05 Apr Case Study: Legacy in the Library – Gerald Dawe
Who was Gerald Dawe?
Gerald Dawe (1952–2024) was one of Ireland’s most distinguished poets, a professor of English at Trinity College Dublin, and a significant figure in Irish literary life for over four decades. His papers are held in the special collections of the National Library of Ireland, which serves as the permanent custodian of his literary archive.
What was the project?
The National Library of Ireland commissioned Idiosync Films to record and produce a full-length event film of Legacy in the Library: Celebrating Gerald Dawe — an evening held at the National Library on 18 February 2025, marking the first anniversary of the poet’s death. The event was part of Legacy in the Library, a new annual series at the National Library of Ireland that pays tribute to Irish literary figures who have died in the preceding year, with a particular focus on their holdings in the library’s special collections.
The evening was booked out in its entirety. Due to the volume of demand from those unable to attend, the National Library required a broadcast-quality film that could be shared with audiences in Ireland and internationally via YouTube, premiering on 29 May 2025.
Who took part in the event?
Gerald Dawe was remembered on the night by his widow Dorothea and his daughter Olwen. Additional contributions came from Dr Audrey Whitty, Director of the National Library of Ireland; Dr Sinéad McCoole, Head of Exhibitions, Learning and Programming at the NLI; Christian Dupont, Associate University Librarian for Scholarly Resources and Burns Librarian at Boston College; and Dr Carlo Gébler of the Oscar Wilde Centre for Irish Writing at Trinity College Dublin. A live audience attended on the night and participated in a question and answer session at the close of the evening.
What was the production brief?
The National Library required Idiosync Films to deliver two distinct video outputs from a single evening: a short film produced and screened for the live audience on the night itself, and a polished, feature-length event film — running to one hour and twenty-two minutes — for subsequent public release on the National Library’s YouTube channel. Both outputs needed to reflect the cultural gravity of the occasion and meet the broadcast standards expected of a national cultural institution.
How was the event filmed?
Idiosync Films supplied two videographers and three 4K cameras, positioned to cover the full range of the evening’s programme from multiple angles. Having three cameras running simultaneously allowed the edit to cut between wide establishing shots of the room, mid-shots of each speaker at the lectern, and closer coverage of personal moments — including contributions from Gerald Dawe’s family — without any camera movement disrupting the atmosphere of the occasion.
Audio equipment was deployed throughout the venue to capture clean dialogue from all speakers, the question and answer session, and the ambient sound of the evening. For events of this nature — where spoken word is the primary content and every exchange carries significance — audio quality is as critical as the picture. A single microphone failure or uncorrected background noise in a one hour twenty-two minute film is immediately apparent to viewers and undermines the credibility of the institution publishing it.
Before and after the main event, the crew captured highlight footage of the venue, the library setting, and attendees — contextual material that enriched the final edit and gave the film a sense of place that pure lecture-room recording cannot achieve.
What was produced on the night for the live audience?
In addition to recording the full evening, Idiosync Films produced a short commemorative film that was edited and screened for the live audience during the event itself. Creating a finished video deliverable within the timeframe of a live event — while simultaneously running a three-camera recording operation — requires careful pre-production, a clear editorial brief established well in advance, and the ability to execute post-production under significant time pressure. This dual output is one of the most technically and logistically demanding formats in event video production.
How was the full event film edited?
Post-production on the feature-length film involved several layers of work beyond a standard event recording. The edit was structured to guide a remote viewer through an evening they had not attended — establishing the setting, introducing each contributor clearly, and maintaining engagement across a runtime of over eighty minutes. This required careful pacing decisions, clean transitions between speakers, and consistent use of multiple camera angles to provide visual variety throughout.
Subtitles were created meticulously across the full duration of the film. For a cultural institution publishing content about Irish literary heritage, accessibility is not optional — subtitles serve deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences, non-native English speakers, and viewers watching in environments where audio is not available. Accurate subtitling of poetry readings, literary discussion, and personal testimony requires a level of care and editorial attention that automated captioning tools cannot reliably provide.
Branded graphics incorporating the National Library of Ireland’s visual identity were integrated throughout, and audio was polished to ensure consistent levels across all speakers and all sections of the evening.
What was the outcome?
The finished film premiered on the National Library of Ireland’s YouTube channel on 29 May 2025 — the first anniversary of Gerald Dawe’s death. Registration for a reminder email and premiere link was available through the National Library’s website, reflecting the level of public interest in the event and its film. The Legacy in the Library series has since continued, with subsequent editions commemorating Edna O’Brien and Nell McCafferty, confirming it as an ongoing annual programme at the National Library.
What does this project demonstrate about cultural event video production in Ireland?
Cultural institutions — national libraries, museums, universities, literary organisations — have a particular responsibility when it comes to event documentation. The events they host are often irreplaceable: a family’s personal tribute, a live gathering of scholars, a moment of communal remembrance that cannot be recreated. The video record of that event becomes part of the institution’s archive and, in cases like this, part of a poet’s public legacy.
This places demands on a video production company that go beyond technical competence. It requires sensitivity to the occasion, the discretion to film without intruding, and the editorial judgment to shape hours of material into a film that serves both those who attended and the far larger audience who will encounter the subject’s work for the first time through the video itself.
For institutions planning similar events, the key practical lesson is that dual-output productions — a same-night screening and a polished post-produced film — require the brief, the shot list, and the short film editorial plan to be agreed and largely prepared before the event takes place. Attempting to design either output on the day introduces risk that the occasion does not allow for.
Idiosync Films provides event recording, multi-camera production, and edited film services for cultural institutions, universities, and public organisations across Ireland. Contact us to discuss your next project.