Ben Mc Evoy-Sullivan
A City Upon a Hill is a cautionary tale for nuclear conflict. It is a story about how people experience loss, and the process of dealing with that loss in a post-apocalyptic world. Some are able to let go of the past and find hope and a new purpose for the future. While others can't let go, marching off to certain death in hope of finding closure.
This studio-drama pilot centres around characters we all can empathise with, regardless of their background, allowing us to feel and experience a world at its end. It also shows the bleak future that awaits the world should current tensions between Russia and the West not find a resolution.
My role in the production City Upon a Hill was Head Camera Operator. This entailed organising a camera team, camera assistants, as well as writing shot lists and organising production to execute the filming of the production. I worked closely with the lighting operator and the VFX team, organising location filming in order to enhance the studio elements of the drama production. Our goal was to deliver the production on time, creating striking visuals that the director needed to produce the final version of the film.
As Head Camera Operator, I was tasked with portraying a post-apocalyptic America, and the story of a few brave men and women who fought to stay alive. We set out to accomplish this by creating striking visuals with an eye for the broader narrative, as well as a unique fictional world. Faced with adversity on such an ambitious production, we maintained a visual cohesion from day one to the final day, when we went out with a full visual effects team. The end result was a highly visual film that created a futuristic world facing catastrophe.
My Thesis is about Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg, going into depth about the world of Facebook's controversial growth, failed policies, electoral nightmares, and data breaches. I decided to go with this topic as this was something I was heavily invested in when I was a teenager, when in 2018, Zuckerberg would face the US congress over alleged data breach scandals. Ever since then, I've watched movies, documentaries, and read articles over the years about the highs and lows of Facebook and it's plans for the future. It is a thesis that was very challenging but thoroughly enjoyed, as it was something that I've wanted to cover and do, using documentaries, movies, articles, and reaching out to authors and college professor's, I have got so much help and guidance, that it made the process that bit easier. As Facebook is over 20 years old, and has seen more bad publicity then it wants too, I covered the main talking points that broke out around the world, bus to show the positive sides of Zuckerberg creating the social media platform, how he revolutionized the way we view the world from a media point of view, and after 20 years of highs and lots of lows, should Facebook still be the platform to trust when it comes to your private information.
My name is Ben, I am 22 years old and have been studying Television Production at IADT since 2021. In my 4 years at IADT I’ve grown to love my course, the people who I work and study with, as well as the atmosphere surrounding broadcast television. I’ve been very fortunate to have gained experience making documentaries, shorts films and dramas. I've had the chance to work in Ireland, as well as in Belgium and Portugal where I explored the filming culture of other nationalities. My favourite part of studying at the NFS was working with cameras, whether in studio or for documentary. I hope that after I leave IADT I will continue to not only stay connected with my friends and lecturers, but work in the industry with them one day.
