Institute of Art Design + Technology Dún Laoghaire
Ireland’s campus for the Creative Industries
On Show
 Close
Search
3D Animation 3D Design Modelmaking + Digital Art Animation Applied Psychology Art Broadcast Production Character MakeUp Design Costume Design Creative Computing Creative Media Technologies Creative Music Production Cyberpsychology Design for Change Digital Marketing Film + Television Production Interaction + User Experience Design New Media Studies Photography Production Design Screenwriting for Film + Television User Experience Design Visual Communication Design




Ben Spillane 

BA [Hons] Film + Television Production

A directing major and editing minor graduating from the National Film School. A creative, story-driven director and filmmaker that likes to juggle the absurd and the unsettling, explore and subvert horror and comedy genres, and is a highly collaborative member of any crew with a broad range of creative and technical skills. Currently working as an assistant director and freelance videographer. Based in Dublin and Limerick.

THE BINS (GRADUATION FILM) Local recluse Vincent is certain his neighbour is dumping rubbish in his bin, with the sole malicious purpose of spiting him and all he holds dear. Graduate comedy film with a focus on revealing a relationship within the themes of isolation, paranoia, and grandiosity. The film was created with a crew of two and was inspired by a level of neighbourly suspicion that we can all relate to. Writing, Direction, Sound Design and Score by Ben Spillane. Cinematography and Colour Grade by Jamie Dixon. Film Editing and Graphics by Annie Walsh.
TIDAL - EXPERIMENTAL SHORT Tidal is an abstract emotional response to the painting of the same name by Beatrice Modisett. It explores emotions of slow seeping tension, anger, and gradual release, reflecting the violent push and pull of waves and nature, while inspired by the colours and textures of the painting itself. Created as part of the Abstract + Emotional workshop. Directed and Edited by Ben Spillane. Cinematography and Colour Grade by Jamie Dixon.
MY DEAREST - GRADUATION FILM (PRE-PRODUCTION) Bride-to-be Lucy invites her estranged mother to her wedding, but when she doesn’t show, strange and unsettling happenings bring her ill-conceived marriage and traumatic childhood to light. A psychological horror film that was the focus of the first college term, postponed due to the pandemic. Set to subvert horror genre tropes and jumpscares in favour of strange and unsettling imagery with a unique visual style and terrifying sound design. The project will be continued with funding as pandemic restrictions ease. Production Package linked below.
ONE LAST MORE (GRADUATION FILM - EDITOR) Lily finds herself alone in a playground the morning after the debs, revisiting old memories spent there with her childhood best friend Emma. A short film discovering the themes of maturity and losing friends, all through a beautiful lens of innocence as childhood pinky promises and sunnier days fade over time. Edited on Davinci Resolve. Written and Directed by Martha Lovett Cullen. Cinematography and Colour Grade by Cat Leibowitz. Film editing by Ben Spillane. Sound Design by Ethan Forbes Roe.
Major in Film Directing / Minor in Editing

This year I worked on multiple projects as a director, as well as crewing on many other short films and projects. I worked on pre-production for my proposed graduate horror film My Dearest. I completed my short, self-starring comedy The Bins which is about to enter festivals, and edited fellow director Martha Lovett Cullen's graduate film One Last More. I worked closely with my editor Annie Walsh and cinematographer Jamie Dixon to create the best films we could, and under the circumstances, achieved just that. I improved my skills in working with actors, found my voice as a writer, and honed my technical skills as an editor.


My Dearest - Production Pack PDF

The Metanarrative Use of Fairy Tales in Pan’s Labyrinth

This thesis covers writer and director Guillermo Del Toro's uses metanarrative structure within his film Pan's Labyrinth in order to emphasize the importance of fairy tales. It defines what a fairy tale is, uncovers a metanarrative as a fairy tale exists within a fairy tale in Pan's Labyrinth, and how Del Toro uses this to not only convey the importance of fairy tales to the film's main character Ofelia, but also to children in general as a means to coping with and truly understanding a cruel and unwavering real world. It breaks down the different interpretations of a metanarrative, and it's effectiveness in conveying Del Toro's love for equally beautiful and violent fairy tales.


My Dearest - Production Pack PDF
Film + Television Production
All coursesClose
Top