Former garage man stands out as award winning filmmaker
Some months ago, former garage boss Noel McIntyre found himself gowned up and standing with a camera in the operating theatre of a Dublin hospital, filming segments involving medical personnel engaged in surgery, for a promotional video for the hospital. “I remember saying to myself: ‘Crikey!’ I didn’t think I could have pictured myself in this position a couple of years ago: it is amazing where you end up.”
Noel, of Motion Picture Media, is still a bit amazed at where he has ended up – in the field of film making, nicely racking up the gongs, and winning respect for the speed at which he has risen to the top of his game after a lifetime in the motor trade.
It’s not an exaggeration to say he has risen to the top of his game, for just in the last week, Noel has for the second year in a row scooped the top prize at the annual Irish Professional Photographers & Videographers Association (IPPVA) awards to be named IPPVA Irish Commercial Videographer of the Year 2023.
An engineer by profession, Noel went into the family business, Westmeath Motors, and it appeared even to the man himself that running the dealership, and later also a busy shop and petrol station on the site, was where his future would lie.
So busy was he during those years that he didn’t even realise he had an artistic or creative side.
“I remember, when I was getting out of business, customers were coming in and saying: ‘What are you going to do?’ And it was like a funeral.
“I remember saying to somebody: ‘Show me the rulebook for life. Who says I ‘have to do this or that’? And it stuck with me: where is the rule book for life? Who says you can’t make a film or you can’t write a book?”
As it turned out, Noel proved to have what it took to make a film: in 2019 his first effort ‘I Created You’ featuring Mullingar wood carver Richie Clarke, won early critical acclaim, prompting him to enter it in competition. It won 19 awards, including three at a festival in Hollywood.
“I’ve never been afraid to do anything and I’ve never seen any reason you can’t do anything,” he says looking back.
At the time Noel first spoke with Richie about doing some work with him, his intention had been merely to take photographs. “We had a conversation and I said: ‘I’ll give you a hand and take some photographs of your work, and I’ll help with your website and, sure, I’ll be building my portfolio at the same time’.
“So we were both happy enough to spend a bit of time in his workshop. And I remember when I went in, I was just overwhelmed by the textures and the smells and the drawings and the carvings and the whole atmosphere in the place.
“And I just remember saying to myself: ‘A photograph won’t tell this story: I’m going to switch this camera over to video mode’.
“I had never done that before. This was a regular camera I had; I just switched it into film mode, and said ‘Richie: I’m going to take a few clips here’.”
Thus was born the start of Noel’s film career, and he now works full-time on corporate films, his experience as a businessman meaning he understands what is important to the paying client, which he so often was in the past.