The Ratboy speaketh...

Pictured: Ratboy's daughter

21 years eh?
Ae fond memories.

That Bolex in the picture taught me how to edit on the old Steenbecks by employing the tune from the old Wheetos advert as we fed 16mm celluloid onto the spools; "You put them in here, the Wheeto's go oh. oh. oh, oh, oh, oh ,oh and they come out here". You wouldn't get that in those trendy film schools today, I tell you. Now they'd just make you watch 'Eireville'! (And why, we all know 'Atonement' was much better James)

I came into the GFC via Lelia Doolan's Film Course in the Peader O'Donnell centre in the mid-eighties, which led to a group of us establishing a bolshie Film and Video Collective like something out of Citizen Smith which eventually merged with the GFC after many heated debates. First thing I remember working on was Pat Comer's GFC short film award winner 'Bert'O'Lucky', sharing sound duties with Declan Gibbons. Years later in a pub with Risteard Cooper I discovered that that was his big screen break! I had to go back and check the video and there he was; 'harried man in car'!
Simple times, not a mobile phone in sight and your biggest worry was that Lelia and Miriam would come harranguing you after you slept it out when you were meant to be on Film Fleadh duty... Now its the government harranguing us with all the integrity of Harold Shipman addressing doctors on medical ethics
Looking forward to the night and will do my bit in spreading the word...


Ratboy