The 7 minute shooting of Oscar Wilde

Posted byShuttermaniac ProductionsPosted inPortraitsTags:, , , ,

I had the great opportunity of meeting Rupert Everett as he came to dine in the restaurant in which I work at the weekend. As I got to know the cast and crew a wee bit and I had a feeling that this wouldn’t be the last time I saw them. As it happened Mr Everett came in everyday that week after matinee and dinner performances and I caught up with him again on the Friday. He was over from London to do a week-long play called “The Judas Kiss”. Before I knew, the conversation led to my studying photography at Griffith College. After I mentioned that I was in the middle of a portraits and visual-diary project Mr. Everett invited me down to the Gaiety Theatre to take his portrait immediately after the matinee curtains fell. Initially he said that I would have fifteen minutes to shoot him on stage. Deep breath.

I had no idea what to expect  after striking up a conversation with the lighting crew in the Greenroom. The lads kindly joined me on stage as I asked for a little more light here and there. To which they called out a confusing yet impressive blend of letters and numbers, referring to an invisible person in the ceiling rig. I instantly had the light I needed. As it turned out I had only six minutes and thirty seconds to take a grand total of just twelve images. This very quickly whittled down to two when I got home to the laptop.

The final scene in “The Judas Kiss” is a dark and lonely Oscar Wilde monologue, and as such there had to be negative space engulfing him for the image to work.

Mr.Everett’s final scene from the play “The Judas Kiss”   Picture Credit
Portrait for the Gaiety Theatre
Picture Credit

The closer, more intimate shot of Rupert was taken with my Argos-bought Canon 50mm prime lens, very quick and extremely sharp lens and a must for every camera bag. I’d like to thank Rupert for giving me the chance to take his picture even as the costume ladies were dying to get his outfit removed from his shoulders and back in storage. This was a remarkable experience and its inclusion in my college project scored me an ‘A’ for the effort.

As requested here is the Exif Data for the last shot.

Published by Shuttermaniac Productions

Award-winning Filmmaker and Creative Director with a focus on disciplines in the fields of art, commerce, emerging technology, and tourism. Before this blog started (prior to Oct 2012) he had a Facebook page which served as a means for keeping clients and friends updated to any upcoming gigs, work and events. This also served as a back catalogue for said clients wishing to see their portfolios shown on a public platform for review and critique. He currently has a website which only started last year May 2011 and has already attracted a plethora of international interest (but mainly Scottish..) ‘Dublin’s Arts and Antique Quarter’ use his images in their highlighting of the up and becoming cultural area in and Francis Street. The Blogger comes from a small, quiet agricultural seaside town just south of Glasgow, so always had the aspirations to seek out the next big city and run away from home. Since the childhood dream of leaving home officially (usually a kick in the arse when you turn sixteen) he has worked, lived, and squandered his time around the globe. Dodging in and out of Hospitality/ Catering work as often as a stray dog to a home he worked in every level of Hotels, Restaurants and Bars and even served time in the Merchant Navy as a Drunken Sailor/ Sommelier on board the QE2 cruise liner. The common factor in all this unsettled chaos, was the pastime in which this young man adhered all his spare time and attention to. With years spent away from home and cultural comfort zones, and having a distinct lack of wanting to return, he was only going to be immersed deeper into this new-found career path. “It’s only by looking back and organising your photographs, that you can make sense of all this madness, which we call life”. At least that’s what I think she said, as my forgetful grandmother asked me for the third time. “Who is this one again, son?”

2 thoughts on “The 7 minute shooting of Oscar Wilde”

  1. Damn you’re lucky bastard! 🙂 🙂 very moody picture but shows theatrical atmosphere and this ‘dark magic’. I have to admit this…i like your pictures. Very fresh and interesting angle. So, i said it. 🙂 Small request – more pictures on your blog. 🙂

    Reply

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