Vultures: “That’s a wrap!”

As of yesterday evening, that’s a wrap on Vultures series 1. After 39 days of shooting, we walk away with 39 hours of footage for episodes 5 & 6.

It still hasn’t really sunk in that we’re finished shooting, the past 10 weeks leave me with such a mixture of emotions and memories that right now it’s hard to explain my feelings. Two years ago, when Sla, John and Paddy told me they were making a sitcom, I knew it was something I had to be a part of, in any way I could. Since December 2007, I’ve had the great pleasure of working with some of the most talented people you’re ever likely to meet. Nobody involved had ever done anything like this before and it was such an amazing learning by doing experience for everyone. Nobody got paid, we just did it. Even when “they” said “it couldn’t be done!”.

I have so many awesome memories because of Vultures, so many stories to tell and thoughts that will always make me smile. Getting to work with such a varied and talented bunch of people has taught me so much. And I have to thank Alan Slattery, John Morton & Paddy Dunne for it. There’s an endless list of people I need to thank for an endless list of things; the awesome cast & crew and all those people that helped us out but Sla, John & Paddy are the reason for all of it; they had the dream and they shared it with all of us.

I have to thank them for letting me be involved, for giving me the opportunity to work on something so special. As a photographer I’ve learned so much from working on Vultures and I walk away with hundreds of photographs I’m so proud of. As an actor I also have to thank them for giving me a character that invokes such a mixed reaction in people I meet; I love how annoying he is and how he makes some people cringe every time he appears. I love how every time I meet somebody who hates Jack Street, I meet somebody else who loves him!?

Finally I have to thank Sla, John & Paddy for giving me the opportunity to do something I’ve always wanted to do; be a director. A dream I gave up when I didn’t get to study film in college, I got rejected twice. A dream the lads made a reality with Vultures episode 4 and then again for episodes 5 & 6.

I am confident in the fact that after the past 10 weeks we’re walking away with some of the best content we’ve shot so far. We continued to learn and improve, shooting some of our most ambitious material so far. After the past year and a half, I’m confident in the fact that working on Vultures has changed so many peoples lives and I for one am a better person. Thanks lads.

Whilst another chapter in the Vultures story has come to an end, rest assured there is so much still to come with the final episodes hitting the cyberweb over the next few months along with so much extra content. But for now, I’m going to sit here and figure out what I did with my Sundays before Vultures.