Kyle Shevrin studied filmmaking in Dublin through the Tisch School of the Arts Summer High School Program. Kyle reflects back on his time in Dublin and shares his experience, passion, and moments abroad.
How did you become interested in filmmaking?
I’ve always loved movies and always thought that it would be very cool to make a movie. It wasn’t until last year that I actually wrote a script, took my mom’s camera and made a short film with my friends. After completing the short, I realized that making movies was something I loved doing.
What are some of your favorite films?
Some of my favorite films would be: The Sandlot, Braveheart, Rocky, Terminator, Gone in 60 Seconds, Star Wars, Passion of the Christ, Die Hard, Indiana Jones, Fast and Furious.
What was it like studying filmmaking in Dublin? How did you incorporate the culture into your work?
Studying in Dublin was an amazing experience. Many movies have been filmed there such as Braveheart. So the city has that movie feeling to it. I loved everyone’s accents and wish that my short film would have had dialogue so that I could have used someone with an Irish accent in my film. My final film had some of Dublin’s city landscapes and people.
Students collaborate with each other to produce short videos. What kind of hands-on experience did you gain in the program?
Through the program I learned many new skills. I had a bunch of hands-on experience with cameras. Some of these skills were adjusting the iris or amount of light that is allowed through the lens or controlling the internal microphone levels. I also learned a lot about the editing program Final Cut. Coming with no experience in this program, after the four weeks I felt very comfortable using Final Cut and now use it daily at home.
What was your role in projects with fellow students?
My role in other students' films varied. On one project I was the main actor in the film, which was very fun because acting is something I also enjoy doing. For my other friend I was the DP, or Director of Photography. This means that he tells me what type of shots he wants and I have to go capture them. Lastly, I was a script supervisor for one film. This meant that I was in charge of making sure all the shots were accounted for that the Director had on the shot list.
Please describe a typical day.
Our day started with a 7 o’clock wake up call from my counselor Declan. Everyone would meet outside in the courtyard at 8 o’clock. We would take a 15-minute walk to the Tisch building, where we had class from 9 to 11 a.m. Then we had lunch from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., so we had a one-hour break. After that we had an editing class with Kevin for two hours. We then had another film class until 7 p.m. where we worked on out of classroom exercises. After our final class we would usually go out for dinner, or catch a movie around 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. We then headed back to our apartments and went to sleep.
There are many aspects to filmmaking--directing, editing, and writing, just to name a few. What is your particular area of interest?
I would love to be a Director. I just love the idea of coming up with a well written and action packed script. Then making that story on paper, into a big screen movie. The Director is in charge of almost everything, and I love having control over every aspect of my work. That way I can change something or get rid of something that doesn’t flow well. Don’t get me wrong, editing and writing are fun as well. I just feel that the Director is the main man in charge who gets the train rolling.
Many fascinating industry professionals lead discussions with the students in the program. Whom gave a lecture that stands out in your mind and why?
Tommy Graham was the historian, who we had class with every other day. I found it fascinating to learn about Irish history. I thought I had some clues of what happened, but I was totally wrong. Tommy was a complete genius and knew basically everything that had happened in or with Ireland in the last 200 years. I had no idea that Belfast was divided into two, with loyalist to Ireland and loyalist to the English. There have been wars and many innocent people that have died over the years. So when Tommy told us this, I was totally blown away.
Please tell us about your videos. What are they about?
The video I made was about a Hitman. The film starts out with the main character preparing for a hit. Then it cuts to him breaking into the person’s apartment he has been hired to kill and waiting for him to arrive. The person he ends up killing happens to be me. I always like to give myself a little cameo in my films, so I was able to slip my way into the film. The Hitman is then ordered to kill another person, and while getting his instructions and information he meets a girl. When he finally breaks into the next targets house, it ends up being the same girl he met earlier. I don’t want to ruin the ending so I’ll stop it here. If you want to see the whole movie, please visit YouTube
What was the most memorable moment of the program?
The most memorable moment of the program was probably leaving. I didn’t think that I would become as attached to everyone as I did. I felt that I would make a few friends and that would be that. But when you spend everyday with the same people for four weeks, you eventually become attached. I still keep in contact with mostly everyone via email and by phone.
