Tag Archives: Dundalk

Live @ The Crowne Plaza, Dundalk – SOSAD Charity Concert (Dec 2011)

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While searching through old hard drives recently I happened upon footage I shot as part of the SOSAD Charity Concert held in the Crowne Plaza, Dundalk during December 2011. In this event, several local musicians and acts from around the Louth region performed on stage for charity, in aid of SOSAD (Save Our Sons And Daughters), a suicide prevention group. Included in the nights line up was 2Minutes2Midnight, Allison Looney, Rochelle Lazaro, S. J. McArdle, Tomorrows Party, Bugsy, Nino, Natural B and The Curtain Thieves. A great night of music, so I thought I’d share it for any fans out there!

Here are some songs from the acts that night:

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DkIT is to host 11th FIS exhibition 6th-8th June 2012

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DkIT is to host the 11th FIS exhibition in the newly renovated Carrolls’ building at the start of June – Entertainment – Dundalk Democrat.

Oraculum goes on show at DkIT FIS exhibition 6th – 8th June.

All welcome! :)

What is Oraculum?… (Not a contagious disease)

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What is Oraculum?
oraculum logo - eye
Oraculum is a 2D, point & click, exploration narrative set in the not too distant future in the troubled dystopian city of Europa. A radical vision of an alternative future, where society has split due to a new technological drug called Focus. In the city of Europa, the population is controlled by the mega corporation Oraculum, using the Focus drug to infiltrate their everyday lives.
Below the city, in the subterranean society of Lower Europa, a population of anti-Oraculum individuals who have rejected the artificial paradise of above, live in exile and poverty.
Focus drug propaganda
Focus drug propaganda
The player takes on the role of Alice Leporium, a lifelong member of Oraculum’s security service, the ESA, and a Focus drug user. A year ago, following a spate of strange behavior, Alice’s twin brother Albus mysteriously disappeared and was never seen again. With Alice suspicious of the corporations involvement in her brother’s disappearance, and a sudden call from a mysterious stranger – Alice must go in search of Albus through the strange subterranean world of lower Europa, unfolding the true nature of Oraculum and her new role in shaping the future of Europa…
What is Oraculum for?
Oraculum is a 4th year (Hons) Creative Media, end of year group project in Dundalk Institute of Technology – which will be on show at the DKiT’s FIS 2012 exhibition, 6th – 8th June 2012.
Who is Oraculum?
Elena Rimeikaite – Design
Lynsey Toner – Project Manager & Animation
Fionn Larkin – Audio
Eamonn Cahill – Narrative & Programming
Where can I learn more about Oraculum?
Visit Oraculum’s Blog at:
Or Facebook page at:
Or Twitter page at:
Or check out the Creative Media course blog at:
…Or visit us at the FIS 2012 exhibition from 6th – 8th June 2012.
And don’t forget, Oraculum loves you! :)

Portfolio now online!

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After sifting through the dusty memory banks of my hard drives, ive put together a neat little portfolio of most of my work during college to date (animations and interactive interfaces/ Flash websites on the way!) So if your interested in all the different projects ive worked on over the lasy few years, why not take a peek and scroll through this little collection.

Quick link here:

http://eamonncahill.com/portfolio/

Or click on the ‘Portfolio’ tab on the menu above.

Enjoy!:)

New video uploads for Project: Non-Sense!!!

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Heya guys!

Yea so some of you may or may not know but i was involved in a great project last year as part of my degree in CM with fellow team-mates Auriane Vernois, Fionn Larkin and Liza Wang. Our project was called ‘Project: Non-Sense”, or most commonly just Non-Sense, which was essentially an interactive-narrative-type game where the user played a newly awoken super-soldier, who had unfortunately suffered extreme damage to their human senses and as such had to complete a series of sense-based tests/ games in order to finish the game and be prepared to ‘save mankind from annihilation from an evil alien invasion fleet.

As you can see, it had a science-fiction theme and a pretty heavy backstory to it, which although didnt really come out in the final game, it can be seen in documentation and concept art on the projects blog at this link:

http://the101agency.blogspot.com/

Or if you prefer, you can click on the ‘Other blogs’ link on the row of links above and follow the ‘Non-Sense blog’ link there to the projects blog.

Heres a sample of the uploads and content on the way:

Introductory video

Audio game description video

As Project leader, i always have thoughts of how i could of done things better or even just slightly different. Could i of driven the group harder? Was i too relaxed as a leader? Could i of worked harder at time-keeping? Was i organized? Was i leading at all? I still have doubts about my capacity as leader in the project but in retrospect i believe i did the best i could with what i knew. I had never been in charge of groups that often, except for small video production groups during my years in Cavan Institute and i suppose suddenly taking charge of a large, multiethnic group and having the full responsibility of that group it something i am proud of. The project didn’t come out the way we had intended originally as can probably be seen on the project blog, but i think it came out great as it is and stands well as a unique game, and experience.

I was in charge of coding (Actionscript 3.0) on the project too so hopefully over the next few weeks as we post content from the finished project on the blog, i will post some examples of code used in the making of the individual games and how they were linked together and such. Also, im working on adapting the game to dilute it down from the full installation, to a standalone game which can be played online and (hopefully) downloaded for home enjoyment. It still has 1 or 2 small bugs in it so you will have to bear with me!

So yea just to point out again, me and the guys hope to upload some more content (artwork, videos, animations, etc) from the finished game so we can give a better picture of how it was done and hopefully help out anyone else considering making a similar game. I will update you guys on further uploads via eamonncahill.com and the project blog (link above or in ‘Other blogs’).

***Ohyea! Also thanks to Kenneth Sloane, our programming tutor last year, for helping me out loads with the coding, Baiba Engele for being a great actress, and Fionn, Auriane and Liza for being fantastic teammates and friends. Thanks you guys!:)***

Slan!:)

2nd Masterclass – Donal Dineen

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Today was the second masterclass of the new semester with a guest lecture by Irish radio presenter, former television presenter, filmaker and photographer Donal Dineen. Having worked on the tv series ‘No Disco’ on Network 2, and currently presenting The Small Hours (formerly ‘Here Comes The Night’) on Today FM, he gave us an interesting insight into the inner workings of the Irish radio and television industries, as well as an insight into how he came to be where he is now and advice to others on how to succeed in the media industry.

Link to Donal’s blog:

http://www.todayfm.com/Shows/Weekdays/Donal-Dineen/Blog.aspx

An great in-depth lecture where Donal shared with us his early days in music magazine Dropout, his time on RTE’s flagship music programme ‘No Disco’ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Disco, his inspiration for simplistic visuals in the form of a Palace Brothers music video, his professional inspiration in the form of RTE presenters Eamon Dunphy and John Kelly, his love of Super 8 film and its dying existence as a film format, his time at Radio Ireland, his struggle in front of the camera as a television presenter, his love and passion for radio presenting and music, and an interesting interview with Lou Reed resulting in friendship.

Altogether an enthralling talk and some sound advice for those of us considering a future in the media industry.

As part of his guest lecture, Donal treated us to two works of his. The first of which being an interview with artists Liam O’Maonlaí and Niwel Tsumbu during his late night show The Small Hours in December 2010:

And the second being a experimental music video he worked on for artist Niwel Tsumbu. An example of how good visuals can be created using basic tools at hand and with limited time:

Thanks to our course head Caroline O’Sullivan for organizing another guest lecture and Donal Dineen for coming to talk to us! :)

‘The Cave’ DkIT class tour

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Our tutor for User Theories class Kieran Nolan organized a surprise tour of the exciting but rarely seen research lab in the Carrolls building called ‘The Cave’. This is an amazing research area cordoned off from the rest of the carrolls building and concealed behind a tall wall, so as such no of us in the class exactly knew what went on behind these walls and could only speculate what we would see on the tour.

In the Cave there was a very hi-tech setup consisting of 3 corner projectors behind 3 wall-screens, projecting content onto the rear of the screens and a 4th projector above the installation projecting down onto the floor. These projectors were capable of projecting hi-def full 3D content, which required the user to wear special 3D glasses equipped with motion-tracking attachments, allowing the motion tracking cameras of the installation to track the users movements and alter the projections accordingly. An accompanying remote controller (similar to an Xbox controller but with motion tracking attachments) allowed the user to navigate through the 3D environment without having to move (its very easy to get immersed in the experience and walk into one of the walls!). As well as this there were 4 extremely powerful computers (once i heard 16Gigabyte RAM i was blown away) connected together along with another home-spec pc, running the whole show. A serious amount of technology to get your head around in one visit.

Google street view on 3 screens!

Google street view on 3 screens!

Sorry for the poor quality of pictures. Yea so this one was a demonstration of how this technology along with webGL software running off a web browser can be used to display webGL-enabled programs such as Google Earth and Street View, to display content across 3 screens, and a 4th projection also possible on the floor (not demonstrated here). It wasn’t in 3D but it did look cool seeing your local street represented in 3 8-foot high projections!

Also as you can see, the computer windows and icons were projected also so it was fun having the sensation of standing inside an operating system (even it was Windows XP!).

Kieran getting the environment explained

Kieran getting the environment explained

Some of the lads try out the 3D house

Some of the lads try out the 3D house

Still enjoying the 3D enviroment

Still enjoying the 3D enviroment

These 3 images were of the current project within the cave. A 3D representation of 1 of 18 local purpose-built house’s for the elderly, built to serve the studies of this research project. Each physical house is equipped with extensive motion-sensor technology (in agreement with the house’s occupants), which sends data back to the installation in the cave, giving the researchers a layout of how the occupants use the house, how regularly they use particular spaces and basically they’re living patterns within these houses. This dat can then go towards providing the researchers with an idea of what areas could be improved or adapted in order to enhance the occupants lifestyle and well-being.

For this demonstration however, we were each given 3D glasses and controller, and allowed to explore one of the 3D houses in the installation. It was amazing, i kept finding myself reaching out to grab a chair or the T.V.!

Exploring the forest enviroment

Exploring the forest enviroment

Very dark picture, sorry! Basically, this was another 3D environment of a small forest and wood-cutting spot. A charming little place which i was reluctant to leave :(

A great experience, which has inspired me and given me some new ideas for the final year project. The lads who work there were great for giving us such a in-depth tour of the installation and explaining how it all works (they could of told me it was magic pixies and i might just of believed them!) but also for giving us further links to look at if we want to look into the technology even more. For example heres two:

Google Liquid Galaxy:

http://www.google.com/earth/explore/showcase/liquidgalaxy.html

and Chrome Experiments:

http://www.chromeexperiments.com/webgl

A great tour of a facility i now know exists right next door. And thanks to Kieran Nolan for bringing us all to see it!:)

Posted a snazzy new survey in forum

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As my time spent playing Minecraft is not only for pure virtual mining and construction enjoyment (its so much fun! …and addictive), but also to further my study of Virtual Ethnography as part of my current coursework in DkIT, i thought it would be a good idea to put together a short questionnaire to put up on the Minecraft forum and hopefully get some good solid data from the online community i now feel a part of. Seeing as im only a recent member of roughly 3 weeks contribution to the community i thought it best to keep this relatively short and sweet with about 9 short questions.

Heres my post on the forum:

“Hi guys!

I’m currently doing a Virtual Ethnography assignment as part of college work and I thought it would be great to do it on the Minecraft Forum seeing as I use it a lot already. Virtual Ethnography is the study of people interacting in an online community.

So basically, I’m looking at how us members on the Minecraft forum communicate compared to offline members. If you could, please answer the following questions and I will be forever in your debt (I have diamonds!).


  1. What is your age and gender?
  2. How often do you visit the Minecraft forum?
  3. How often do you post on the forum?
  4. What do you think is the best aspect of communicating with members on this forum?
  5. Do you communicate with members of the community in other virtual ways other than this forum? For example: email, messenger services, etc…
  6. Do you find it easier to communicate and voice your opinions on the forum rather than offline and face to face?
  7. Do you communicate with member’s offline?
  8. Do you communicate with members more online or offline? Why do think this is so?
  9. Does being a member of this community influence how you play Minecraft? If so, how so?

Even if you only answer a few questions it will seriously help me out with my studies and if you think there is anything else I should know please feel free to tell me.

Thanks guys!

-ShuckMan101 (Virtual miner)”

I have been relatively active on the forum since joining so hopefully this post wont be seen as some sort of spam or marketing ploy, but a fellow Minecraftian in need. Just posted so no replies yet. Will update if/when i do get them!:)

SOSAD charity concert – Crowne Plaza, Dundalk

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Got myself another wee job last friday night, helping out with filming an awesome charity concert event in aid of SOSAD (Save Our Sons And Daughters), held in Crowne Plaza, Dundalk. Acts included rapper Natural B, bands 2Minutes2Midnight and The Curtain Thieves, The Setanta Choir, and solo singer Rochelle Lazaro. Amazing line-up of music and entertainment with proceeds going to a good cause.

I have two pictures here but i have to admit they are of bad quality, taken on a phone and not a good camera. However i may upload some stills from live footage along with a link to video footage when all is edited. Until then heres a taster:

Live band

Live band

Introduction video

Introduction video

Also, just to say that Fionn Larkin did a great job looking after the sound and helping me out operating the camera.

And a great performance by Rochelle Lazaro, a diva in the making with an amazing voice: Watch this space!:)