David A. O'Hara - Creative Video Artist

New temporary home

2010-04-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

Oops! I forgot to renew my website davidaohara.com and its now been repossessed by the .com loan sharks! Thankfully it isn't porn, but they've called it David - Beauty and the Beast, which is a puzzlement. All those business cards and emails I sent out are gunna look rather odd... anyway! For now this will be my new temporary home my beautiful beasts!

David A. O'Hara Creative Showreel from David O'Hara on Vimeo.

Weather The Storm

2009-08-23T11:18:00.001-07:00

In production...

Weather The Storm: In production from David O'Hara on Vimeo.

vhs-c

2009-01-20T14:07:00.000-08:00

VHS-C! I love it! This was my first camera, Panasonic NV-V10B. I begged my parents for it back in 1996. The foldout screen or 'slim vision' was cutting edge! I made my first ever film at the age of 13 - a feature length remake of Psycho (Yes I got there before Gus Van Sant!). I starred as Norman Bates and spent much of the 45 minute in a summer dress chatting to Marion Crane. Set in Scunthorpe, of all places, and with a cast of children, it really does need to be seen to be believed!

However naff this all sounds, it does deserve a fair bit of credit - for a 13 year old to be crafting films with limited resources, tape to tape linear editing and a dodgey camcorder - that really takes effort and dedication. Right now it's easy; kids have access to all sorts of digital devices and software, where I spent night after night swapping digits between record, pause and rewind, experimenting with scart cables and gigantic editing decks. Technology has made it so easy for youngsters to break into film - which is a good thing and a bad thing. Good in the sense that it nutures new creative talent, but bad in the sense that those who truly have a passion for the moving image are lost in a torrent of YouTubers.

I'm amongst the last of my kind!

VW Passat Pitching Competition - Four Docs

2009-01-05T14:13:00.000-08:00

It's good to start the new year on a high! I’m excited to start 2009 with my short doc Steel Town on the Four Docs shortlist in the VW Passat pitching brief. Four Docs teamed up with Passat to set the competition: to pitch a documentary based on the theme 'beautifully engineered'. The prize? £5,000 to get the film made!

Steel Town is currently on the Four Docs player: http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/F/fourdocs/video/video5.html

When I shot the pitch I was really in a place of awe; the Steel Works are really quite amazing. Not something I thought I'd hear myself say, growing up in Scunthorpe under the shadows of it's cooling towers. I had to complete a site induction before I could even draft a storyboard – there being so many ways a young filmmaker could meet his maker! It’s a place that puts you in touch with your own mortality and stacks up the pages of any risk assessment.

So here's to 2009 and to working on new projects, with new people in new places!

STEEL TOWN: Beautifully Engineered

2008-11-27T23:33:00.000-08:00

Produced in response to 4 Docs and VW 'Beautifully Engineered' brief; this is STEEL TOWN.

november

2008-11-11T16:03:00.000-08:00

I've just finished working with TITLE ROLE on their series, THE CRIMES THAT SHOOK BRITAIN; the series follows six of the UK's most infamous crimes. I was the Cast Runner for the Sarah Payne Reconstructions that took place Bolton and Cheshire. It's been great opportunity to work with Title Role and the crew and I can't wait to see the finished product in December. The Sarah Payne edition airs on December 8th on the Crime and Investigations Network (Sky 553 / Virgin 237), and the shows currently going out every monday at 9pm.

Also I got the verdict from 4 Talent and unfortunately I missed out on an award this year, but a massive thanks to Kate Vogel and Patrick Uden nonetheless. I'm greatful for the comments about my short doc CANNED FOOD AND WHITE PAINT and hope you enjoyed my work. A big congratulations to all of the winners and to Maria Andrade (short doc. winner); I'm looking forward to the next edition to 4Talent Magazine and to following your work!

As for all of you who helped me put the film together and to those of you that raved about it THANKYOU! Naturally I'm putting the short to bed for a while and moving on to new projects. Thankyou guys! You know who you are!

David

october

2008-10-21T07:45:00.000-07:00

I love this time of year! October is by far my favourite month to shoot, low winter sun and dead leaves... October's been a busy month so far; I've been working with Title Role Productions in Manchester as a researcher / runner on their series, Crimes That Shook Britain. I'm also keenly awaiting the verdict from the 4 Talent Awards as my short documentary CANNED FOOD AND WHITE PAINT made the shortlist. Then there's the pre-production for a swiftly evolving major project of my own; I'm hoping to announce details very soon...

title role

2008-10-11T06:09:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to note how excited I am to have been offered a placement with Manchester's Title Role Productions - I really look forward to working with them!

"stay calm" bbc urge

2008-10-03T06:41:00.000-07:00

"THIS COUNTRY HAS BEEN ATTACKED WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS. COMMUNICATIONS HAVE BEEN SEVERELY DISRUPTED, AND THE NUMBER OF CASUALTIES AND THE EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE ARE NOT YET KNOWN"

The BBC's 'Doomsday Script' had its first airing today as it was declassified by the National Archives. Like Crown Media's 'Protect and Survive', the Doomsday Script was produced under the shadow of the bomb. That we weren't listening to the broadcast today on battery powered radios behind white painted glass somewhat reduces its gravity.

"STAY TUNED TO THIS WAVELENGTH, STAY CALM AND REMAIN IN YOUR OWN HOMES", Simpson's actor Harry Shearer reads the transcript on the BBC News website. The transmission was set to be aired in the event of nuclear war on British soil. Much like Protect and Survive, it's clear that the BBC commissioned these recordings with the belief that nuclear attack could actually happen. It's this notion that sparked my short documentary, CANNED FOOD AND WHITE PAINT.

scout

2008-09-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

I've spent much of the weekend location scouting as part of the pre-production for MONSTERS. The project is hush hush until it gets off the ground and has taken me to some of my old stomping grounds in my home town. Driving the Diesel Car was Paul Waters who worked closely with me on CANNED FOOD AND WHITE PAINT. Paul's studying Advertising Design at Salford University and has recently had a placement with RED C in Manchester. This week he's been my unofficial chauffer and gourmet chef as well as collaborating with me on the project. On the road with The Smith's blaring out of the stereo, me hanging out of the window and Paul mucking about with the cruise control. In our time behind the wheel we've seen giant whicker bears, burnt out cars and glass-eyed mixamytosis infected rabbits scuttling into lay-bys. Lincolnshire - it's like the outback out there!

So what were we looking for? Well in our pre-University days we made several misguided shorts involving murderers and red light bulbs - the kind of films you find yourself gravitating far from as you start to take things seriously. As a young filmmaker it took me seven years to make a film without a murder / gruesome killing! Driving across Lincolnshire's horizontal landscape of derelict farms and ominous woodland, it's easy to recognise where my fascination with monsters began.

shortlist - 4 talent awards!

2008-09-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

I made the shortlist! CANNED FOOD AND WHITE PAINT has been shortlisted for the short documentary category in the 4 Talent Awards. For any further information about the short email me on davidaohara@hotmail.co.uk and check out www.4talentmagazine.com.

A big thankyou to the judges at this stage!

David

wolf at the door

2008-09-11T10:39:00.001-07:00

WOLF AT THE DOOR (Directed and Produced by David O'Hara) entered for the 5th Salford Film Festival, November 15th-23rd. The short is set against the skyline of Manchester and Salford over twenty-four hours, recounting and contemporising cautionary tales. The Wolf is at the door, and Sleeping Beauty dozes on anti-depressants.

The festival celebrates and showcases Salford's film making community, its cinematic heritage; promoting the region as a hub of creative excellence. Check out the website salfordfilmfestival.org.uk. Still waiting on the verdict and hope to see you there!

goodbye greenquarter!

2008-08-30T05:51:00.000-07:00

I moved! No longer living at the Greenquarter; in fairness the people who owned the penthouses didn't appreciate me skulking about on the roof - there was a lot of "what are you doing?" and my reply of "I'm a filmmaker!" as though that were a valid response.

From the rooftop I was able to shoot some stunning time lapse footage of the city. I did this over the course of a few winters mornings - Sunday's, when the builders had downed tools. For a while the penthouses were empty, and the doors to the roof were all unlocked - having the rooftop to myself was amazing. I'd spend hours up there, watching the sunrise.

The elevators went all the way up to the top floor, but there were no call buttons up there. I'd open an umbrella in its doors, tricking the sensors to think that somebody was in the way. I'd never really watched a whole sunrise until my time at Greenquarter. Streetlamps shimmering on the horizon, low winter sun rising. Looking down over Strangeways and out toward the Winter Hill transmitter. It was pretty sad when the rich folks moved in!

canned food and white paint

2008-08-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

CANNED FOOD AND WHITE PAINT submitted for the 2008 4 Talent Awards. The short doc debunks Protect and Survive, perhaps the most chilling public information film ever declassified. The documentary took me to Troywood, a decomissioned nuclear bunker in St. Andrews, and saw me hoarding canned food. Trailer coming soon!