, Ciaran Dowling, Jayme McLaughlin, Lauren Christie, Terry Faulkner, Wayne Kenny, Joe McWalter

BA (Hons) in Film and Television Production

“‘The wHole Story’ is a TV Comedy pilot for a proposed 6-part post-watershed series that follows the antics of a small independent Irish media company (Home Truth Media) as they travel around Ireland reporting on the unseen side of Irish society.  Home Truth Media pride themselves on being Ireland’s answer to Vice, with the intention of providing an unflinching insight into some of the more obscure aspects of Irish life. The crew members of Home Truth Media portray themselves as open minded and liberal freelance journalists who really care about the issues they discuss as well as the participants they interview.  But in reality, they are opportunistic media vultures, exploiting these issues as a means of advancing their careers, so that they can make the leap into the realm of mainstream media.

The key crew consists of The Presenter (Nathan), The Producer (Helen), The Cameraman (Conor), Sound Recordist (Katie) and The Editor (Simon). Home Truth Media is merely a stepping stone for each of them, thus the content they create will always be disingenuous and somewhat contrived.  The result is a group of narcissistic pseudo-journalists who travel the country capitalising on the misfortune of others in a hope to achieve fame & fortune, so as to give meaning to their otherwise vacuous and hollow existence.

The proposed series consists of six episodes, each of which takes place on location in the environments in which the subjects of the episode inhabit.  Along the way the team encounter a whole host of strange characters from all walks of life. As the show progresses we learn more about the characters, finding out that they are more dysfunctional than the subjects they interview.  As each episode unfolds, we begin to realise that the team’s aspirations of mainstream success will never be realised as they are not taken seriously by their mainstream peers, furthermore their underhanded journalistic practices begin to catch up with them in the form of past subjects coming back into their lives expressing anger for the way they had being portrayed and threatening litigation against Home Truth Media.

Riven

Riven

Rachel Barrett, Megan Moroney, Rebecca McDonagh, Jessica Drew,  Kyle Mullen, YeeWen Wong, Killian Ginnity, Paul McDonnell

BA (Hons) in Film and Television Production

Riven is a short live action drama set in 1970’s rural Ireland that tells the story of the Daly family, who are torn apart from the death of their father.  Kathy, the mother, spirals into a deep depression and turns to alcohol for comfort while her daughter Colleen is struggling with her guilt over her father’s tragic death.  Due to these issues their relationship becomes hostile and leaves the family in disarray.

The Jarveys

The Jarveys

Vanessa Briscoe, Sinéad Dullaghan, Jill Kane, Dean Gordon

BA (Hons) in Film and Television Production

This 26-minute documentary for a pre-watershed TV audience was developed as the pilot episode for a 6 x 30-minute documentary series exploring the lives of the men behind Dublin’s oldest transport system; the horse and carriage.  These men are the gateway between modern Dublin and the Dublin of the past. With many arguing that busy streets are no place for horses, their way of life has come under threat. Yet despite a lack of financial stability, these men wouldn’t change their jobs for anything. With the insight of the charismatic Jarveys, this documentary series aims to uncover the difficulties of working within a dying trade while exploring the uniqueness of Dublin City and the characters who have established their livelihoods based on tradition while trying to make a living within a modern society.

The College Comedy Roadshow: Dropout Comedy

The College Comedy Roadshow: Dropout Comedy

John Mc Callig, Cody Farren, Alannah Murray, Darren Finnegan, Emily Flood, Layla Wynne, Ifeanyi Onwuneme, Jack McGee

BA (Hons) in Film and Television Production

The Dropout Comedy stand-up show started in Dundalk in 2015, set up by two media students studying at Dundalk Institute of Technology – James Cadden and Brian O’Toole.  It worked on the basis that it was created by students for students, with comedians coming from all over and performing to an audience almost entirely consisting of students from the area.

We have taken this model and redeveloped it into a TV four-part series aimed at a post-watershed broadcast slot, where each week the show would move to a different college/institute across the four provinces.  The pilot episode of the College Comedy Roadshow has been filmed here in Dundalk, where it was conceived, and it is envisaged that it would then move onto other colleges such as Queen’s University Belfast, NUI Galway and University College Cork.

In half hour TV episodes, the Comedy College Roadshow would take place in these areas, performed to students from the colleges concerned and hosted by Brian O’Toole and a co-host from the college’s own comedy society, and featuring a selection of comedians from all around Ireland including the local area.