The Inaccessible Blog

An interview with Aonghas Pàdraig Caimbeul (Grandfather)

Cò às a tha thu, càil thu a' fuireach 's ciamar a
thàinig thu gu bhith nad chleasaiche ann an Seachd?  Where are you from, where do you live and how did you become an actor in Seachd?

[APC] Rugadh is thogadh mi ann an UIbhist-a-Deas, a bha làn de dheagh dhaoine agus tràighean àlainn. Tha mi nise a' fuireach san Eilean Sgitheanach,làn de dheagh dhaoine eile agus beanntan àlainn! Thug an Stiùiriche, Sìm Miller, agus an Rochdaire, Chris Young, cuireadh dhomh feuchainn air: chriochnaich mi mar sheanair aois 700 anns am film!  I was born and brought up on the Island of South Uist - great people and great beaches! I know live on the Island of Skye - great people and great mountains! I became an actor in Seachd when the Director, Simon Miller, came to my back door and asked me to come for an audition. I was persuaded by my friend Chris Young, the Producer who lives locally, and so ended up growing my own beard and taking one of the two lead-roles! 

Dè an diofar a tha eadar cleasachd agus sgrìobhadh? How does acting compare with writing?

[APC] Ann an sgrìobhadh tha thu a' cruthachadh saoghal tro do mhac-mheanmna fhèin. Ann an cleasachd tha saoghal air a thoirt dhut son a' chruthachadh às ùr na do mhac-meanmna.  In writing, you tend to create a multi-layered world on your own. In acting you do the reverse: take a multi-layered world and make it your
own.

An do rinn thu gin dhe na loidhneachan suas? Did you help with any of the lines?

[APC] Bhruidhinn mi cho nàdarra sa b' urrainn dhomh - mar sin nochd grunn rudan nach robh san scriopt idir an toiseach. Hopefully each line became my own through interpretation, diction, accent and voice. Some I invented, or at least emerged naturally in terms of what my character, The Grandfather, would actually say.
 
Dè an sgeulachd aig Seanair as fheàrr leat?  Which story told by Grandfather is your favourite?

[APC] Sgeulachd a' ghràidh, far a bheil Seanair diùltadh leigeil leis an ogha, Aonghas Òg, gach nì a thrèigsinn.  The 'untold' one: the story of the Prodigal Son, where Grandfather refuses to let his grandson lose the most precious things.  

An do rinn thu fhèin gach cleas ann an Seachd?  Did you do all your stunts for Seachd?  

[APC] Rinn. Eadar leum a-steach dhan uisge, gu seinn! Yes. Agreed to be covered in baby-powder. Jumped into the freezing water. Fought. Wept. Danced. Sang. And grew my own beard.

Eil sgeulachdan cudromach?  Does storytelling matter?

[APC] Tha: chan eil againn ach an deagh sgeul.  There is nothing else: bad news and good news.

Dè an rud a b' fhearr mu bhith an sàs ann an Seachd?  What was the best thing about making Seachd?

[APC] Dìreach a' dearbhadh gu bheil a Ghàidhlig cho freagarrach son meadhan sam bith anns an 21mh linn. Bha na seann sgeulachdan againn riamh cho dealbhach, agus chan eil mise faicinn adbhar carson nach biodh sinn fada nas misneachaile na tha sinn mu bhith a' cleachdadh ar cànan ann am meadhan ùr sam bith a thilgeis an linn seo oirnn.  Affirming, at least to myself, that Gaelic and Cinema (the ancient and the modern) are no strangers. Traditional Gaelic oral story-telling was always a hugely visual process and medium, and it was great to step forth in these pictorial shoes. And the relationships on set were great: lots of fun as well as lots of midgies!

Dè as fhèarr leat - leabhar no fiolm?  So which do you prefer - a book or a film?

[APC] Leam fhèin, film. Le sluagh, film. There - the best of both worlds!  On my own, a book. With a crowd, a film. 

Previous interviews:

An interview with Padruig Moireasdan (Aonghas, 9)
An interview with Ian Dodds (Cinematographer)
An interview with Jo Cockwell (Co-Writer)
An interview with John L Cobban (Sound Designer)
An interview with Aonghas Macneacail (Co-Writer)
An interview with Aonghas MacAoidh (Editor)
An interview with Vidal Sancho (The Spaniard)

http://www.seachd.com

An interview with Pàdruig Moireasdan (Aonghas, 9)

Co as a tha thu? caite bheil thu fuireach?  de an aois a tha thu agus ciamar a fhuair thu bhi na d’chleasaiche? Where are you from? where do you live? how old are you and how did you become an actor in Seachd?

[Pàdruig] Tha mi a Griomsaidh, Uibhist a Tuath, tha mi fuireach ann an Griomsaidh, tha mi deich agus fhuair mi bhi nam cleasaiche ann an Seachd an deidh dhomh a bhi  air  m’fhaicinn  air program telebhiseon comhla ri caraidean dhomh, agus an uair sin chaidh mi gu na ‘auditions’ airson a phairt aig Aonghas anns a fhilm. I’m from Grimsay, North Uist, I live in Grimsay, I am ten ( 11 on the tenth of July) and I became an actor in Seachd after being seen in a Gaelic TV program with some of my class friends and I was then auditioned  for the main part of Angus in the film.

An do cleas thu riamh  agus an deanamh tu e a rithist? Have you ever acted before and would you do it again?

[Pàdruig] Chan eil mi air cleasadh ron a seo ach dheanain cleasadh a rithist. Bi mise a deanamh drama Gaidhlig aig Fèis tir a Mhurain on bha mi coig bliadhna de dhaois. I haven’t ever acted before but I’d definitely act again. I have been doing Gaelic drama at the ‘Feis’ summer school since I was 5 years of age.

An robh an t-eagal ort nuair a dh’fhaighnich iad  dhuit an streap thu Sgùrr Dearg agus de bha e coltach ris? Were you scared when you were asked to climb Sgurr Dearg for the film and what was it like?

[Pàdruig] Rud beag aig an toiseach, ach bha e neonach a bhith cho ard ach le na casan air a
talamh. A tiny bit at first but it was strange being so high with my feet on the ground.

Bheil thu nad rionnag sa bhaile agad fhein? Are you now a star in your home town?

[Pàdruig] Chan eil fhathast, chan eil na daoine ann an seo air fhaicainn fhathast, ach tha iad a
coimhead air adhart ri fhaicinn. Not yet, people here haven’t seen it but are looking forward to seeing it.

A bheil ag innseadh sgeul a cùnntais? Does storytelling matter?

[Pàdruig] Tha, tha e a cuideachadh dàoinne gu tighinn comhladh. Yes, it helps people to socialise.

De rud a b’fhearr mu dheadhinn a deanamh Seachd? What was the best thing about making Seachd?

[Pàdruig] A deanamh caraidean ùr.  Making new friends.

De rud as miosa mu dheadhainn a deanamh Seachd? What was the worst thing?

[Pàdruig] A fàgail na caraidean ùr a rinn mi, aig an deireadh.  Leaving all my new found friends at the end of filming.

An uirinn dhuit rud no dha ìnntineach/air cùl na seallaidhean innseadh dhuinn?  Can you tell us a couple of interesting/little known/behind the scenes things about the making of Seachd?

[Pàdruig] Ged a tha an fhilm anns an Eilean Sgitheanach, tha mise (Aonghas), Aonghas-Pàdraig (Seanair), Crisdean (Donnchadh), Colla (Aonghas na dhuine òg), Daibhidh ( streapadair) agus Morag (Iar-Riochdaire) a Uibhist.  Even though the film was set in Skye, Me (Angus), Angus-Peter (Grandfather), Christopher (Duncan), Coll (Angus the young man), Davy (climber) and Morag (‘Casting Director’) are all from Uist.

An do chord e riut a deanamh an fhilm ann an Gaidhlig?  Did you enjoy doing the film in Gaelic?

[Pàdruig] Chòrd e rium gu mòr. I enjoyed it very much.

Previous interviews:

An interview with Ian Dodds (Cinematographer)
An interview with Jo Cockwell (Co-Writer)
An interview with John L Cobban (Sound Designer)
An interview with Aonghas Macneacail (Co-Writer)
An interview with Aonghas MacAoidh (Editor)
An interview with Vidal Sancho (The Spaniard)

http://www.seachd.com

An interview with Ian Dodds (cinematographer)

Where are you from and how did you become a cinematographer?

[Ian] I am from East Boldon near Sunderland in the North East of England. My first degree is in Mathematics and it took a while to find my way into a more artistic world. After several meanders I ended up at the Royal College of Art studying film. I managed to direct a few short films and do camera for many more. Since then I have enjoyed both documentary and drama camerawork with each informing and advancing the other.

How did you approach the cinematography of Seachd?

[Ian] Through discussions with Simon, finding films we both  liked visually. We wanted to find seperate looks for each story and a different look for the present day. We found a visual 'theory' for each section ( for example a deep red and black colour scheme for the Akira Gunn story, long lenses for the water horse story and very wide lenses for the 'Spaniard and the Gael'). The looks had to be able to implement quickly (then aided in the grading) because of the very tight schedule. We then applied the visual theory to a shotlist (  which we often had to do this the night before due to locations changing or not being found yet)

What was it like working with HD for the first time?

[Ian] With a 35mm camera you are looking directly through a beautiful lens and seeing the scene in colour and can trust your eyes as part of the photographic process. With an HD camera you are looking at a tiny black and white image through the viewfinder so you need a large (ideally 24") HD monitor to properly judge what you are filming. This is huge and totally impractical with such a small crew and  low budget so we managed with a 14" monitor a fair amount of the time but up a mountain or on a remote beach only a small battery monitor is possible. This was very frustrating and led to some things that could have been better.

HD is horrible looking if any area is overexposed. This proved most problematic in the 'Spaniard and the Gael' story which we chose to shoot on very wide lenses meaning there was a lot of sky in the shot. Unfortunately the skies were particularly flat and overcast but relatively bright white.

The biggest advantage to HD was being able to travel a lot lighter with a couple of zooms up the mountain for instance and being able to film 2 hours worth of material with no worries ( which would have been roughly 12 huge cans of 1000 feet of film to carry and load). It also meant Simon and I could go off at weekends and film landscape shots and pickups very easily.

Does storytelling matter?
 
[Ian] Storytelling is a huge part of life from an early age. Its a way of finding meaning in the world.  For a child it’s a way of understanding the world through metaphor – not that a child thinks of it in that way.

If the world blew up and the few stragglers met up  it wouldn’t be long before they gathered around a fire and someone started telling tales to make sense of things. Stories entertain, provide an escape or catharsis, stimulate thought and debate and make you laugh.

What was the best thing about making Seachd?

[Ian] The best thing was being up in such a beautiful part of the world working on a script that used the landscape as part of the story.

Climbing the mountain twice then filming was a great challenge for a mostly unfit chubbster - the first time was hellish with snow on the ground, gale force winds nearly blowing the tripod over and heavy cloud cover blocking the view. Luckily the clouds parted for a while and the views , light and skies were the most dramatic I've ever seen. I was so tired climbing back down that I wanted to crawl to be honest but pride kept me stumbling along. The second time was very different, beautiful weather and getting up and down was so much less exhausting. The only problem this time was a queue of folk waiting to climb the pinnacle (even though we set off at 3 in the morning).

A buttock clenching moment (apart from forgetting the base plate for the tripod!) was Simon pointing out that the rock I was resting myself and the camera on (to get the very wide shot of Angus at the base of the pinnacle) was the kind that crumbles away sending me with it. A vivid  very long couple of minutes followed but it was the only place to get such a wide shot.

The two climbs were radically different and I'll never forget them.

What was the worst thing?

[Ian] The first day of the horse race on the beach. The horses took so long to get onto the beach that we on the camera crew were reduced to making beards out of moss and a feature length documentary on clouds (some very fine clouds though). When finally  the horses lined up and the starters gun went off they promptly scattered in different directions. Then the Start/Finish banner blew down and the apocalyptic weather began.

Can you tell us a couple of interesting/little known/behind the scenes things about the making of Seachd?

[Ian] Simon is certainly one of the hardest working directors I’ve worked with but I think I found his limit one Saturday night. We were filming landscape and pick-up  shots in evening light and had a choice to go to the E.I. (Eilean Iarmain: the great local pub) where some of the crew were tucking into lamb shank and downing some fine beer or head off into the twilight. The light looked too tempting though so we headed off towards Elgol and thank goodness we did because the light over the Cuillins was astonishing.  Deep red light was bouncing off them making them glow against the black sky. There were so many midges we had to set the camera running and run around to draw them away from clustering around the camera. We shot for ages and the light was low but still great approaching midnight.  I tried to get one last shot with long grass in the foreground when Simon suggested we had enough and should go, words I never thought he’d say ! (The shot was a nice one and made the final film).

Have you worked on anything since Seachd?

[Ian] Since Seachd I’ve filmed the film backgrounds to an Opera set on St.Kilda. It was a great experience to film in such a remote and interesting place. I've filmed a half hour comedy for Channel 4 : 'The Smallest Game in Town' and I’ve also filmed and edited a half hour documentary in Iran about a cleaning lady who works in  Tehran. I have recently been DoP on a low budget feature about asylum seekers in Edinburgh called ‘Trouble Sleeping'.

Previous interviews:

An interview with Jo Cockwell (Co-Writer)
An interview with John L Cobban (Sound Designer)
An interview with Aonghas Macneacail (Co-Writer)
An interview with Aonghas MacAoidh (Editor)
An interview with Vidal Sancho (The Spaniard)

http://www.seachd.com

An interview with Jo Cockwell (Co-Writer)

Where are you from, what is your background and how did you become a writer?

[Jo] I am from the New Forest in Hampshire and started life as a girl who loved creative writing and art at school.  That soon got slapped out of me and I worked as a solicitor to pay the mortgage.

As soon as my first daughter was born and I was able to step out of the real world I found that my heart was drawn back to what I loved most as a girl - telling stories.

I would hardly call myself a writer as the process by which Simon and I write seems to involve Simon doing the hard graft whilst I mainly sit beside him, frowning, scratching my head and barking ideas at him.

Does storytelling matter?

[Jo] There is no question that storytelling matters deeply to me and my family. I can't think of a night when I haven't read my girls a story before bedtime or told them a story from my hands (our personal book!).  I also love evenings when I get to see a film or read part of a newspaper, magazine or book that has a wonderful story to tell, fictional or not.  For me, stories are an affirmation that all over the world and throughout history there is a bond between us all that is timeless and universal.

I cannot really answer whether or not storytelling matters in the wider political sense - can storytelling change all of our lives for the better? I would love to think so.

What was the worst thing about making Seachd?

[Jo] The distance between Simon and myself whilst he was directing on Skye and we were living down in the New Forest.

What was the best thing?

[Jo] I still cannot believe that ideas that came out of my mouth became words spoken by people I had never met, filmed by people I didn't know and seen by people I know nothing about.

Can you tell us anything little known about the making of Seachd?

[Jo] Simon performed a stunt on the In Pinn that never made the final cut...and strangely, production design bought an old book for the set which was entitled "Tales of Grandfather"...

Have you written anything since Seachd?

[Jo] Yes, Simon and I have finished the first draft of an historical tale set in 9th Century Scotland which looks good (we hope!), next draft here we come...

Previous interviews:

An interview with John L Cobban (Sound Designer)
An interview with Aonghas Macneacail (Co-Writer)
An interview with Aonghas MacAoidh (Editor)
An interview with Vidal Sancho (The Spaniard)

http://www.seachd.com

An interview with John L Cobban (Sound Designer)

Where are you from and how did you become a sound designer and editor?

[John] I'm from Glasgow  and moved in to film and TV from theatre where I had worked as a sound and lighting designer, mainly in performance art and dance.  I first started in  TV composing music but gradually become more interested in sound  design.

What does a sound designer and  editor do and can you describe the creative process that went into the  creation of the Seachd soundscape?

[John] Sound design as a role is  really about the balance between the creative and technical elements of  making the soundtrack. If it's done well, the technical side of the job:  smoothing dialogue edits, cleaning up sound and mixing the various sounds  together - should be invisible to the audience.  The creative side is  the more conspicuous part of the job, and involves building up layers of  soundtrack elements as prompted by the action, locations, mood, story and  even the characters themselves.  In the case of Seachd, this meant a lot of  careful selection of atmosphere tracks which would not only be authentic and believeable for the locations on Skye, but which would also reflect the  emotions of Angus at the various parts of his journey.  Much of the  location sound is not only augmented by adding sound effects, but is  frequently completely replaced to create an entirely new soundscape.  It  was important to gauge Simon's vision for the film as an ambitious cinematic entwining of fantasy, myth and reality, and to ensure that the sound  contributed as much as possible to the realisation of that  vision.

Was it difficult working in a language that is not your own?

[John] No, and in fact it's actually quite a valuable experience to be liberated from direct understanding, because you become much more aware of the emotions which are being expressed, and you  realise that meaning is conveyed by so many other aspects of communication.  It  was great to work with the flow and pacing of the Gaelic language.

Does storytelling matter?

[John] Sometimes storytelling doesn't matter as much as emotion in cinema, but in the case of Seachd, it is the telling of stories  within the film itself which gives it so much of its emotion, so I'd say it's pretty important.

What was the best thing about making Seachd?

[John] When you're working for weeks on a  film and viewing scenes over and over again, the beauty of the Skye  locations and the cinematography certainly made that a pleasure.  The range of  emotions the film takes its audience through, from sweeping action, to  comedy, to subtle drama, and the opportunities that offers me as sound  designer was one of the most satisfying things about the project.

Can you tell us anything little known about the making of Seachd?

[John] It was funny to walk into the studio where Travis Reeves was working on the foley, to find him clambering on a tiny breeze block  to recreate the mountain climbing scenes!

Previous interviews:

An interview with Aonghas Macneacail (Co-Writer)
An interview with Aonghas MacAoidh (Editor)
An interview with Vidal Sancho (The Spaniard)

http://www.seachd.com

An interview with Aonghas Macneacail (Co-Writer)

"At the root of every meditation on philosophy and morality, there will be found a story."

Co as a tha thu agus ciamar a fhuair thu sas ann a Seachd? Where are you from and how did become involved with Seachd?

[Aonghas] Sgiathanach a th'unnam, as Uige, ged a tha mi nise fuireach anns na Criochan Albannach. Rinn mi eolas air Sim Mac a Mhuillear nuair a bha e ag obair air fiolm goirid steidhichte air oige fhein ann am Baile Dhun Leibhe (ann a Labhdaidh an Iar). As a choinneachadh sin thainig cothrom eadartheangachadh (agus beagan comhairleachaidh) a dheanamh air an fhiolm ghoirid aige, Foighidinn. Nuair a thainig fios bhon a BhBC gu robh sgriobhadairean a dhith airson sreath sgeulachdan, air fiolm, steidhichte air beul-aithris, cha b'e ruith ach leum dhomh! I'm a Skyeman, from Uig, though now living in the Scottish Borders. I met Simon Miller when he was working on a short film based on his childhood in Livingstone (West Lothian). From that encounter came the opportunity to translate (with a bit of consultation thrown in) his short film Patience. When I heard from the BBC that scriptwriters were sought for a series of filmed stories based on tradition, I had no hesitation!

Ciamar a dheilig thu ri sgeul an Eich-uisge?  How did you approach writing the Water-horse story?

[Aonghas] Sheallainn do dhuine sam bith an lochan an ceann   a Tuath an Eilein far an deach innse dhomh, 's mi direach na mo bhalach, gu robh each-uisge san doimhneachd. Theid gaoir tromham a dol seachad air fhathast. fiu's ged a tha geola bheag sinte air a bhruaich. Mar sin bha e furasada dhomh an sgeul a tha ann a seadh 'beo' nam mhacmeanmainn, a chur ann an dreach ur. Bhon a bha an sgeul ri bhi na seorsa de pharabal, bha an tionnadh a dhith a cheangladh i ri priomh-sgeul an fhiolm. I can still point out the small loch in North Skye where I was told, as a boy, that a Kelpie lived in the depths. It still sends a hint of a shiver through me to passit, even though a small dinghy is beached on its bank. But it was easy for me to re-invent a story that is still 'alive' in my imagination. As the story had to represent a kind of parable, it was then necesary to provide the twist that connected it with the central narrative of the film.

Bheil an smuain gu bheil cinema Gaidhlig ann a ciallachadh cail?  Does the idea of a Gaelic cinema mean anything?

[Aonghas] Carson nach biodh? Chan eil na h-eisimpleirean lionmhor, ach nuair a gheibh Gaidheal cothrom a dhol sas ann a fiolm, bho thaobh astaigh a dhualchas fhein, tachraidh miorbhaillean. Gun a bhi deanamh dimeas air gin dhen fheadhainn eile, dh'ainmichinn am fiolm goirid a rinn Domhnall Ruadh, steidhichte air an oran 'A Bhean Eudach', far an do dh'inns e an sgeul le lan-chumhachd is le gann facal a labhairt. Tha an sgeul ga h-inne fhein.  Why not? The examples are not numerous, but when Gaels get the opportunity to engage with film from within their own traditions, marvels can happen. Implying no criticism of any others, i'd cite Domhnall Ruadh's short film based on the folk-song 'The Jealous woman', told most powerfully, with a minimum of dialogue. The story tells itself.

An d'fhiach a bhi 'g aithris sgeulachdan?  Does storytelling matter?

[Aonghas] Chan eil creideamh anns an t-saoghal nach eil steidhichte air sgeulachdan. Aig bun gach meorachadh air feallsanachd is moraltachd, gheibhear sgeulachd.  There's no religion in the world that isn't based on storytelling. At the root of every meditation on philosophy and morality, there will be found a story. 

De an rud a b'fhearr mu bhi deanamh Seachd?  What was the best thing about making Seachd?

[Aonghas] Dhomhsa, bho nach b'urrainn dhomh bhi sas anns a chorr dhen deanamh, an sgriobhadh. Do sgriobhadair a tha cleachdte ri bhi ag obair na aonar, 's e rud fior thaitneach a th'ann a bhi a' co-obrachadh le sgriobhadairean eile.  For me, as further involvement in making Seachd wasn't possible, the writing. For a writer accustomed to working in isolation, it's a particularly satisfying experience to be able to work in co-operation with others.

De an rud bu mhiosa?  What was the worst thing?

[Aonghas] Nach b'urrainn dhomh a bhi sas anns an deanamh na bu mhodha, air sgath 's gu robh dleasdanasan eile a' gabhail buaidh air mo thide.  That I couldn't be more involved in the making of Seachd due to prior commitments elsewhere.

Previous interviews:

An interview with Aonghas MacAoidh (Editor)

An interview with Vidal Sancho (The Spaniard)

http://www.seachd.com

An interview with Aonghas MacAoidh (Editor)

"We left no stone unturned"

Where are you from and how did you become an editor?

[Aonghas] I'm from the Isle of Lewis and studied television at the local college. Right from the outset cutting pictures together came naturally and I loved doing it. Plus, I never had enough patience for all the waiting around on location anyway!

How would you describe the creative editing process for Seachd?

[Aonghas] Exhaustive! We left no stone unturned in the search for the strongest structure and narrative that the material would deliver. As an editor I seek to draw on the greatest strengths of those involved in the process and transfer them as honestly and strongly as is possible into the finished piece. In the case of Seachd that meant, primarily, trying to composite Simon Miller's love of story and searing attention to detail with Chris Young's strong intuition for compelling narrative. We also received very strong feedback from Both Carole Sheridan and Ishbel Maclennan (executive producers) and Jim Sutherland the composer. It was immensely challenging to distill the various points of view and resolve them into what is hopefully a compelling piece.

On what equipment was Seachd edited?

[Aonghas] We cut Seachd on the latest iteration of Avid's Media Composer Adrenaline. Avid's media management is peerless, which is of great importance when handling the amount of material we had to work with in an efficient manner. Composer is also extremely robust, we lost no time whatsoever during the edit because of technical difficulties. This is in part down to the mature nature of the Avid product, but also of vital importance is the quality of the service provided to us by our re-seller; George Fox at Video Source.

What was it like working on your first feature film?  What did you learn?

[Aonghas] Cutting my first feature was without doubt a massive and steep learning curve.

Because a film of real substance (which I firmly believe Seachd to be) has to work on so many levels, there are a plethora of issues to be resolved. It's an extremely delicate process to try and balance the material so that it delivers as much as possible.

I feel that if going to see a film is going to be at all worthwhile the viewer should come away from it not just entertained but also challenged.

Of course some celebrated films achieve this effect by delivering a singular viewpoint very powerfully, but I've always preferred those that ask meaningful questions and provide the viewer with a framework in which they can come to their own conclusions. In that regard Seachd is the kind of film that I really love because it's core are some very fundamental questions about truth and our perception of it. How an individual answers those questions will depend (in part at least) on the perspective from which they approach the film but I hope that the central questions will be profound irrespective of the viewers viewpoint.

Why has it taken so long to get a Gaelic feature film into cinemas in the UK?

[Aonghas] Simply because, until now, we have had no-one with the talent, track record and experience that Chris Young brings to the party. 

Does storytelling matter?

[Aonghas] Being a Gael, there can be only one answer to that question! Storytelling matters a great deal. Stories enthrall, stimulate, educate and exhilarate. Gaeldom, of course, has an immensely rich storytelling tradition, which is at present in some danger of fading away. It's been my privilege to know some fantastic storytellers, many of whom taught me profound things through the talent that they were given.

What was the worst thing about making Seachd?

[Aonghas] Without question the worst thing was hardly seeing my family over such a long period of time. Simon has a capacity for work like no-one I've ever met before, I thought I'd done jobs that required big commitment before, Seachd was in another league.

Also, because our investment in the film was so great, serious setbacks were unusually difficult to deal with. This was especially true in the later stages of the project when time was very much against us.

At one point we had a viewing with our executives at the GFT in Glasgow, having spent the previous fortnight working harder than ever before, honing what we felt at that time was a greatly improved structure. During the meeting that followed the viewing it became obvious that Ishbel and Carole felt that we had dropped the ball in regard to some fairly important aspects of the story. When you're already physically and mentally drained the thought of going back to the cutting room to pull apart something you've crafted fo carefully is very hard to deal with. They were of course right, and the film is better for it but at the time it was utterly depressing!

What was the best thing?

[Aonghas] The people. It's nearly always the best thing about any job.

I only met with Chris and Simon a short while before principal photography began, I came away from the meeting greatly drawn to working with them but fearful as to whether or not they would trust a complete stranger with no film track record with such an important task. I was elated to be told later that day that they had chosen to do the film with us, over people with much more experience.

It was also great to work with our executives who brought so much to the film, and , of course, to work with a composer and musician of Jim's calibre was humbling and immensely rewarding. There were so many quality people involved, Ian Dodds the DoP, John Cobban the Sound Designer,Tony Rae and Paul Wright at Dragon DI,  it was a pleasure from start to finish.

How do you feel about the idea of allowing people to edit a scene from Seachd online?

[Aonghas] Are you trying to find a replacement for me??!!!

Previous interviews:

An interview with Vidal Sancho (The Spaniard)

http://www.seachd.com

An interview with Vidal Sancho (The Spaniard)

"I was told we would only need one take"

Where are you from, where do you live and how did you become an actor in Seachd?

[Vidal] I am from Bilbao but I currently live in London. When I heard from my Agent that SEACHD was interested in me for the part of the Spaniard, I was taken in by both the part and the type of project straight away: at that time I had just finished working with Shekkar Kapur in The Golden Age and Alfonso Cuarón in Children of Men, and SEACHD seemed to be something completely different from what I had been doing; also SEACHD was going to be the first feature film ever done in Gaelic -   truly a piece of history.

Was it strange to act when neither of you understood a word each other were saying?

[Vidal] Indeed :) I have never been in such a situation where I literally don't understand a thing of what the other Actors are saying. However, this time that worked very well as it helped me in playing the part, as the whole story between the Spaniard and the prisoner was based on continuous misunderstandings...

How easy was it to submerge yourself in the sea off the coast of Skye?

[Vidal] Gosh! [Ed.] - that was hard!  I was so scared of playing those scenes, you cannot imagine. People need to know that it was cold outside, very windy, the sea up in Scotland is freezing and that I had to submerge inside the water almost naked!

Does storytelling matter?

[Vidal] Yes, it does. What excites me is always the story and the discovery of the characters reaction and emotional dialogue/challenge. Having a Spanish background, we have a great tradition in storytelling and performance and it has been very exciting to explore and expand this medium at SEACHD.

What was the best thing about making Seachd?

[Vidal] I would mention a couple of things: SEACHD is a fantastic project, a very special piece that I am very proudly a part of. Also, it has been a unique, great personal experience to be in the Isle of Sky and meet some of the people who live up there, they are great.

What was the worst thing?

[Vidal] Regarding the scene in which I had to submerge in the sea, I was told we would only need one take. However, when I got out Simon (the Director) said that we had to repeat because of this, that and the other... I was shivering and felt so cold I thought I was going to die (thank God I didn't ;). 

Can you tell us anything little known about the making of Seachd?

[Vidal] Debbie our make-up artist does reiki, we used to queue to have our reiki session during breaks. The food at the local pub where we used to go for dinner is amazing (mmm... I do miss that!).

What do you think the future of SEACHD is? What are your expectations?

[Vidal] I do believe SEACHD is going to be a great success, one of the most outstanding films this year: it is emotionally and brilliantly clever and I am sure it will capture the audience's heart.

Would you work with us again - even though we dunked you in the icey seas of Scotland twice in a row?

[Vidal] I'd love to; it's been great to work with a group of such dedicated, professional people.

http://www.seachd.com