Film studio hosting careers information evening in Mullingar Library

Hammerlake Studios is hosting a public information evening tomorrow evening, Tuesday, 13 September for local residents who may be considering a career in film production.

The public information evening will be hosted in Mullingar Library at 6pm.

Hammerlake Studios has approval in principle to build what will become Ireland’s largest film studio campus, on a 25-acre site at Lough Sheever Corporate Park, Mullingar, Co Westmeath. On completion, it is expected to create a minimum of 1,000 production jobs.

The Hammerlake Studios leadership team is aiming to recruit approximately 30% of the entire studio production staff from the wider Mullingar area which, in time, is anticipated to increase as Mullingar becomes a centre of filmmaking expertise in Ireland.

Leading figures from the Irish film and television production industry will be in attendance on the night to provide career information on the vast breadth of entry roles and training opportunities now available to the local community in Co Westmeath.

New entrants

For new entrants, a range of short-term training programmes are already available through Screen Ireland, with the assistance of the newly formed regional training hubs. (Information available at: https://www.screenireland.ie/skills)

At the public information evening, new entrants will be encouraged to identify what area or department they are most interested in. They will then be provided with some essential information, including points of contact, working conditions, rates of pay, and potential next steps.

Getting a foot in the door

Speaking in advance of the information evening, Tom Dowling of Hammerlake Studios, said:

“There are many reasons we have witnessed such an explosion in the development of film studios in Ireland in recent years. A shift in how films or programmes can be viewed - in cinemas, on TV, on your phone or on a tablet with streaming platforms like Netflix, Apple or Amazon. You can have a family of five members watching five different shows in the same house simultaneously. This has driven the need for more content. Also, changes in camera technology mean that editing and releasing new content is processed much faster. Consequently, we need more film studio campuses to produce this content and there is a greater demand for skills in the industry than ever before.”

Career Change and Transferable skills

According to Mr Dowling: “It is well documented that one of the most challenging parts of getting started in the film industry is getting that first job. The general perception may be that the film sector is inaccessible to most people. The good news is that some job roles lend themselves to transferring over to the film industry. For example, administration work can transfer over to production management roles. If you are a carpenter, painter or rigger, there are roles in set building, and you can transfer over to the art department if you have trained as an architect. Accountancy technicians with even limited qualifications could easily fit into the accounts department.

“Stage managers in theatre roles are very similar to assistant directors in film. We also aim to encourage stay-at-home mothers or fathers who gave up a profession in the early years of childcare and are now ready to return to the workforce.

“We have yet to begin the build of Hammerlake Studios. However, at this time, some of our focus will now shift onto how we will find the crew for the various roles in the new studio. Therefore, we look forward to welcoming people down to our careers evening next Tuesday and to provide some early-stage information on the type of roles and professional training available to people in Westmeath.”